Who knew it was this easy to make oven-roasted chicken shawarma at home? You don’t need a special 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’m excited to share it with you!
What is Chicken Shawarma?
Shawarma is a delicious meat dish that is popular throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East. True shawarma is cooked with stacked, spice-marinated meats such as 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 then shaved from the surface and served, either on their own or tucked inside a warm flatbread with fresh veggies, 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!
Ingredients and Notes
I tried 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 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 found what I consider to be the perfect balance!
- Chicken – I use a combination of light and dark meat (chicken breasts and chicken thighs) for this recipe to keep it a little leaner without missing out on any flavor.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – I use this to replace the fat found in chicken skin, adding extra flavor and a boost of omega fats, which are a staple in the Mediterranean diet.
- Spices – A combination of cumin, paprika, allspice, turmeric, garlic powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and black pepper creates a bold, savory flavor with lots of depth, just like you’d find with traditional recipes.
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete details!
How to Make The Best Shawarma Chicken Recipe
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.
- Marinate. Slice the breasts into pieces, and transfer them to a marinating dish or large plastic bag. Whisk olive oil and spices in a small bowl, and pour the mixture over the chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or ideally up to overnight.
- Cook. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven. Or, thread it onto skewers and cook it on a grill. Either way, you’ll want to use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it’s fully cooked and safe to eat.
- Sear. Let the chicken cool slightly. Then, slice it into thin pieces. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, and sauté the chicken pieces until brown and crisp, working in batches so as not to overcrowd the skillet.
- Enjoy. Add extra salt and pepper as needed, and enjoy.
My Favorite Ways to Serve
This recipe goes great with hummus and toum or tahini sauce. If you’re not keeping kosher and don’t mind combining dairy with meat, tzatziki sauce or yogurt sauce are both great accompaniments as well.
I like to serve over a salad or grain bowls with saffron rice or lemony saffron couscous for a boost of protein, or in a pita bread pocket or wrap. Add fresh parsley, lemon juice, cucumbers, red onion, lettuce, or tomato to make your pita sandwiches even more filling.
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.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
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FAQs
Yes, this recipe stores and reheats well. So, I like to make a large batch for meal prep and enjoy it for several days. Leftovers will keep fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Or, store them in the freezer for 2-3 months.
To serve, thaw your shawarma in the fridge overnight. Then, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan over medium to medium-high heat.
This recipe is lighter than options you might find at a local restaurant, thanks to the skinless chicken. As a result, it makes for a fairly healthy option, full of high-quality lean protein.
You can even lighten the recipe even further by skipping the sautèing, which will reduce the amount of oil needed. It won’t taste exactly like shawarma, but it will still be tasty! Of course, please consult your doctor with any specific questions or concerns.
This dish came out deliciously! I doubled the ingredients to serve a dinner party of 12 people, who made their own pita-filled goodies buffet-style! I also made the tahini sauce which was a perfect accompaniment to the chicken. This was delicious served with Israeli salad in the pitas, also.
Hi Tori
The recipe looks great, can’t wait to try it. I want to know if its ok to add yogurt to the mix? will it change the taste a lot?
Please advise.
Hi Hisham, I recommend trying it first without the yogurt. I have never made it with yogurt and everybody loves it without, so it’s difficult to say how the yogurt would change the flavor.
I’m so excited to try this. Do you have a beef shawarma recipe? Or do you think this would still work on beef?
I’d tried chicken shawarma at a local Lebanese in Manchester UK and decided I really wanted to replicate it. This recipe is incredible! I’ve just finished eating it, had it with home made flat bread, hummus, tahini sauce, harissa, aubergine (egg plant to you Americans!) halloumi and salad…absolutely fantastic.
I used the grill method and basted the chicken with the fat as it cooked. I can’t recommend this enough!! Thanks.
