Chicken Shawarma

You don't need a special rotisserie to make this easy homemade chicken shawarma recipe! Chicken pieces, tossed in warm Middle Eastern spices, then baked until perfectly tender. Serve it in pita pockets with Mediterranean salad and sauces. Be sure to check out the video and step-by-step above.

Recipe by Suzy Karadsheh on October 16, 2017

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT30M

Total time: PT40M

Rating

5 stars ( reviews)

Keywords

Shawarma, Chicken Shawarma, how to make shawarma

Ingredients

3/4 tbsp ground cumin
3/4 tbsp turmeric powder
3/4 tbsp ground coriander
3/4 tbsp garlic powder
3/4 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, more if you prefer
Salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large lemon, juice of
1/3 cup Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil
6 pita pockets
Tahini sauce or Greek Tzatziki sauce
Baby arugula
3-ingredient Mediterranean Salad
Pickles or kalmata olives (optional)

Cuisine

Middle Eastern

Steps

In a small bowl, mix the cumin, turmeric, coriander, garlic powder, sweet paprika and cloves. Set aside the shawarma spice mix for now.
Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt on both sides, then thinly slice into small bite-sized pieces.
Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the shwarma spices and toss to coat. Add the onions, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss everything together again. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight (if you don’t have time, you can cut or skip marinating time)
When ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it sit in room temperature for a few minutes.
Spread the marinated chicken with the onions in one layer on a large lightly-oiled baking sheet pan. Roast for 30 minutes in the 425 degrees F heated-oven. For a more browned, crispier chicken, move the pan to the top rack and broil very briefly (watch carefully). Remove from the oven.
While the chicken is roasting, prepare the pita pockets. Make tahini sauce according to this recipe or Tztaziki sauce according to this recipe. Make 3-ingredient Mediterranean salad according to this recipe. Set aside.
To serve, open pita pockets up. Spread a little tahini sauce or Tzatziki sauce, add chicken shawarma, arugula, Mediterranean salad and pickles or olives, if you like. Serve immediately!

Nutitrion

Calories: 320 calories
Carbohydrates: 4.3 g
Protein: 39.8 g
Fat: 15.4 g
Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 186.7 mg
Sodium: 579.3 mg
Sugar: 1.3 g

Reviews

Keisha on 2026-01-03 (5 stars):
Made this for my picky family last night and they absolutely loved it! Going to try many more of your wonderful Mediterranean recipes. Thanks so much for posting this.
Sue on 2026-02-18 (5 stars):
So easy and delicious! I was looking for an oven recipe since we're on a fire weather watch. This will definitely be in rotation!
Dolores Walters on 2026-03-08 (5 stars):
Absolutely loved all the flavorful, beautiful aroma of each of the spices in this recipe !!! I’ve made it several times. I’ve served it with yellow rice.!!