Who knew it was this easy to make oven-roasted chicken shawarma at home? You don’t need a shawarma machine or spit to make juicy, crisp Middle Eastern shawarma. I have developed a simple marinade and cooking technique that results in a delicious batch of chicken shawarma. My Mediterranean recipe can easily be made in the oven or on the grill. I’ve cracked the homemade chicken shawarma code, and it’s awesome! I’m excited to share it with you.
What Is Chicken Shawarma?
Shawarma is a delicious meat dish that is popular throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. True shawarma is cooked with stacked, spice-marinated meats– lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, or a mix of meats– on a vertical rotisserie machine or spit. The shawarma turns and slowly roasts for hours and hours, basted in fat and its own juices. Thin slices of meat are shaved from the surface and served, either on their own or tucked inside a warm flatbread, topped with tahini or garlic sauce.
Shawarma-Style Chicken might be a better name for this recipe. It doesn’t cook on a spit. However, it’s got all the flavor that you might expect from your local Middle Eastern restaurant!
How to Make Shawarma at Home
I’ve been trying to replicate the flavor of chicken shawarma at home for months, playing with different spice combinations and cooking methods. At first I tried buying pre-made shawarma spice blends from the Middle Eastern markets. None of them made my mouth happy. I needed more spice, more flavor, more oomph. So I began to experiment. Then finally, I nailed homemade shawarma!
You have two choices for cooking this Mediterranean recipe– in the oven or on the grill. To be honest, both cooking methods taste great – there really isn’t a big difference between the two. I use boneless skinless chicken meat (a combination of dark and light meat) in the recipe. Chicken shawarma gets a lot of its flavor from basting in its own fat. I’ve replaced the flavor of that skin fat with olive oil, including a final sauté in olive oil prior to serving.
It may seem strange to sauté meat that has already been cooked. However, you’re going to have to trust me on this one. The extra sauté adds a ton of flavor, giving a shawarma-like texture that can’t be replicated in the oven or on the grill. I’ve shared the whole process below, and the video in this post will also show you the method in great detail!
Can Shawarma be Made Healthy?
This Mediterranean preparation of chicken shawarma is lighter than one you might find at a local restaurant. Skinless chicken is key here. Consequently this shawarma recipe is a pretty healthy, lean protein option!
You can actually lighten up this chicken shawarma recipe even further. If you’re trying to cut down on your oil intake, you don’t need to do the extra sauté. That will save you two tablespoons of olive oil… it won’t taste exactly like shawarma, but it will still be tasty.
But please, don’t replace the chicken thighs with breast meat. This dish really needs some dark meat in it to make it taste great. You can make it with all chicken thighs, if you prefer (I actually love it that way), but don’t sub all chicken breast. Pretty please.
What Do You Eat Chicken Shawarma With?
This homemade shawarma recipe goes great with hummus and toum or tahini sauce, over a salad for a boost of protein, or in a pita pocket or wrap. It stores well in the refrigerator, so you can make a large batch and enjoy it for several days afterwards– just reheat before serving. The best part? It’s ridiculously easy to make! You’re welcome.
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Video by Entice Films
Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (4 large thighs)
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch cayenne
- Salt and black pepper
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
You will also need
- Grill or baking sheet, tongs, skillet, spatula, plastic wrap.
Instructions
Prepare Marinade
- Slice the chicken breasts into 5-6 pieces each and the thighs into 3-4 pieces each. Place them in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the spices, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper (if you are salt sensitive, use 1/2 tsp of salt). Pour the spice marinade over the chicken pieces. Stir with a spoon till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade.Cover the marinating dish with plastic wrap, or close the zipper bag. Place chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
Oven Cooking Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking oil. Place the chicken pieces on the sheet, evenly spaced.
- Place the chicken in the oven. Let it roast for about 15 minutes until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces once with tongs halfway through cooking.
- Take chicken out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the meat into small, thin shawarma-like pieces.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium. Pour half of the chicken into the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes till the smallest pieces of chicken turn brown and crisp. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil and saute the remaining chicken in the same way. Serve warm.
Grill Cooking Method
- Spray the grill with nonstick cooking oil and preheat to medium heat. Thread the marinated chicken pieces onto wooden skewers.
- Cook the chicken for about 20 minutes, giving a quarter turn every 5 minutes, until cooked through (slice into the thickest piece of meat to check for doneness).
