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Take your weeknight meals to a new level with this Lebanese 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.
If you love bold Mediterranean flavors, this Lebanese Chicken Shawarma is about to become a weeknight favorite. Tender chicken is marinated in a warm blend of garlic, lemon juice, olives oil and traditional Middle Easter spices. The chicken can be grilled, baked or cooked in an air fryer. The result is a flavorful, protein- packed meal that tastes like it came straight from a Lebanese restaurant. This chicken shawarma works great as part of a rice bowl, in chicken shawarma wraps or in a chicken shawarma hummus plate with tzatziki sauce, garlic yogurt sauce or plain yogurt on the side.
This easy homemade chicken shawarma recipe is perfect for meal prep, wraps, rice bowls, salads or serving it in a warm pita. Whether you are craving authentic Lebanese flavors or looking for an easy Mediterranean dinner idea, this is an easy recipe using simple ingredients. 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.
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!
•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!
Recipe Ingredients
These simple pantry staples are all you need. See the recipe card below for exact amounts and printable instructions.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- protein: you can swap the protein and use the spice blend on other protein like in this beef shawarma, lamb or pork or mix the spices into beans like chickpeas or white beans.
What to Serve with this Easy Chicken Shawarma
- salads: salads pair great with chicken shawarma. Try this Easy Lebanese Salad, Summer Orzo Salad, Tomato Cucumber Feta Quinoa Salad, or this Mediterranean Lentil Salad.
- grains & pasta: add a side of grains like this Lemon Orzo Recipe, brown rice, quinoa or this Lemon Pearl Couscous Recipes.
- veggies: I love adding veggies alongside my grilled chicken shawarma. Try these Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables, Balsamic Roasted Carrots or these Lebanese Vegetables.
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.
More Chicken Recipes
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Lebanese 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.
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Am gonna prepare this delicacy this weekend.
Thanks for always sharing…
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.