Chicken Shawarma
Chicken shawarma provides an incredibly flavorful recipe with chicken marinated in aromatic yogurt and bursting with Middle Eastern flavors. Wrap it in a chapati or fresh pita, and you have Instagram-worthy pictures to make your friends drool.
I first tasted shawarma on a trip to Berlin. I remember being struck by how something could taste so delicious and heavenly that I would completely blow my diet regimen, especially after working so hard to get in shape. But, I could not have cared less. I spent the following week eating shawarma for lunch or dinner, unfailingly. No regrets, it was that good!
On a recent trip to my hometown, Yaoundé (Cameroon). I quickly discovered that shawarmas had become an African thing, beloved especially in Nigeria. Shawarma stands are cropping up everywhere, and I was delighted to try it again after more than ten years since my last bite. It was good; however, nothing compares to your first experience.
What Makes Shawarmas Special
I have to admit that this recipe has an African twist and I took a shortcut. Traditionally, shawarmas are various proteins stacked expertly on a large stick (beef, lamb, and poultry) and flavored with tons of exotic spices. As it rotates over the fire for hours, it develops layers of flavor and the servers cut off thin slices and place them on warm flatbread with tahini or garlic sauce. Sometimes, they top it with lettuce or vegetables.
The slow roasting, combining different types of protein on the same stack, the aromatic Middle Eastern spices, warm pita, and that finger-licking good sauce are irresistible. Wow, just describing this dish is making me hungry. I grilled chicken with the shawarma spices for a faster version, but feel free to use beef, lamb, or all of them.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma
- Marinade – Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, white pepper, nutmeg, coriander, allspice, parika, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, yogurt, and optional bouillon in a medium glass bowl.
- Marinate – Lightly salt the chicken, then coat it with the marinade and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Drain the marinated chicken, and grill it for 8-10 minutes on each side or until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer reaches 165°F (74 °C).
- Slice chicken into thin, bite-sized pieces and serve it on flat bread or East African chapati.
- Top with the spicy mayo, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, lettuce, or veggies of choice.
- Spicy Mayonnaise – Combine the mayo and pepper sauce and stir well. You can do this the day before and refrigerate it.
Enjoy!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- I added a little thyme and a touch of cayenne pepper (omit if not a fan of spicy food). For the flat bread, I used East African chapati. However, you can stuff any flat bread or even a tortilla if that’s what you have.
- Chicken thighs are much more forgiving than breasts and stay juicy even when slightly overcooked. However, chicken breasts will work fine for this recipe.
- Craving a Buddha bowl? Layer quinoa, lentils, shawarma chicken, cucumbers, sliced onions, tomatoes, and your favorite dressing.
Make-Ahead and Storage
This recipe is great for weekly meal prep. Double the recipe, slice, and store in meal-size containers in the fridge or freezer. It stays good for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or 3-4 months in the freezer.
Menu Ideas for Chicken Shawarma
My cucumber tomato salad or cucumber onion salad goes great with chicken on flatbread. This versatile ingredient ramps up an average salad, replacing salmon in a refreshing salmon salad, or swapping out the chicken in jerk chicken salad for a Mediterranean vibe.
More Healthy Mediterranean Recipes to Try
By Imma
This blog post was originally published in April 2017 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos.
Chicken Sharwama
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 3 teaspoons (45ml) lemon juice
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) white pepper
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon (2g) coriander
- 1 teaspoon (3g) allspice
- 1 teaspoon (3g) paprika
- ½ teaspoon (1g) dried thyme
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- ½ cup (113g) yogurt
- 1 teaspoon (3-4g) bouillon powder (or replace with ¾ teaspoon salt)
- 2 pounds (900g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 pound (450g) or more assorted vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, etc.)
Spicy Mayonnaise Sauce
- ½ cup (112g) mayonnaise
- ¼ cup (60g) pepper sauce
Instructions
Shawarma Chicken
- Whisk the chicken marinade in a medium bowl (lemon juice, garlic, white pepper, nutmeg, coriander, allspice, parika, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, yogurt, and optional bouillon).
- Lightly salt the chicken, then coat it with the marinade. Place it all in a ziplock bag or an airtight container and marinate it overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and drain excess marinade. Grill chicken for 8-10 minutes on each side or until fully cooked through.
- Slice chicken into thin, bite-sized pieces and serve it on flat bread or East African chapati.
- Top with the spicy mayo, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, lettuce, or veggies of choice.
Spicy Mayonnaise Sauce
- Combine the mayo and pepper sauce and stir well. This can be done the day before and refrigerated.
Tips & Notes:
- Marinating the chicken overnight in the fridge is ideal, but not required. Thirty minutes will do wonders.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Where’s the link for the pepper sauce? The link doesn’t appear to be there any more.
I have three different pepper sauce recipes on the blog you can have the links below. Let me know which one you like most. Thanks
Here they are:
Caribbean pepper sauce
African pepper sauce
Roasted red pepper
I made this tonight with the spicy mayo and the tzatziki sauce…it was absolutely delicious. From the flavors of the two sauce options …to the marinade…to even the flavors in the pepper sauce recipe…just absolutely delicious!
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the feedback Stacey :)!
What is the pepper sauce recipe?
Hi. You can check out the African pepper sauce.
Hi. I’m Filipino. I follow this recipe and it’s my first to make shawarma. My husband said that was the good shawarma ever he tasted on his life. Thanks to your blog.
YAY! So happy to hear this . Appreciate you taking time out to let me know. God bless!!!
This was so good I made it an served with coleslaw!! the coriander and nutmeg make a big differnce. I also added a little lemon pepper seasoning as well. Tasty
Oh YES!
I’m sitting here eating this chicken right at this moment and had to rate it.
You’ve done it again Imma! Delicious!
AWESOME! Thank you so much Akilah!
Tried this last night. Wow! This is really good! The family loved it also. Loved the pepper sauce, its a must. Thank you!
Hi Judy Glad it worked out well for you. Thanks for letting me know.
Hello,
I have my chicken marinating but unsure when I use the boullion, white pepper, coriander and all spice?
Loving your recipes by the way. Have been feeding my family from it all week
Sorry about that! Just add it to the chicken .You add it to the marinade . Glad to hear you are enjoying the recipes. Hope this works out well for you. Thanks
I’m going to try chicken shawarma for the first time. From the process of cooking chicken shawarma it looks so delicious.
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you .
Wow. Nice recipes and blog. You got a new loyal reader
YES! Glad to have you here .
The pepper sauce recipe link isn’t working. Is it the African pepper sauce?
Yes it is.
OMG! I think i will also give it a try, thanks so much
You are welcome! Do let me know how it works out for.
Would like the recipe for African chapati
oops! you can find it here. The link for chapati is invisible, just click on it anyways
Like the recipe for African chapati please the chicken looks yumm
Thanks Pamela! Just click on the link for chapati.
Was really nice. Thanks
Candace,That is so true. The Sharwama’s in some part of Africa have french fries in it. I tried it and it was quite tasty.However, it is an over kill for me. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Hope you are enjoying your stay in Senegal.
Hi, I love your blog. I’m an American living in Senegal and the sharwama’s here have french fries in it and it’s really yummy.