Shawarma Chicken

with optional sides - great for a crowd, or a quick after work dinner

You know those meals you default to when you just don’t know what else to make? This chicken shawarma is that recipe for me and Rob. It’s equally perfect for a summer BBQ with friends as it is for a busy weeknight dinner. The chicken can marinate and the sides can be prepped well ahead of time or right when you get home from work, and chicken thighs are basically impossible to mess up on the grill. A true gift.

I originally shared this recipe almost a year ago now (how??), but it deserves a second life because I still make it constantly. And while I’ve included a whole spread of toppings and sauces below, please don’t let that intimidate you. This recipe is meant to be flexible, depending on your mood, timing, and what’s available in your kitchen. At its core, all you really need is the grilled chicken, a sauce of your choosing, and some sort of fresh crunchy thing on the side — a tomato cucumber salad, a shredded cabbage slaw, or maybe just a handful of herbs and some pickles from the fridge door.

The one thing that is non-negotiable is the fresh herbs. Don’t hold back! Add tons to the tomato salad, scatter them over the chicken before serving, and mix them into the tzatziki. They’re what make this whole thing taste bright and fresh.

And finally there’s the sauce situation. My original recipe includes toum, that aggressively garlicky white sauce that tastes heavenly and keeps everyone at a safe social distance. I’ve included that here again, but if you want something a little easier (and slightly less intense for a weeknight), the tzatziki is also excellent.

This chicken is great served in a pita, but for a lighter option, I love to throw these elements over a grain or some greens for a weeknight bowl. I’ll leave it to you to choose your own adventure.

Click HERE for recipe video.

Shawarma Chicken with all the Fixings

Serves: 4–6

Shawarma Chicken

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (skin on or off)

• 2 cloves garlic, grated

• 1 tbsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp cumin

• ½ tsp turmeric

• ½ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp chili powder

• ½ tsp coriander

• ¼ tsp allspice

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tsp salt

I usually make a huge batch of this spice blend and keep it in a jar on hand for seasoning meats, veggies, and even crispy roasted chickpeas.

For Serving

• Warm pita

• Pickles

• Pepperoncini or banana peppers

• Hot sauce

• Fresh herbs
  

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

In a bowl or freezer bag, combine garlic, garlic powder, cumin, turmeric, paprika, chili powder, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Add chicken thighs and toss well to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 48 hours.

Grill the chicken

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill chicken thighs for 5–7 minutes per side until cooked through and lightly charred. Rest for a few minutes, then slice.

Assemble and serve

Warm the pita and pile everything on. Add whichever sides or sauces you feel like making (or already have on hand). Don’t forget the pickles, hot sauce, and lots of fresh herbs.

Leftovers

This makes an unreal next-day bowl situation — grains or greens topped with chicken, herbs, crunchy vegetables, and lots of sauce.

Optional Sides & Sauces

Tzatziki

Ingredients

• 1½ cups thick Greek yogurt

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• Zest of ½ lemon

• Juice of ½ lemon

• ¼ cup finely chopped dill

• 1–2 tsp finely chopped mint

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Drizzle of olive oil

Instructions

Mix together yogurt, garlic, lemon zest and juice, dill, mint, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Tomato Herb Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 cup cucumber, sliced into half moons

• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, mint)

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ tsp sumac

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Combine tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, herbs, vinegar, olive oil, sumac, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Toss gently.

Purple Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients

• 1½ cups thinly sliced red cabbage

• 1–2 tbsp toum

• Squeeze of lemon juice

• Salt, to taste

Instructions

Toss cabbage with toum, lemon juice, and salt to taste. If you don’t have toum, use olive oil and a bit of freshly grated garlic instead.

Toum (Garlic Sauce)

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic (about 10 cloves / 65g), peeled

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp cold water

• Pinch of salt

• 1 cup neutral oil

Instructions

Add garlic, lemon juice, cold water, salt, and oil to a tall narrow jar just wide enough to fit your immersion blender. Let everything settle for a few seconds, then blend starting from the bottom. Slowly lift the blender as the mixture emulsifies into a thick fluffy sauce. Refrigerate until ready to use.

*A Note on Toum

This sauce can be a little finicky, but worth it. I use an immersion blender and a narrow, tall jar. Some recipes online use a food processor instead, but I find that the larger bowl of the processor doesn’t incorporate things as well, and has a higher risk of splitting.

Method 1 — Fast but risky

Add everything to a narrow jar and blend from the bottom up. Pulse a few times to get it started, and then slowly start to lift the head of the blender up to incorporate the oil. It comes together in seconds, but if the jar is too wide it can split.

Method 2 — Slower but reliable

Blend everything except the oil first until incorporated, then slowly drizzle in the oil while blending.

If it splits

Don’t panic. In a clean jar, add 2 fresh garlic cloves, 1 tbsp lemon juice or cold water, and 1 tbsp of the split sauce. Blend until creamy, then slowly drizzle in the remaining split mixture until it comes back together.