Take your weeknight meals to a new level with this Chicken Shawarma Recipe. The chicken is simple to make and works great in rice bowls with your favorite toppings. Basmati rice is topped with chicken shawarma, tabbouleh, red onion, hummus, yogurt and lettuce to make the perfect, weeknight meal.
Let’s celebrate rice month with rice bowls. There is no better way to celebrate, right? Rice bowls are one of my favorite go-to lunches or dinners in my house.
I love that they are easy to put together and how versatile they are.
Today’s Chicken Shawarma Recipe is simple to make and has delicious flavor. It is a favorite middle eastern dish of mine.
The chicken shawarma works great as part of a rice bowl, in chicken shawarma wraps or in a chicken shawarma hummus plate with hot sauce, tzatziki sauce, garlic yogurt sauce or plain yogurt on the side.
I love a recipe that includes your protein and creates a full meal like this Chicken Souvlaki Salad or these Sheet Pan Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders.
I also really like creating a bowl using greens, hummus or rice like in this Mediterranean Salmon Bowl, Easy Mediterranean Hummus Bowl, or this Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Hummus Bowls.
Why You Will Love this Chicken Shawarma Recipe
I grew up eating shawarma and it is hands down my favorite way to make chicken. The spices combination is so warm and flavorful. You can grill this chicken, bake it or even air fry it!
This recipe is full of simple spices. It is also:
- Easy to Make: This recipe uses a spice blend that locks in the juices and flavors of the chicken. You can prep a large batch of the spices and keep it in a mason jar so you have it on hand to use when you want to make shawarma. You also can use the spice blend in this Beef Shawarma recipe.
- Great for Meal Prep: When you are meal-prepping on the weekends add chicken shawarma to your menu. It is a great one to prep and keep in the fridge for rice bowls, hummus plates, salads and pita wraps. In the summer I love grilling up a bit batch to keep on hand!
The Middle Eastern spices in shawarma pairs so perfectly with fresh salads, rice, hummus and more. This recipe will quickly become part of your rotation.
If you like this chicken recipe you have to try my Chicken Tikka Kebabs, Greek Marinated Chicken Kabobs with Lemon, Lebanese Chicken Kabobs or my Greek Marinated Chicken with Tzatziki.
All of these recipes have great spice combinations
What is Shawarma?
Shawarma is a classic Arabic dish of meat (chicken, lamb, turkey, beef, or other mixed meats).
It is a popular Middle Eastern dish consisting of thinly sliced, marinated meat that is traditionally cooked on a vertical rotisserie allowing the outer layers to caramelize as they are shaved off for serving. It is commonly served as a street food or casual meal.
Typically the meat is thinly sliced and served with fattoush, tabbouleh, in pita pockets, tomato, and cucumber and sauces like a Tahini Sauce.
The word “shawarma” is an Arabic rendering of Turkish çevirme ‘turning’, in reference to the rotisserie cooking of the meat, which turns around an axis.
Though considered a Turkish dish by origin, it’s enjoyed through the Middle East and Mediterranean region in various forms.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Shawarma: The star of the show is the chicken. The marinade creates a flavorful and tender piece of meat. To create the shawarma spice blend you can follow this recipe here. You will love the warm spices. You can use chicken breasts, skinless chicken thighs or chicken tenders for this recipe.
- Spices: The shawarma spice mixture uses cumin, coriander, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric, onion powder, Allspice, cinnamon and black pepper.
- Rice: Rice is the main base of your rice bowl. You can use white, basmati or brown rice.
- Vegetables: Load up the vegetables a large bowl to make a chicken shawarma style hummus bowl. I like red onion, chopped romaine, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers. You can also make these Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables or Turmeric Cauliflower to add to your bowl.
- Tabbouleh: The tabbouleh is one of my favorite parts of a Mediterranean rice bowl. Try my recipe for classic tabbouleh, cauliflower tabbouleh or Greek tabbouleh.
- Hummus: Hummus is also the star of these bowls. I love making homemade hummus like this classic hummus, roasted red pepper or lemon hummus.
Recipe Modifications
- Citrus: Add lemon juice to your chicken along with the spices to add extra flavor and help tenderize the chicken.
