This Chicken Shawarma recipe is going to knock your socks off! Just a handful of every day spices makes an incredible Chicken Shawarma marinade that infuses the chicken with exotic Middle Eastern flavours. The smell when this is cooking is insane!
Chicken Shawarma
This is one of my signature recipes that will be very familiar to all my friends because I make this so often. It’s off the charts for effort vs output: just a handful of everyday spices, garlic, a splash of lemon and olive oil transforms into the most incredible flavour.
When this chicken is cooking, the smell is incredible. Incredible!!!
This Chicken Shawarma is how I met most of my neighbours when I lived in a townhouse complex. The courtyard was out the front and when I had friends round for a BBQ, random people I had never met before popped their head up over the fence, wanting to know what on earth I was making. They were elated when I handed out samples!
Great food for gatherings
This, along with the Vietnamese Noodles with Lemongrass Chicken, are two of my most frequently made foods when I’m cooking for a crowd because it’s easy to make loads, they are both great “lay it all out and let everyone serve themselves” type foods (I’m a big fan of food like that), and it travels well. I’ve made this multiple times on camping trips (along with the Vietnamese Noodles and Greek Gyros!).
Plus, there are always willing blokes around to take control of the BBQ (beer in hand) while us girls sit back sipping wine. That’s an arrangement that suits me great! 😉
How to Serve Chicken Shawarma
There are two main ways to serve Chicken Shawarma.
- As Chicken Shawarma wraps (like Gyros and Doner kebabs) – with tomato, lettuce, and a simple yoghurt sauce on the side. Other optional extras include: red onion, cheese (query authenticity? But that’s ok!!), hummus, hot sauce / chilli sauce.
- With rice and salads on the side. Thought I usually do serve pita bread or another type of flatbread as well, just because it’s very on theme. ☺️ Here, the Chicken Shawarma is pictured with Mejadra which is a Middle Eastern lentil rice (seriously so good you can / will want to eat it just by itself!) and a Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad (I skip the spicing of chickpeas otherwise there’s just too much kapow spices going on).
A few other things that would be very much at home alongside Chicken Shawarma:
- Lemon Rice Pilaf
- Rice Pilaf with Nuts and Dried Fruit
- Chickpea Rice Pilaf
- Juicy Greek Salad – the flavours in Greek salad pair really well with Middle Eastern food
- Middle Eastern Shredded Cabbage, Carrot, Mint Salad
- Middle Eastern Roasted Vegetables with Tahini Drizzle
- Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts
This recipe was part of a 7 course Arabian Feast menu that I shared 2 years ago. I didn’t get around to redoing all the recipes, but I will one day! I love that menu because so much of it can be prepared ahead, and there’s lots of common ingredients. Get yourself organised, eliminate distractions and commit to your kitchen temporarily being a war zone and you’ll get most the prep done in 1 hour. 🙂
Be prepared for the amazing smells when you’re cooking this Chicken Shawarma! – Nagi xx
PS Try your hand at making your own flatbreads. My recipe is made without yeast so they’re super easy!
Chicken Shawarma
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Chicken Shawarma recipe video! You can almost smell the heady aroma through the screen….almost!!!?
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Chicken Shawarma (Middle Eastern)
Ingredients
- 2lb /1 kg chicken thigh fillets , skinless and boneless (Note 3)
Marinade
- 1 large garlic clove , minced (or 2 small cloves)
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground cardamon
- 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (reduce to 1/2 tsp to make it not spicy)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Yoghurt Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 1 clove garlic , crushed
- 1 tsp cumin
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
To Serve
- 6 flatbreads (Lebanese or pita bread orhomemade soft flatbreads)
- Sliced lettuce (cos or iceberg)
- Tomato slices
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag (or bowl).
- Add the chicken and use your hands to make sure each piece is coated. If using a ziplock bag, I find it convenient to close the bag then massage the bag to disperse the rub all over each chicken piece.
- Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.
- Combine the Yoghurt Sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix. Cover and put in the fridge until required (it will last for 3 days in the fridge).
- Heat grill/BBQ (or large heavy based pan on stove) on medium high. You should not need to oil it because the marinade has oil in it and also thigh fillets have fat. But if you are worried then oil your hotplate/grill. (See notes for baking)
- Place chicken on the grill and cook the first side for 4 to 5 minutes until nicely charred, then turn and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes (the 2nd side takes less time).
- Remove chicken from the grill and cover loosely with foil. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
To Serve
- Slice chicken and pile onto platter alongside flatbreads, Salad and the Yoghurt Sauce.
