Chicken Shawarma Recipe Recipe
A simple delicious recipe for chicken shawarma that can be grilled or baked - full of Middle Eastern flavor. Serve with homemade pita bread and tzatziki or over Israeli Salad.
How to Make the Best Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Chicken shawarma is a beloved Middle Eastern dish that brings authentic spiced flavor right to your table. This recipe uses a fragrant blend of cumin, coriander, turmeric, and warm spices to create a marinade that infuses the chicken with depth and complexity. Whether you’re grilling for a summer meal or baking for convenience, this versatile recipe adapts beautifully to your cooking method while maintaining its signature tender, flavorful results.
The key to exceptional chicken shawarma lies in the marinade and marinating time. A minimum of 20 minutes will give you good flavor, but if you have the time, allowing the chicken to marinate overnight in the refrigerator will develop richer, more complex flavors that truly capture the essence of authentic shawarma. The paste-like consistency of the marinade ensures the spices coat every bit of the chicken for maximum flavor absorption.
Serve your chicken shawarma in traditional style with warm pita bread, cooling tzatziki sauce, and crisp vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. Alternatively, pile it over a bed of Israeli salad, Lebanese slaw, or fragrant Middle Eastern rice. This recipe makes enough for six generous servings, making it perfect for family dinners or entertaining guests.
Chicken Shawarma Recipe
A simple delicious recipe for chicken shawarma that can be grilled or baked - full of Middle Eastern flavor. Serve with homemade pita bread and tzatziki or over Israeli Salad.
Ingredients
Marinade
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak skewers in water if using.
- Place all marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix, or pulse in a food processor to make a paste.
- Rub chicken on all sides with the marinade and let sit at minimum 20 minutes (or up to 24-48 hours for the best flavor, refrigerated). You can also cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes and marinate for skewers.
Cooking
- Grill chicken on a pre-heated grill, on medium-high heat, closing the lid to the BBQ, until all sides have nice grill marks, about 8 minutes each side.
- Move to a cooler part of the grill or finish cooking chicken in a 350°F oven until cooked all the way through (170°F), about 10 minutes.
- Alternatively, you can bake the chicken thighs in a 375°F oven for 30-40 minutes or use a grill pan on the stovetop.
- Enjoy the chicken shawarma over Israeli salad, tabouli, Lebanese slaw, or with Middle Eastern rice and veggies, or as a sandwich with tahini yogurt, tzatziki, pita bread, tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion.