- Spice: Add some heat to the chicken by adding red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper or diced chili peppers.
- Fresh herbs: You can add additional fresh herbs to the actual marinade. I like dill, mint or fresh parsley.
- Sauces: When you serve the shawarma there are a variety of sauce that work really well. Try a classic tahini sauce, a tzatziki sauce, a hot sauce like shatter or even a yogurt sauce.
- Additional ingredients:
- Pickled Veggies: Pickled vegetables are popular to add to a shawarma pita. Try pickled beets or pickled carrots. You also could use my recipe for Pickled Vegetables or Pickled Red Onions.
- Greens: Add spinach, arugula, or kale for a healthy boost.
Storage Tips
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: When reheating this chicken you can microwave it or slowly heat it in the oven at 300 degrees F until warmed through.
- Freezing: You can freeze the chicken for later. Let it cool completely and store in an airtight container or a large ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
If you want the more traditional shawarma that you might see on a vertical rotisserie you will want thin slices of meat when it is finished cooking. I suggest using a very sharp knife to thinly slice it.
A vertical spit is used, similar to those for Greek gyros or Turkish döner kebab.
The meat is shaved off in thin slices as it cooks.
The traditional choices you often see are chicken, turkey, lamb or beef.
You often will see it in a pita or flatbread along with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and cucumbers. Some will add yogurt or a garlic sauce. Another way that is popular to serve it is on a platter with rice, hummus, tahini or a salad like tabbouleh.
Other Chicken Recipes to Try:
If you like chicken dishes try one of these other recipes:
- HEALTHY CHICKEN FINGERS
- MOROCCAN CHICKEN THIGHS
- YOGURT MARINATED CHICKEN
- SUN-DRIED TOMATO GOAT CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
- AIR FRYER CHICKEN TENDERS
If you try it, please leave me a star rating and comment below, and follow me on Instagram @acedarspoon for more delicious recipes!
Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati Rice,, cooked
For the chicken shawarma:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless,, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 garlic cloves,, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 teaspoons coriander
- 3 teaspoons cumin
- 3 teaspoons cardamom
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper {optional}
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the tabbouleh:
- 2 Cups curly parsley,, chopped
- 1 cup tomato,, diced {about 3 large tomatoes}
- 8-10 thinly sliced green onion,, green parts chopped
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped mint
- 1/4 cup lemon juice,, fresh squeezed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Additional rice bowl toppings:
- Hummus
- Yogurt
- Red onion,, chopped
- Lettuce,, chopped
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- In a large ziplock bag add the minced garlic, olive oil, coriander, cumin, cardamom, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Add the chicken thighs and close the ziplock. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours.
- When read to make the rice bowls remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Grill chicken thighs over medium-high heat, about 6 to 8 minutes per side, until done and there is no hint of pink in the meat and an internal temperature of 165°F.
- While the chicken is grilling cook the rice according to the package and prepare the tabbouleh by placing all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and gently stirring to combine.
- To assemble the rice bowls place a scoop of basmati rice in each bowl and top with chicken, tabbouleh, hummus, yogurt, red onion and serve with pita bread and lemon wedges.
Am gonna prepare this delicacy this weekend.
Thanks for always sharing…
Victoria recently posted..CLEANING PAD FOR STAINLESS STEEL COOKWARE
I was confused about tabbouleh. Am I correct to say that the basmati rice with the other tabbouleh ingredients would be the tabbouleh? I always thought tabbouleh was made with bulger wheat. Please set me straight. Thank you.
In this case I did rice as the base and added tabbouleh which you would make separately. Yes, tabbouleh traditionally has bulgur in it. Here is a recipe I have on my site for it: https://www.acedarspoon.com/taste-my-tabouleh/
I love food in bowls and this is going on my dinner menu soon. Everything sounds fantastic!
This looks so good!!! Pass me a giant bowl!
I LOVE chicken shawarma!! Putting it in a rice bowl is genius!
Chicken shawarma is my favorite too!
These look so good! I want to make them this week!
I hope you like them.
I love rice bowls! 🙂
I do too! We make them a lot.
Look at that bowl – so vibrant and flavorful!
Thanks Matt! It is packed with flavor.