Quick Shawarma Recipe

[Mahmod Ohner]

ThisChicken 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!

I had some chicken shawarma from the butcher but needed to make extra for company. I followed the recipe exactly (marinating 3 hours). I grilled it, and served with gyro bread, cuke, tomato, red onion, feta, and tzatziki. I will never buy premade again. Thank you!

This was a BIG hit at our Bible study potluck. I adjusted the spices down (except cumin) a bit and added 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I had many requests for the recipe. So I sent them the original recipe and my modifications. Then they can use what works for them. Thank you very much for posting this excellent/authentic recipe.

Make this easy chicken shawarma recipe and enjoy this popular authentic Middle Eastern dish at home. Get all of the flavors with my spice blend, marinade, cooking and serving tips. Plus: garlic sauce and lots of serving ideas!

The path to a homemade version of traditional chicken shawarma is easy, using simple cooking methods for the very best results without the need for the vertical rotisserie pretty much no one has at home!

Shawarma is the Middle Eastern dish of shaved pieces of spit roasted chicken, beef, or lamb. The thin slices of meat (and fat) are layered in a cone-like shape on a vertical spit. The thin strips of golden brown meat are served in lots of different ways: in warm pita pockets, as a bowl, or atop salad or rice pilaf.

Sauces are key to shawarma-joy. Street food classics like this often include tahini sauce, Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce), garlic yogurt sauce, tzatziki sauce, or a simple dash of hot sauce will do, too. Sauce ensures more flavor and moisture in every bite.

Step 2. In a large bowl, place about half of the chicken thighs and half of the marinade. Rub the chicken, coating each piece well all over with the marinade. Add the rest of the chicken and marinade and again rub each piece all over with the marinade. Cover and chill for a marinating time of one hour or up to one day.

Step 3. Make the tahini sauce by whisking the tahini, garlic, and salt. Set aside until the chicken is grilled. The sauce can be made a day or two ahead, covered and chilled. Bring the sauce to room temperature before serving. If making toum garlic sauce, make that well in advance as it takes more time to prepare.

Step 1: Heat the grill on medium-high heat. While the grill heats up, thread the chicken and onion on skewers, disposing of any remaining marinade. Thread the chicken fairly loosely on the skewers so that more of it will char on the edges.

Step 2: Using a paper or other towel on grill tongs, coat the hot grill grates with oil. Grill the pieces or skewers with the top down on the grill for 8-10 minutes, or until charred on the edges and browned. Before turning the chicken, coat another area of the grill grates with oil and turn the pieces or skewers, placing them on the oiled surface. Coat the top of the grilled skewer with olive oil, close the grill top and cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until charred on the edges and browned.

Step 3: Remove the skewers from the grill, and push the chicken and onions off onto a cutting board. Slice the chicken into 1/2-inch thick slices. Drizzle everything with more olive oil.

Step 2. Place the marinated chicken thighs and red onion slices evenly in a single layer on the sheet pan, discarding the marinade. Roast for about 30 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through cooking, until the chicken is crisped around the edges and golden brown. Turn on the broiler for a few minutes if needed.

Step 2. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and pat dry. Work in batches so the pan is not crowded with chicken (crowded chicken will steam rather than turn golden). Saut the thighs, turning them over after about 6 minutes and cooking for another 4 minutes or so. The chicken may release its own juices; pour these off if too wet in the pan.

Step 3. Once all of the chicken is cooked, wipe out the pan and heat again over medium high heat with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add sliced onions, saut for just a couple of minutes to char and soften them. Remove the onions from the pan and set them aside.

Step 4. Cut the chicken into inch slices. Wipe out the pan and heat again over medium high heat with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Work in batches so the pan is not crowded with chicken (crowded chicken will steam rather than turn golden). Saut the chicken pieces until the edges are golden and crisp in spots. Serve immediately.

Chicken shawarma wraps: Fill pita bread pockets or flat pita bread with chicken shawarma pieces and onion. Then add sauce or homemade hummus and other trimmings such as shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and pink pickled turnips (lifft). Homemade Pita Bread is terrific here.

