Chicken Shawarma Recipe

This delicious Chicken Shawarma Recipe of spice-marinated chicken is tightly packed on a skewered and roasted to perfection for a favorite Middle Eastern dish. My family is obsessed with this recipe and loves the big, bold taste of it.

Making the same chicken dishes repeatedly can be bland for you and your family. Break out of your routine by making my delicious Arroz con Pollo or Butter Chicken.

Chicken Shawarma

Chicken Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern dish consisting of spiced marinated chicken (also veal or lamb) that is then skewered on a vertical spit and slowly roasted. Once cooked, thin slices of the meat are shaved as the spit turns. It is commonly served as is with rice or wrapped in a pita and served with other toppings such as Toum, Hummus, Sumac Onions, or an Israeli Salad.

Shawarma, also pronounced shawerma and shawirma, is said to have originated in Turkey in the 19^th century, where it was known as Doner Kebab, or “rolled kebab.” It quickly spread in popularity to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, where it is nearly the National dish of each of these countries. This is essentially the Middle Eastern version of the Greek Gyro.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken – You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or a combination of both. While tedious, you could also use boneless, skinless chicken drums.
• Oil – Olive or avocado oil works well in the marinade for this chicken shawarma.
• Lemon – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is in the marinade to help balance out some of the spice and provide acid. 
• Yogurt – Any full-fat yogurt will work in this recipe. You can use regular or Greek yogurt.
• Tomato Paste – This will help add some slightly sweet, acidic flavors to the chicken. You can substitute with pureed tomatoes.
• Vinegar – Plain white distilled vinegar is best for this. You can also use red, white, or apple cider vinegar.
• Spices – I used cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne, coriander, turmeric, and paprika. All can be ground spices, or watch my video below on how I handle the whole seeds and pods.
• Garlic – Fresh minced garlic is best. You can substitute with 1 tablespoon of dry ground garlic.
• Ginger – I grated fresh peeled ginger, but you can use 1 teaspoon of dry ground ginger.
• Seasonings – Coarse salt and black pepper is what’s needed.

How to Make Chicken Shawarma

This is optional, but add the whole black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods to a medium-sized sauté pan and cook while occasionally stirring over low to medium heat until the spices become very fragrant, which takes about 4 to 6 minutes.

Add them to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind until finely ground.

Add the spices along with the cayenne, turmeric, paprika, garlic, ginger, salt, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, tomato paste, and vinegar to a large bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.

Gently pound the boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs until they are about ¼” to ½” thick. The goal is for them to be flat in all areas for even cooking.

Add the pounded chicken to the bowl of spices and yogurt and thoroughly mix to coat. Once mixed, cover and place in the refrigerator for 12 to 48 hours.

Next, remove the chicken from the bowl and layer on to a vertical skewer, firmly stacking it until all the chicken is used.

Place on a rack in the lower third in the oven at 375° and cook for 1:15 to 1:30 or until it reads 165° internally.

Remove the chicken, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, and then thinly shave it using a sharp knife.

Serve as is or with assorted accompaniments or in a pita wrap. See the video below on other easy cooking methods if you do not have a vertical skewer. In addition, you’ll see how I make it into a wrap.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 30 minutes ahead of time. Keep it warm in the oven, covered in foil, at low temperatures (200°) until it’s ready to be served.

How to Store: Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for five days. You can freeze this covered for up to 3 months. Thaw the chicken shawarma in the refrigerator until thawed before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of shawarma to a medium-sized pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and heat over low heat until warm.

Chef Notes + Tips

• The easiest spice combination for a chicken shawarma is garlic, cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander, paprika, and cayenne.
• If you want the shawarma to be a little drier, you can forgo the yogurt and use an extra 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead.
• Green or black cardamom pods will work for this dish.
• Toasting the spices in a pan makes them more aromatic and flavorful.
• The longer the marinade, the more intense in flavor it will become.
• Here is a vertical skewer similar to the one I used in the picture and video. This is also good to use for Al Pastor or Gyros.

More Chicken Recipes

• Chicken Vegetable Soup
• Perfect Chicken Breasts
• Chicken Parmigiana
• Tuscan Chicken
• Chicken Biryani

Video

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Chicken Shawarma Recipe

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5 from 11 votes

This Chicken Shawarma Recipe of spice-marinated chicken is packed on a skewered and roasted to perfection for a favorite Middle Eastern dish.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon green cardamom pods
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
• 1 ½ tablespoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 1/3 cup full fat yogurt
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 8 finely minced garlic cloves
• 1 ” peeled piece of freshly grated ginger
• 3 to 3 ½ pounds total boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs

Instructions

• This is optional, but add the whole black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods to a medium-sized sauté pan and cook while occasionally stirring over low to medium heat until the spices become very fragrant, which takes about 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add them to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind until finely ground.
• Add the spices along with the cayenne, turmeric, paprika, garlic, ginger, salt, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, tomato paste, and vinegar to a large bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
• Gently pound the boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs until they are about ¼” to ½” thick. The goal is for them to be flat in all areas for even cooking.
• Add the pounded chicken to the bowl of spices and yogurt and thoroughly mix to coat. Once mixed, cover and place in the refrigerator for 12 to 48 hours.
• Next, remove the chicken from the bowl and layer it onto a vertical skewer, firmly stacking it until all the chicken is used.
• Place on a rack in the lower third of the oven at 375° and cook for 1:15 to 1:30 or until it reads 165° internally.
• Remove the chicken, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, and then thinly shave it using a sharp knife.
• Serve as is or with assorted accompaniments or in a pita wrap. See the video below on other easy cooking methods if you do not have a vertical skewer. In addition, you’ll see how I make it into a wrap.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 30 minutes ahead of time. Keep it warm in the oven, covered in foil, at low temperatures (200°) until it’s ready to be served.

How to Store: Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for five days. You can freeze this covered for up to 3 months. Thaw the chicken shawarma in the refrigerator until thawed before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of shawarma to a medium-sized pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and heat over low heat until warm.

The easiest spice combination for a chicken shawarma is garlic, cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander, paprika, and cayenne.

If you want the shawarma to be a little drier, you can forgo the yogurt and use an extra 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead.

Green or black cardamom pods will work for this dish.

Toasting the spices in a pan makes them more aromatic and flavorful.

The longer the marinade, the more intense in flavor it will become.

Here is a vertical skewer similar to the one I used in the picture and video. This is also good to use for Al Pastor or Gyros.

Nutrition

Calories: 416kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 58gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 171mgSodium: 2104mgPotassium: 1153mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 837IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 67mgIron: 3mg

Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: Middle East

Author: Chef Billy Parisi