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!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
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. In fact, it’s how I met most of my neighbours when I lived in a townhouse complex, random people I had never met before popping their head over the fence wanting to know what on earth I was making. They were elated when I handed out samples!
What is Chicken Shawarma, actually??
Shawarma is a popular dish originating from the Middle East. It’s a popular street food that is traditionally made in the form of spiced meats that are stacked on a vertical rotisserie with thin slices shaved off as it rotates. But don’t worry! We can cook our horizontally in a good old pan or on the BBQ!
Shawarma was traditionally made with lamb, mutton and chicken though these days you see it with beef too. It’s commonly served in the form of a wrap, though in some countries you see it served on plates with sides such as seasoned rice or fries, and salads. In this recipe, I’m giving you both options!
Ingredients in Chicken Shawarma
Here’s what you need to make Chicken Shawarma. I’m betting you have most if not all of the spices in your pantry already!
Chicken – I like to make Shawarma with boneless, skinless thighs as its juicier than breast. But chicken breast and tenderloin both work great.
Lemon juice – Fresh!
Olive oil – For a touch of flavour but also to dilute the lemon juice so it doesn’t “cook” the chicken (like we intentionally do with ceviche!).
Spices – Nothing out of the ordinary here! The only one you might not have in stock is cardamom, though these days its easily found at any grocery store. It has a piney, sort of citrusy flavour and it is a key ingredient that distinguishes the Shawarma marinade from other cuisines, such as Mexican, that regularly uses the other spices used in this recipe. In short, don’t skip it!
Spice control – The spiciness in the Shawarma marinade comes from the cayenne pepper. It’s not a key element of the flavour so if you don’t want it spicy, either reduce or eliminate it altogether. I promise you won’t feel robbed. Lots of other flavours going on in this dish!
Sauce options for Shawarma
Shawarma is traditionally served with either a tahini sauce (common in Israel) or a Yogurt Sauce. If you’d like to use a tahini sauce, use the one in this Roasted Broccolini recipe.
For a Lemon Yogurt Sauce, here’s what you need:
How to make Chicken Shawarma
For the best results, it’s best to marinate the chicken overnight. But to be honest, the volume and flavour of the marinade is intense enough that you can get away with a minimum of 3 hours of marinating. Been there, done that plenty of times, and nobody has complained!
Mix marinade – For convenience, just mix the marinade directly in a ziplock bag. A bag works best because the chicken remains nicely coated in the marinade. If you prefer to use a container, either turn the chicken a few times or increase the marinade by 50%.
Add chicken into the marinade. Seal the bag, removing excess air, then massage to coat from the outside. Leave to marinade for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge. If you’re pressed for time, even 3 hours will do!
Yogurt sauce – Make the yogurt sauce simply by mixing the ingredients then set aside for at least 20 minutes to let the flavours meld. This will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
Cook chicken either on the stove or on the BBQ. It will get a great crust on it from the spices, and you will adore the smell. It’s intoxicating!
Rest chicken for at least 3 minutes before serving to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the flesh, else they will just run out everywhere when you slice the meat.
To serve, just pile everything on a platter and let everybody make their own wraps! The chicken, lettuce, tomato slices, onion, yogurt sauce and warmed flatbreads – homemade or store bought. If the chicken is on the larger side, I sometimes slice it. But if they are smaller, I tend to just leave them whole.
How to Serve Chicken Shawarma
There are two main ways to serve Chicken Shawarma.
Wraps – 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.
Shawarma plate – With rice and salads on the side. Thought I usually do serve pita bread or another type of flatbread as well, with a big dollop of either Hummus or the Yogurt Sauce in this recipe, just because it’s very on theme. ☺️
Below, 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:
Juicy Greek Salad – the flavours in Greek salad pair really well with Middle Eastern food
The spread below features the Chickpea Salad referred to above and Mejadra, the lentil spiced rice.
Great food for gatherings
This Chicken Shawarma, 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!).
It was also part of a 7 course Arabian Feast menu that I shared way back when I first published this recipe in 2015. I still haven’t gotten around to perking up all the recipes with fresh new photos, 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.
Be prepared for the amazing smells when you’re cooking this Chicken Shawarma! – Nagi xx
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Chicken Shawarma (Middle Eastern)
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lb 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
- 4 – 5 flatbreads (Lebanese or pita bread orhomemade soft flatbreads)
- Sliced lettuce (cos or iceberg)
- Tomato slices
- Red onion , finely sliced
- Cheese , shredded (optional)
- Hot sauce of choice (optional)
Instructions
- Marinade chicken – Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken, seal, the massage from the outside with your hands to make sure each piece is coated. Marinate 24 hours (minimum 3 hours).
- Yogurt Sauce – Combine the Yogurt Sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix. Cover and put in the fridge until required (it will last for 3 days in the fridge).
- Preheat stove or BBQ – Heat a large non-stick skillet with 1 tablespoon over medium high heat, or lightly brush a BBQ hotplate/grills with oil and heat to medium high. (See notes for baking)
- Cook chicken – Place chicken in the skillet or on the grill and cook the first side for 4 to 5 minutes until nicely charred. Turn and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes (the 2nd side takes less time).
- Rest – 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 (or dairy free Tahini sauce from this recipe).
- 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) and above recipe card in post for lengthier list of side options. 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 photos and an improved recipe video!
Arabian Feast Menu
Here is a summary of the Arabian Feast Menu that I shared back in 2015. I haven’t updated all the recipes yet – I’ll get to them eventually!
To Nibble: Hummus, Herb Chili Feta, Chargrilled Vegetable Platter
For the Men to Grill: Lamb Koftas, Chicken Shawarma (this recipe)
Because we must have Greens: Shredded Red Cabbage Carrot Salad, Spiced Chickpea Salad
Life of Dozer
Throwback to Life of Dozer in 2015 when I first published this recipe – nothing has changed in the years that has passed!
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
9h Nagi i made your chicken shawarma tonight. I can’t thank you enough.absolutely delicious. Made your flatbread also. U r such an incredible cook but I love that u share this all with us. I have made a few of your recipes but never commented. I’m now making up for it. I make your Charlie stir fry sauce all the time. It us my go to. Your flatbreads r my go to. Thank you again Nagi. Your recipes r easy to understand, fully doable and most importantly, successful thank you
Making this for the second time and cannot wait for dinner. One of my favourites from your site!
I don’t have cayenne pepper at hand, and I’ll be making this for my bf who can’t stand anything spicy (hot). Is it ok if I skip the cayenne pepper? I have some red pepper flakes, does that work instead?
My boyfriend liked this so much he asked for it a second day in a row! I added more garlic and didn’t do the yogurt sauce. Thanks for sharing this!
Oh….MY…Gawd….I made this a few days ago. Holy crows is it good. I always have a dry rub mix on hand for using up leftover chicken but this is a new level. The only issue I had was with the burning of spices while cooking it. I had to keep cleaning out the pan before the next load. A friend loved this so much she is getting me the ingredients to make her some.
I made the marinade and used it on strips of chicken breast. I let them marinade overnight and cooked them using a rotisserie attachment for my air fryer. Cooked them at 400 for 15 minutes. Amazing! Just what I like – highly seasoned, flavorful food. Just the right amount of smoked paprika. Chicken is great on its own but I’m looking forward to making a wrap with it! Thank you Nagi!
What a grand idea. I had trouble with the coating burning on pan before chicken was cooked. Won’t stop me from making again though. The air fryer sounds perfect.
Did you use green cardamom or black cardamom?
Hi Ava, either would be fine, but I use green here. N x
Thank you!
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?