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.
Healthy Kitchen 101 says
There was a period that I’ve been addicted with this chicken shawarma. It’s like I make it with tortillas and salad for lunch at least twice or three times a week. Now I think I’ve moved on xD but looking at your plate greatly pushes me to cook this again. Aww, cannot wait!!
– Natalie Ellis
Matt Cootes says
Amazing……perfect with pickled turnips, tzatziki and tabouli…..salivating still lol
Dana T says
This was AMAZING and I’m a shawarma snob! I see myself making this twice a week from now on. Thanks for a great recipe, and the great method of crisping at the end (it makes a big difference!).
Thomas says
This was awesome!
Yesenia says
I seriously can’t rave enough about this recipe. This is the BEST shawarma recipe on this planet–mayhaps, the universe, in my opinion. The spices are what really make this dish outstanding. Just a word of caution–if you are a frequent diner and supporter of middle eastern restaurants in your area, they are about to lose your business. Or, better yet, you will not be ordering their shawarma from the menu any longer.
Hanna says
I have craved Shawarma while and ever since being pregnant last year. I wish I have seen this earlier it’s amazing! Thank you!
Alex H-M says
Saturday I felt like eating Shoarma, but whatever I’ve had around Houston doesn’t come close to the Shoarma I used to eat in Holland as a student. I found Tori’s recipe and gave it try. Mixing the spices I already knew this was going to be good, it was absolutely the right smell. It turned out the real thing, just like way back when. My wife commented it was absolutely fantastic and we should have it again within days. My son loves it too. I didn’t have the ingredients for the garlic sauce, but next time I’ll make that too, to compete the retro experience. Thank you so very much Tori for doing all the hard work, it is greatly appreciated by my entire family. I’ll share this with all my Dutch friends, they also miss real Shoarma badly.
Debra says
My family made me make this dish 2 nights in a row,..,absolutely delicious
Holly Ladd says
This was really good – I was hoping to grill outside, but my grill ran out of propane, so cooked in oven per recipe. I followed recipe and tried to “crisp” up chicken in a skillet, but all that did was dry out some really tender delicious chicken, so I’ll skip that step next time. Served with quinoa tabbouleh, hummus and salad. Yum and easy.
Ramires says
Imma try this! But, what’s the white sauce? Have you got a recipe for it? Thanks!
Tori Avey says
Toum, or tahini sauce – both white sauces are delicious options. Recipes here and here.
Douglas says
It’s my go to Shawarma recipe from now on. Love it, Love it.
patrick Chambwa says
I am trying it out tomorrow. thankyou
Silvia says
I was looking for something to make in honor of Israel’s 70 and I think this will be great. And as you said, it looks pretty easy. Thank you! I am definitely pinning this!
KG says
Looks delish!! Has anyone ever tried making this on the rotisserie from your BBQ and then slice it off?
Tabitha says
Oh wow! I made this last night for our family, we were all blown away! I served it in homemade warm flatbreads, with a salad made of cucumber, capsicum, tomato and red onion, with plain yoghurt and hummus. This will absolutely be a regular in our house from now on, and I’m looking forward to serving it for a relaxed lunch when entertaining, over the summer. Oh, and I used all chicken thighs.
Mark Leslie says
Hi Tori, I just wanted to drop you a note about your AMAZING chicken shwarma recipe. I’ve tried a few home made recipes in the past but yours is as close to the real deal as possible. I’ve made it numerous times now.
It’s about time that we try more of your recipes as your site is flat out beautiful and very well laid out.
My wife and I both love to cook recipes from all over this world of ours. Right now I’m cooking many recipes out of the book Jerusalem A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Cool names to say the least. Great book!!!
Thanks again, Mark Leslie
Douro Dummer, Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada
Tori Avey says
Thank you for the kind comment Mark!
EBL says
Made this for my husband and in-laws who are from Lebanon and they said it was the closest thing to Lebanese shawarma that they’ve ever tasted in the US! Thanks for the recipe! Might try it with beef this weekend.
Sabiha says
Splendid
Trina says
Made this tonight, absolutely wonderful recipe. Love the pan finish, tons of flavor. Wrapped it up in a soft tortilla with some hummus and tabbouleh. All my husband said was mmm! Thank you for sharing.
bankerchad says
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it many times and it’s delicious. Season with salt to taste. I grill chicken thigh and then slice and finish in a pan. It’s healthy and the flavors are amazing. Thank you for posting this.
Tori Avey says
Why thank you! Glad you like it 🙂