Shawarma bowls: Layer shawarma with Lebanese Vermicelli Rice or Bulgur Pilaf. Add sauce and other trimmings such as chickpeas, roasted vegetables, shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and pink pickled turnips (lifft). You can also make a salad bowl by topping tabbouleh with shawarma.

Sauce for shawarma is key to delicious chicken shawarma flavor! Make easy tahini sauce, Lebanese garlic sauce (toum), or a quick garlic yogurt sauce by mixing fresh garlic or garlic powder and salt with plain yogurt.

I have made this recipe several times and it has always been perfect. Made the marinade Holy Saturday and used sea salt instead of the kosher, For some reason the chicken after grilling was so salty (they looked beautiful), I was thinking a 1 1/2 Tbs of salt is a typo. Could you give me your expert advice. I tripeled the recipe because I hade around 5 lbs of the thighs and marinated them over night.

Thanks so much Diane! For the shawarma, the chicken thighs are indeed marinated and skewered whole. They cook through fine; be sure not to crowd them too much on the skewers, and to cook at a medium temperature so that the interior has time to cook before the exterior gets charred. Enjoy! So delicious!

Dora yes! I make this shawarma in the oven often. Just lay the marinated thighs on a lined sheet pan (I like nonstick foil) and bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Thighs can cook longer too and stay juicy. To get some char you can finish them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. And/or slice them and give them a quick saute over medium high heat stovetop with some olive oil!

I made this and, while we found this delicious, my whole family agreed it was extremely salty. I double-checked the ingredient list after we ate because I thought I screwed up. Am I the only one who found it so salty?

Incredibly tasty chicken shawarma recipe that will transfer you to the Middle East. Best authentic marinade with exotic Middle Eastern spices that will make your shawarma not like any other, one that does not taste like just spiced grilled chicken.

Shawarma is probably the second most popular Middle Eastern food in the whole world, right after falafel. This is the best chicken shawarma recipe, trust me. I've tried many shawarma(s) before that I've lost count of, and this is the ultimate spice mix and way of making shawarma as close as possible to the one I remember from my childhood.

Take it from a Middle Eastern girl: shawarma should be tangy with a slight sweetness, all combined with a special spice blend and cooked slowly with an umbrella of fat. This is the shawarma I am used to.

Almost all of the recipes I could find online does not give that taste that I grew up with. They all ended up for me under the category of very well spiced grilled chicken but unfortunately not my shawarma.

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You can leave the chicken to marinate overnight but if you are planning to leave it longer, I recommend you freeze the chicken immediately with the marinade. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.

Everyone in our home absolutely LOVED this recipe! The only thing is it was petty time consuming for me personally as far as prep. I would opt for minced garlic next time and lemon juice instead of using fresh.

This is so delicious! I love learning how to cook tasty meals from other cultures, and this is at the top. I had never tried shawarma in my life and now I'm hesitant to try any other shawarma recipe. Thank you so much for this recipe, my family and I love it very much and eat it often.

This is my second time making this after our friends raved about it the first time. It probably breaks a rule but we used the marinade twice with another round of chicken and the second round was as good as the first. Thanks!!

Jenah, there is no health risks in freezing the sauce. However the texture will be different as the citrus juice(s) will cause the yogurt to curdle. I do not think it will be a big problem as this is a marinade and not a dip. I hope this helps.

Amazing recipe. This came out so close to our favorite restaurant version that we couldn't believe it. Our family of four ate 7 thighs in a blink, next time I'll make 12. Instead of baking I cooked the chicken on a gas grill using indirect heat for 40 min, and finished over the flame for 5 min to hit 165 F. I also did not have the skins to drape the thighs, but it still came out super moist.

Excellent recipe and flavors! I used ingredients as listed, but since I was short on time I used a cast iron skillet Rather then roasting in the oven. Shortly before the thighs finished cooking, I cut up the chicken, and continued browning/carmelizing the meat with some of the marinade. Sprinkled The sandwiches with sumac, and not a bite left on any plate! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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