- Let the chicken cool slightly, then remove it from the skewers. Use a sharp knife to slice the meat into small, thin shawarma-like pieces.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium. Pour half of the chicken into the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes till the smallest pieces of chicken turn brown and crisp. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil and saute the remaining chicken in the same way.
- Serve warm. Goes great with toum - a creamy Middle Eastern garlic sauce - or tahini sauce. It also makes a great pita bread sandwich, garnished with cucumbers, tomato, lettuce, red onions, and Middle Eastern pickles.
mitchell says
This is the best shawarma I’ve ever made!! I add a quartered onion to the marinade and a Tbsp of salt and I marinade up to 3 days at least one, It’s so good!
Nicholas S. says
The first time I made this recipe I found the flavor to be subtle and bland so the second time I made it I doubled all the spice quantities and thought it was incredible! I also used chicken schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) when I fried it up in the frying pan.
Redd says
Yes when I saw fourths of tsp I’m like oh no I know that’s not enough! Lol I know some people don’t like seasoning but I love it and the traditional way is heavy on the seasoning. I at least tripled mine. I just needed to know what I was missing from a different recipe which was allspice and cinnamon.
SA says
Great! It’s so easy to make at home now. Thanks!
Bet says
AMAZING!!!! “Better than” our go-to shawarma place! Rave reviews from everyone who tried it! Thanks for sharing!!
Doug says
Excellent and easy. Not a fan of Tahini so served it with salad (lettuce/tomato/cucumber/spinach), pita bread warmed in the oven after I took out the meat and turned it off, Humus and Tzatziki Sauce. Also ended up sauteing a little longer than called for. Thank you.
Bobby Patel says
Thank you for recipe that a simple mind like mine can understand. I do have a question what kind of white sauce is that in that presentation?
Tori Avey says
Hi Bobby– it is toum sauce.
Yelena says
This recipe was delicious. My husband loved it.
Jarret says
Super easy recipe with very simple instructions and the meal turned out great.
Jonathan says
Very good recipe. Have made it many times and it’s always delicious. Thanks for sharing it!
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome Jonathan! Thank you for writing.
Lisa says
I loved the process for twice cooking the meat. The spice mixture was not to my taste and I found a mixture at a store in Jerusalem. Your recipes are great and so easy to follow
Dorcas Asante says
Hi thanks for the recipe what abput the sauce
Tori Avey says
This is traditionally served with toum: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/toum-middle-eastern-garlic-sauce/ or tahini sauce: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/tahini-sauce/
Kacy says
I would like to know what dressing you used on the lovely salad that shares this plate of Shawarma. We just experienced Shawarma last night at a Mediterranean restuarant and loved it. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
Eden says
Several of us living here in Idaho are homesick for the variety of cuisine in big cities, so I made the grilled version of this recipe for a dinner party. It was a huge hit. We swapped stories about Shawarma stands in NYC & Seattle.
Bridget says
I’ve been using this recipe for years and I love it! I had been using an old printed version, but lost it in a move. I’m glad that I lost it so that I could find your new website, and all the new wonderful recipes!
Tori Avey says
Glad to have you back Bridget!
Terri says
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
Karolin says
Hi Tori! I love this recipe have made it often! Thank you! Would I be able to make this with lamb? Would I need to adjust the oven time? Would I need to adjust the spices at all?
Thanks again!
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Karolin, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. You can certainly use this spice blend to make lamb shawarma, however we haven’t texted the recipe using lamb so I can’t advise on cook times and oven temp.
Jennifer Smith says
My husband and I love this recipe! He asks for it just about every week since i found it! Do you have a Beef Shawarma recipe as well or would this recipe work well with beef too?
Lori says
Guessing you can do this with beef just as you do w chicken
I woudl be interested in knowing which cut of beef to use …maybe a skirt steak ?
Anyone?
Miriam Mermelstein says
This is the best recipe ever!!!!!
Thank you!
Dahlia says
Wow. Simply amazingly. Perfect taste and easy to make. Followed the recipe as is. Thanks!!
Amy G says
This is a keeper! It was so good, even my three-year-old gobbled it up and stole some pieces from my husband’s plate! We all had seconds. I was going to skip the cook-again-in-the-cast-iron-pan part but I’m so glad I didn’t- that made the dish!