Great James! Waving my spatula from across the pond. 🙂
Hi Tori,
I just came across your recipe today and decided to make it. I live in Vancouver, BC Canada and my neighbourhood has a quite a few donair/shawarma joints (lots of middle eastern and mediterranean residents). I have to say, your shawarma spice mixture and method was delicious and tasted just like, or maybe even better than, the places I regularly eat it at. I put it in a whole wheat pita with cucumber, tomato, red onion, homemade tzaziki, feta cheese and kalamata olives. It was amazing! Thanks!
So happy to hear that Mike!
Living in Florida now -But miss the great Lebanese restaurants in the Detroit area -I tryed your recipe -including the cardamon -curry-coriander-and garlic and tumeric-I believe allspice includes many of these spices?-What I did differant -was I marinaded overnight then I put all the mixture on aluminum foil and rolled it into a log and slow cooked it for an hour and 30 minutes -then I browned it in olive oil-I think I finally got that flavor that I remember that makes this the best way to make chicken -now all I have to do is dip it in my yogurt-garlic sauce and I’m in heavenly bliss -lol–keep up the good work on those recipes !!!
This is a great recipe.
I love that you offered various ways of cooking.
just tried this, great marinade! only marinated for an hour & used all white meat (all i had) — still tasty. next time i’ll add dark meat as recommended & marinate overnight.
It’s yummy isn’t it Sara? You’ll like it even better marinated overnight!
I made this today. Pretty legit! I did the prep work last night and let it sit till today. One thing I did was that I used the drippings in the foil after I took it out of the oven as the base to fry the chicken in to get it crispy. I also took the breast meat and rubbed it in the foil after taking it out of the oven to really get that oil and seasonings in there before frying it on the stove top.
Great work! Definitely passing this along to friends.
The Story.
I went on a night out in London and was talked into a Chicken Shawarma from a Lebanese place in Chelsea by a friend of mine. It was amazing! The next day I set myself the challenge of recreating it at home. I failed. Google became my fiend and brought me to you and your recipe, which I duly followed. It too was AMAZING! I had it last night, all wrapped up in some flat bread with lettuce, onion and the tahini sauce. Tori, I salute you, all the way from Little Ol’ England. Best recipe of the year so far!
Married? 🙂
Oh, and I matched it with an equally Lebanese 2003 Chateau Musar, highly recommended!
Very happily married Blake, but thank you for the compliment. I’m so happy you liked your meal! I’m really proud of this recipe. 🙂
Hey,just devoured these tonight,took us straight back to Muscat in Oman,absolutely amazing,definitely be making them again
Wonderful Gary!
thanks for the schwarma recipe I was looking for ths for a long time. Thanks again
I am a person who is not in your Faith. But, this sound’s very good. Where can one pick up the ingredient’s. I live in Rahway, New Jersey. That you. I want to try this.
Hi Tracey, your regular grocery store should carry all of these ingredients. If you have trouble finding anything, try your local Middle Eastern or kosher market. Enjoy!
Really …this recipe is superb as to eat it I had to go to the nearby street, bt now it would be easy for me to cook at home!
Thank u @ shiksa
You’re welcome Yuthika!
What a great recepie , thank you.
Salam from israel
This was awesome! Thank you!
Have you tried the baharat spice instead?cardamom spice that is in baharat 🙂 thats what u must missing
I love baharat, but I prefer my recipe blend when making homemade shawarma. Baharat is great on lamb!
Trying this tonight, sounds authentic. But chicken with tahini? Nope has to be garlic sauce!!!!!!!
I just recently purchased some delicious garlic sauce and wanting to use it in a homemade chicken shawarma. I do not eat dark meat. Would it taste that horrible or different if I only used white meat?
White meat will still taste good… the dark meat tastes more shawarma-like and more flavorful, but the spice blend is good on breast meat too. Enjoy!
If you haven’t tried them, you may try some chicken thighs from free range chickens. They made me(a former dark meat hater) a convert…very tender and very little, though just enough, fat to flavor well.
This looks good!
My go-to local lebanese joint closed JUST TONIGHT, literally within less than an hour of my posting this comment. Sadly, my favourite one is clear across the country, and… well, to be honest, I’ve been meaning to make shawarma at home for the longest time. I will be trying this very soon, as I have a craving!
Kaman, you will love it, promise!