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.
Stephen Gerrard says
Can’t wait to try it could be the endgame of all shawarmas
Abbas says
It is great illustration of the recipe and what is very interesting is the illustration of amounts calories and other contents. Thanks great work and effort.
Kristen Harlow says
Easy, delicious and so full of flavor!!! Recipe is super easy – with consistent results. My teenage kids and husband both love it. I always make a little extra for salad toppings the next day. Thank you!!!!
Karen h says
Delicious! I’ve made twice already followed recipe exactly and chicken turns out perfectly! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe
Bryan says
I’ve just tried this, it was lovely and I’ve got some left to eat cold at work tomorrow. Great recipe, many thanks !!!
Jim Bufallo says
I went looking for a Chicken Sharwama recipe and as soon as I saw recipetineats in the results list I knew which one I would try (I have previously cooked your slow roast leg of lamb). This chicken sharwama was delicious, I followed the recipe exactly and the family just demolished it! Thank you for your fabulous recipes!
D. Ellyson says
We travel to Israel as often as we can. Chicken Shawarma is one of our favorite things. A little Lebanese restaurant in Abu Gosh makes the best we’ve had. I have tried, too, to copy it. This recipe is ?—thank you!!
Ally says
We made this tonight along with your recipe for toum halved the recipe), and our 2 year old and 5 year old gobbled it all up and asked for more sauce! Quick and easy -thanks!
Sarah says
We eat this every week. Sometimes twice a week. It’s soooo amazing and quick to make! We make a cucumber, pepper, onion, mint, and lime juice salad on the side and it’s so so beautiful together. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Olive says
This was very good, especially the extra browning in the pan, but, I am giving it 4 stars because it is missing the tang of some lemon juice. I did it following the recipe, and added lemon juice after cooking it, but saw some other recipes online that called for lemon juice.
Marie says
I’ve made this 3 times and was never a fan of chicken thighs until this recipe. Thank you so much! It’s also really good leftover and will work for a quick lunch bowl setup.
Dano says
If this gets out, my family business is doomed.
Holly says
Awesome recipe! Thank you for sharing…. it’s a now weekly staple in our house, and a huge savings on take out!
Toby says
I have made this recipe numerous times, and my husband and I always comment how this is better then any restaurant schwarma.I stuff a whole wheat pita with homemade chumus, romaine lettuce, pickles and this awesome schwarma, and drizzle techina on it. It is really great.
I actually make a big batch and freeze some after coming out of the oven and slicing into small pieces. This way, I take it out of the freezer and saute it fresh. This works beautifully.
Thank you so much for this amazingly easy recipe. We love it
Tori Avey says
Glad you like it Toby! 🙂
J Conner says
Wow… First time trying this recipe and it was Delicious… I left it marinated for 2 days in the fridge…Thank you so much….
Joanna says
Recipe is awesome! Very tasty. So easy to make. Many thanks!
Helene says
My husband and I have been to Israel several times. I have made several attempts at shawarma, but you really hit the nail on the head with this. Used all thigh meat. Pereg makes a spice called Jerusalem Grill, with almost all of your ingredients. I added what it did not have. Made techina sauce with it, Israeli salad, and Trader Joe’s Zhoug and hummus, along with Pita Pan’s excellent pita….picky hubs said it was “restaurant quality “. Thank you!
Michelle B says
Thank you so much! This was an excellent recipe even though I did not stick strictly to the quantities of spices. My daughter and I had had some chicken shwarma from a local restaurant here. We enjoyed it so much, but didn’t want to go back for the third time in a week so I thought “I can try to season some meat and make this myself”. I think it came out just as tasty as the restaurant’s if not better and my family was pleased. I’m not surprised it turned out well, as I have tried another recipe of yours, challah, and that was amazing too! Thank you so very much again. Off to peruse your site for the white sauce that goes with this. I’m not sure if it is a garlic sauce or some other sauce. Shalom!
Tori Avey says
Shalom Michelle! Glad you enjoyed it. The garlic sauce is called toum, here is the recipe: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/toum-middle-eastern-garlic-sauce/
Linda Whittaker says
It is great to meet someone with a similar interest in food, culture and history. I’m a Middle Eastern archaeologist with an interest in how people did things in roughly the Neolithic to the Byzantine era, including cooking, and a fascination with the Ottoman kitchen, which influence the entire Levant. Will be tracking you. I miss Sokolov.
Tori Avey says
Very cool Linda!
SS says
I just want you to know that I love you so very much. Your recipes are foolproof. I’ve done your falafel, pastrami, and shawarma so far. All amazing.