Chicken Shawarma
Middle Eastern street food at its peak: thin slices of marinated chicken, charred at the edges, wrapped in flatbread with garlic sauce (toum), pickles, and salad. Made authentically on a vertical rotisserie, but a home oven or pan can get you 90% of the way there.
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
27 min
Servings
4
Calories
322 cal
🛠 Interactive Recipe Tools — Use them right here on this page
Smart Servings Scaler
- Chicken500 g
- Garlic Sauce2 tbsp
- Pita Bread1
- Lettuce2 cups
- Cumin1 tsp
- Paprika1 tsp
- Allspice1
All quantities scaled automatically from 4 servings.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings · Use the Servings Scaler above to adjust
- Chicken500 g
- Garlic Sauce2 tbsp
- Pita Bread1
- Lettuce2 cups
- Cumin1 tsp
- Paprika1 tsp
- Allspice1
Instructions
- 1
Marinate boneless chicken thighs in yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, turmeric, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The full spice blend is essential — leaving any out flattens the flavor. Marinate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
- 2
For the toum (garlic sauce): blend 1 cup peeled garlic cloves with 2 tbsp lemon juice and ½ tsp salt until smooth. Drizzle in 2 cups of neutral oil VERY slowly while blending continuously. The mixture should emulsify into a thick white sauce. This takes patience — go too fast and it breaks.
- 3
Roast: line marinated thighs on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Roast at 425°F for 30-35 minutes, flipping once. Last 5 minutes, broil for char marks. The edges should be deeply caramelized.
- 4
Rest 5 minutes, then slice into thin strips. The juice that pools is liquid gold — pour it back over the chicken.
- 5
Warm flatbread (pita, lavash, or markook) on a dry pan for 30 seconds per side.
- 6
Assemble: spread toum on warm flatbread, add chicken, top with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles (turnip if you can find them — pickled pink), parsley, and another drizzle of toum. Roll tightly, eat immediately.
Watch how to make Chicken Shawarma
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💡 Expert Tips
- 1.Use chicken thighs, never breast. Breast goes dry under the high heat needed for the char marks. Thighs stay juicy and develop better flavor.
- 2.Toum requires patience. Add oil one tablespoon at a time at first, building the emulsion. Once thickened, you can drizzle faster. If it breaks (separates), start over — add another egg yolk to rescue or just start fresh.
- 3.Pickled pink turnips (Lebanese stores) are the authentic touch. The vinegar cuts through the rich chicken and toum.
- 4.For street-level char without a rotisserie: stack the cooked chicken on a sheet pan, broil 2-3 minutes to crisp the top. Mimics the shaved-off-the-spit edges.
🔬 Why It Works
Shawarma's signature is the contrast between charred exterior and tender interior. The yogurt marinade tenderizes the chicken (lactic acid breaks down muscle proteins) and creates a coating that browns aggressively under high heat. The spice blend is built for layered complexity: warm spices (cinnamon, allspice) for depth, savory spices (cumin, coriander) for body, and bright spices (paprika, turmeric) for color and flavor lift. Toum is engineered emulsion — high garlic concentration in stabilized oil — the sharp pungency cuts through fat. The whole assembly is a study in balance: rich/sharp/fresh/crunchy in every bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between shawarma, gyro, and doner kebab?▾
Can I cook shawarma in a skillet?▾
My toum keeps breaking. What am I doing wrong?▾
Can I freeze leftover shawarma?▾
4.3
285 home cooks rated this
Nutrition Facts
Per serving (recipe makes 4 servings)
* Percent Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are estimates.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving (recipe makes 4 servings)
* Percent Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are estimates.
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