- To make a wrap, get a piece of flatbread and smear with Yoghurt Sauce. Top with a bit of lettuce and tomato and Chicken Shawarma. Roll up and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
* Chickpea Rice Pilaf- slightly less spiced than Mejadra
* Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad (a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe, skip the spicing of chickpeas to keep it fresher)
* Also see 7 Course Arabian Feast (summary below recipe)
* 5. BAKING: Cooking on a BBQ or stove is best to get the caramelisation. Baking doesn't yield quite the same flavour - but still very good! Bake at 425F/220C for 20 - 25 minutes until a browned. 6. Nutrition for chicken only because flatbreads vary so much in size and calories.Assuming 6 servings.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published December 2014, updated with fresh stories, fresh photos and a recipe video!
Arabian Feast Menu
Here is a summary of the Arabian Feast Menu that I shared 2 years ago! I haven’t updated all the recipes yet – I’ll get to them eventually!
To Nibble: Classic Hummus, Herb Chili Feta, Chargrilled Vegetable Platter
For the Men to Grill: Lamb Koftas, Chicken Shawarma (this recipe)
Because we must have Greens (and cater for Vegetarians): Shredded Red Cabbage Carrot Salad, Spiced Chickpea Salad
LIFE OF DOZER
This shot pretty much encompasses how utterly predictable Dozer is:
✅ Skulking near a big pile of meat
✅ Squeezing himself under a tiny table laden with said food
✅ Eyes sparkling at the possibilities
✅ Licking his lips in anticipation
Did you use green cardamom or black cardamom?
Hi Ava, either would be fine, but I use green here. N x
AMAZING. This shawarma recipe is it. In my regular rotation now for about a year. Thank you!
Hi Nagi
I’d like to do this middle eastern feast for 20 but not sure of quantities. How many people does this feed? If I doubled the quantities would that be enough or should I quadruple them. Apologies if there are quantities somewhere but I can’t see them.
Just above the recipe is the serving size. You can hover over that and change the servings for the number of people you have and it adjusts all the ingredient amounts you will need.
10/10 as always
This was bomb! Served with the yogurt sauce, homemade pita and Israeli salad.
YUM! Sounds amazing Casey!! N x
Nagi enjoyed so much going to make again today for dins just coz!! 💜
I find the smoky paprika a bit much, wondering if perhaps the one I bought is not the best. It’s pretty strong! Do you use Normal paprika instead? I’ve marinated 12 pieces chicken & put in freezer for this weekend. Fingers crossed. Also quite salty w sea salt when I tasted marinade.
Hi Ali, any paprika will be fine here – I find smokey not overbearing though. What brand did you buy? N x
Not sure! I think it might be cheaper brand, have used before & not liked it, so wish I had bought a new one for this recipe. It has a really strong taste but fingers crossed it settles in the marinade! Do you find that marinating 24 hrs+ does some settling of flavours? Thank u for replying. Love your recipes x
Nagi enjoyed so much going to make again today for dins just coz!! 💜
Nagi, I cannot say enough about how delicious this recipe is. It has become a staple in our home. It is a quick dinner that the whole family, including 2 picky kids, get excited over. Thank you!
Tried the recipe and it’s a super success. Thank you Nagi for providing finer details..
This was soooo good! It was very flavourful and it cooked perfectly. I almost always tweak recipes but not this one – it’s perfection!!!
Really enjoyed this along with the easy flatbread and some homemade chilli and mint sauce. Used chicken breast cut into large slices and layered it onto metal skewers securing each end with a halved onion, and cooked on the bbq for about half an hour.
Would definitely recommend
Excellent flavour, even after a limited marinating time. I sliced into the chicken fillets to help the flavour in, but even after 6 hours was enough to satisfy a couple of spice-averse diners. Thanks Nagi – another success.
Wahoo, that’s great Gordon! N x
Hi Nagi, I’m very new to cooking and wanted to try this recipe but im a little confused in terms of how much salt and black pepper should be added. The recipe states 2 tbsn of salt and the amount for the balck pepper appears to be missing. I checked the video but that seems to show only 1 tbsn of salt and the amount of pepper is unclear. If you could please clarify this, I would be very grateful 🙂 . Is there anyone else stuck with this part or is it just due to me being a noob? Any help would be much appreciated.
I used 2 teaspoons salt and cracked the pepper grinder in until I had probably 1/2 teaspoon, tasted good to me!
Hope you make it, it’s delicious!
Thank you Rae! I’ll try your advice, it should definitely help. All the best 🙂
You too!
I should have said, we use the rock salt in a grinder, if you are using table salt you might want a little less.
Stay safe!
The main ingredient for the marinade is yogurt.
I accidently posted this question the wrong recipe, but could you add yogurt to the marinade?
So tasty. We made homemade pita bread and served with some salad. Amazing!