Chicken shawarma is a classic dish made from tender pieces of grilled chicken with sauces, vegetables, and pickles, often served with salad or fries and stuffed into bread. You can make chicken shawarma very quickly whenever you don’t have enough time. In this article, we will talk about how to make chicken shawarma.
Introducing Chicken Shawarma
Chicken shawarma is a sub-dish of the kebab, which was popular in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Shawarma is now prepared throughout the Middle East, including Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. The taste and texture of the dish varies depending on where it is prepared.
The spices used to marinate chicken shawarma can include paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, or sometimes a regional spice blend called bharat. After marinating, chefs skewer the chicken and, once it is cooked, slice the meat with a long, thin knife. The result is flavorful strips of meat with crispy edges and juicy, tender insides.
How To Make Chicken Shawarma
🧂 Ingredients for Making Chicken Shawarma
To make chicken shawarma, you will need the following ingredients:
- ✓ Chicken breast or thigh: 250 grams (9 ounces)
- ✓ Olive oil: one and ½ tablespoons
- ✓ Chopped or grated garlic: one tablespoon
- ✓ Paprika or red pepper powder: ½ to ¾ teaspoon
- ✓ Ground cumin powder: one teaspoon
- ✓ Ground coriander powder: one teaspoon
- ✓ Ground cardamom: ⅓ to ½ teaspoon
- ✓ Ground cinnamon powder: ¼ teaspoon
- ✓ Crushed black pepper: ¼ to ½ teaspoon
- ✓ Turmeric: ⅛ teaspoon
- ✓ Salt: ½ teaspoon
- ✓ ✓ Greek yogurt: 2 tablespoons
- ✓ Lemon juice: one and a half teaspoons
- ✓ Quartered onion: one
- ✓ Quartered tomato: one
👨🍳 Steps To Prepare Chicken Shawarma
To learn how to make chicken shawarma, follow these steps:
🥄 Step-by-Step Chicken Marinade Preparation Guide
- ➜ Mix all the ingredients for the marinade.
- ➜ Add lemon juice only if needed.
- ➜ Taste the marinade and add more salt if needed.
- ➜ Pat the chicken dry with kitchen towels and cut into 4cm pieces.
- ➜ Add the chicken to the marinade.
- ➜ Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.
🔥 Grilling and Cooking Instructions for Marinated Chicken
- ➜ Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F for at least 15 minutes.
- ➜ Prepare a grill tray. Then line it with foil and grease it.
- ➜ Place the chicken pieces on the tray, spaced slightly apart, along with the onion and tomato.
- ➜ Grill for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. After 10 minutes, turn them over with tongs.
- ➜ Transfer to the top rack and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Carve the chicken into the tray and serve.
- ➜ Heat a frying pan with ½ tablespoon of olive oil over high heat.
- ➜ When the pan is hot, add the chicken and turn it so that all sides cook evenly.
🌯 Serving and Assembling Chicken Shawarma
- ➜ When the chicken is tender and cooked through, break it up with a wooden spatula on the pan.
- ➜ Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Then set aside and use the same pan to grill the onion and tomato slices.
- ➜ Serve the chicken shawarma as an appetizer with the garlic yogurt sauce.
- ➜ Spread the sauce on pita bread, place lettuce, then chicken, grilled onion, and tomato inside the bread, and enjoy.
🔥 Taste the real flavor of the Mediterranean!
What Is The Nutritional Value Of Chicken Shawarma?
Below you can see the Nutrition Values for Chicken Shawarma (per recipe)
Nutrient | Total (Whole Recipe) | Per Serving (½ Recipe) |
Calories | ~720 kcal | ~360 kcal |
Protein | ~66 g | ~33 g |
Fat | ~39 g | ~19.5 g |
– Saturated Fat | ~8 g | ~4 g |
Carbohydrates | ~22 g | ~11 g |
– Fiber | ~6 g | ~3 g |
– Sugar (natural from onion & tomato) | ~8 g | ~4 g |
Sodium | ~1200 mg | ~600 mg |
🔎 Key Notes
- ➤ Chicken breast/thigh (250 g) → Main source of protein (~55–60 g).
- ➤ Olive oil + Greek yogurt → Adds healthy fats & creaminess.
- ➤ Onion & tomato → Adds small amounts of carbs, fiber, and natural sugars.
- ➤ Spices & lemon juice → Negligible calories but rich in antioxidants.
- ➤Salt → Significant sodium content (~1200 mg for the batch).
👉 This estimate is without pita bread or extra sauce. If you add pita + garlic yogurt sauce, calories and carbs will increase.
Tips For Making Restaurant Chicken Shawarma
You can use the following tricks when making chicken shawarma:
🍽️ Delicious Ways to Serve Chicken Shawarma
The most famous and traditional way is as a sandwich, either wrapped in pita bread or wrapped in a flatbread like lavash. So, you don’t have to serve shawarma just as a sandwich! For those who are gluten-free or don’t have bread on hand, serve your chicken shawarma over rice or couscous.
🥫 Perfect Sauces and Condiments for Chicken Shawarma
Be sure to add some sauce to keep the shawarma moist and the carbs it contains moist. Using yogurt is a popular option.
If you or your guests can’t eat dairy or avoid dairy with meat, hummus, tahini sauce, Lebanese garlic tom, Yemeni spicy zhogh, or Iraqi pickled mango sauce are all delicious meat accompaniments to chicken shawarma.
🥗 Tasty Sides and Fresh Add-Ons for Chicken Shawarma
You will need plant-based ingredients to make your chicken shawarma. A lighter and healthier option is some fresh onion, tomato, or cucumber. French fries are a delicious and popular side dish, both inside and on the side of chicken shawarma sandwiches.
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Wrapping Up: Your Guide to the Perfect Chicken Shawarma
You learned how to make chicken shawarma, now you can make this delicious dish at home. Make sure to use fresh ingredients to get the maximum benefits. If you don’t have pita bread, lavash bread is the best option. Cut all the ingredients into bite-sized pieces. You can quickly prepare this dish at any time. It is also good nutrition for your family members.
❓ FAQs About Chicken Shawarma
What is chicken shawarma?
Chicken shawarma is a Middle Eastern street food made by marinating chicken in spices, then slow-roasting it on a vertical rotisserie. It is usually served in pita bread, flatbread, or over rice with sauces and fresh vegetables.
Can chicken shawarma be made at home without a rotisserie?
Yes. You can make chicken shawarma at home by grilling, baking, or pan-searing marinated chicken. While it won’t rotate like the traditional spit, it still delivers authentic flavor with the right spices.
What sauces go well with chicken shawarma?
Popular sauces for shawarma include yogurt sauce, tahini, hummus, Lebanese garlic sauce (toum), Yemeni spicy zhogh, and Iraqi pickled mango sauce. These keep the meat moist and add extra flavor.
What are the best side dishes for chicken shawarma?
Fresh onion, tomato, cucumber, and pickles pair perfectly with shawarma. French fries are also a traditional and delicious option, often served inside or on the side of the sandwich.
Is chicken shawarma gluten-free?
Chicken shawarma itself is gluten-free, but it’s usually wrapped in pita or flatbread. For a gluten-free option, serve it over rice, couscous, or salad instead of bread.
Can chicken shawarma be made dairy-free?
Absolutely. Instead of yogurt-based sauces, you can use hummus, tahini, or garlic sauce to make a dairy-free version that is just as flavorful.
How do you keep chicken shawarma juicy?
The key is marinating the chicken in spices and oil, then cooking it at the right temperature. Adding a sauce like yogurt or tahini also helps keep it moist when serving.
