This chicken shawarma sandwich recipe is made with flavorful and tender marinated chicken thigh meat served on a warm pita with your favorite toppings. The aroma alone will entice you to make this easy shawarma sandwich recipe again and again.
What is a Chicken Shawarma sandwich?
A shawarma sandwich is a Middle Eastern wrap that consists of some type of roasted or grilled meat served on pita bread. The meat is usually marinated in a warm seasoning blend before it is cooked. The smell of it cooking is incredible! I like my shawarma with chicken.
Ingredients Needed
- Lemon – Use the juice of one fresh lemon. It will be more flavorful than bottled lemon juice.
- Olive Oil – Or use your favorite light, neutral flavored oil.
- Garlic – Severall cloved of minced garlic add a deep, earthy flavor.
- Seasonings – A blend of salt, curry powder and a dash of cayenne powder create a flavorful marinade. If you really want to bump up the flavor of the marinade you can add in additional spices such as cumin, smoked paprika, cinnamon, cardamom and ground corriander to taste.
- Chicken – I prefer the falvor and juiciness of boneless, skinless chicken thighs but you can use chicken breast.
- Pita Bread – Stuff or roll the chicken in a pita with toppings to make a flavorful sandwich. You can also pile chicken shawarma on a salad.
- Toppings – See our complete list below.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma
- Combine the marinade ingredients and the chicken thighs in an airtight container. Marinate in the fridge for 4 hours to overnight.
- Lay the chicken on a roasting pan and bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Shred the chicken with a fork.
- Serve on pita bread with your favorite toppings.
Chicken Shawarma Sandwich Topping Ideas
How you top your chicken shawarma sandwich is a personal preference and there is really no wrong way to do it. These are some of my favorite toppings to mix and match.
- Tahini sauce
- yogurt sauce
- hummus
- chopped tomatoes
- thinly sliced onions
- cucumbers
- feta cheese
- parsley
- cilantro
- pickle slices
Tips for Serving Shawarma Sandwiches
I like to serve everything on a big platter or board so everyone can make their own Chicken Shawarma sandwich with any toppings they like. It's a good choice to serve when you are having company too.
What should you serve with Chicken Shawarma?
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Butternut Squash with Bacon
- Pan Roasted Potato Salad with Arugula and Crispy Prosciutto
- Garbanzo Beans and Beet Salad
- Avocado, Tomato and Arugula Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
- Oven Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Zest
So now that you see how easy Chicken Shawarma is to make, why don't you give it a try? Enjoy!
If you like this Chicken Shawarma Sandwich, please leave a 5-star rating.
RECIPE
Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 3 TBS olive oil
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- dash of cayenne powder
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- pita breads
- various toppings such as chopped tomatoes, cucumber, olives, hummus, lettuce, pickles, etc
Instructions
- In a large container, mix together lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, curry, and cayenne. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay chicken in a roasting pan and bake for 35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.
- Shred chicken with knife and fork when cooked. (Chicken can be pan fried with a spoon of olive oil if desired.)
- Serve on pita breads and with toppings such as Tahini sauce, hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, parsley or whatever you like!
Notes
Nutrition
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Ciao Chow Linda
You're bringing back memories of when I was in grad school - there was a middle eastern dive right across the street from my school and chicken shwarma was what I always ordered. Never thought to make it myself - until now.
vanillasugar
printed this one out.
i love this stuff in a roll up with cukes, red onions, olives and hummus. yes hummus. if you ever make this again add a layer of hummus in it. good stuff man
Tiffany @ Eat at Home
this looks fantastic!
Jersey Girl Cooks
Dawn, I forgot to add that my husband added a layer of hummus to his sandwich with the next day leftovers. It is good that way!
Jeanette
I've never had shwarma, but this looks awefully good!
Katrina
That looks really good. I love hummus.
miss
This looks really good, I've never tried it but I think I must!
Pegasuslegend
sounds and looks awesome!
Aggie
Oh my goodness Lisa this looks amazing!! I have to make this for my hubby (and me!...wonder what I could sub chicken with, portabella mushrooms maybe?) I love middle eastern flavors, sooooo delicious!!
marla
This chicken looks awesome. I too remember those "grease trucks" we used to go to in the wee hours of the morning at Syracuse University - gosh those days were fun!
megan @ whatmegansmaking
oh my goodness, I am so making these! And I have the perfect recipe for soft wrap bread to go with them! 🙂
Lisa
Another love in common - Middle Eastern food! So tempted to go to Trader Joe's right now and buy their flat bread to make this for lunch.
DaniD
This looks delicious Lisa! Same here, in college I was first exposed to many international cuisines that my mom would never have tried...and restaurants were probably not our usual stops! I can't wait to try this...thanks 🙂
That Girl
One of my friends had schwarma for lunch yesterday and I've ben thinking of it ever since.you just solidified my desire to have some this weekend
teresa
oh yummy! so fresh and healthy, but also just packed with flavor.
Cookin' Canuck
Wonderful flavors in this Lisa! I could happily eat one of these everyday.
Katie@Cozydelicious
This looks fantastic! Perfect midnight food. Yum!
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes]
Having been born in the Middle East and them being widely available here in India, I can recognise a good shawarma anywhere, and that looks really good!!
Interesting adaptation with the tomatoes and cucumbers.
Jen_from_NJ
Oh I love chicken shwarma! Great idea!
Mary
There are such wonderful flavors in this dish, Lisa. It looks beautiful and sounds delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
Megan
I wish I had one of these for todays lunch! 🙂
kat
Yeah totally makes me think of the after bar snack food we used to get in Columbus, OH
Ben the Crock Pot King
I'm Jersey to Elizabeth. But I live in Los Angeles now when I saw Shwarma forget about it I had to bookmark the recipe. I L.A. we have the best Shwarma's in the planet! Because there's a ton of Armenianans in L.A. and it's over the top here. Either way what you have is awesome as well!!! Keep it up!
Jeannie
Talking about making someone hungry.....wow....those shwarma's look good and just reading the ingredients make your mouth water. yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kelly
Because I am essentially a lazy cook and hate cleaning pans, I put frozen chicken tenderloins (not breaded) into my crock pot, poured the seasonings over the chicken, and left it on low. The chicken was all cooked through in about 4 hours. Shredded the chicken with forks, and...done.
Great, easy recipe with easily obtainable ingredients. Thanks!
Catherine
Thanks for the recipe. Going to try it tonight. LOVE the Grease Trucks!
lisa
You'll love it! Yes, i Loved those college days of the Grease trucks!
tiffany Montgomery
Looks so easy to make but I've ruined this dish so many times. Love to eat it and will go to the local Jewish diner for it... maybe I'll try again.
lisa
I promise you this recipe is easy! Try it and see for yourself!
Lori Geurin
I'm sooo making this! It looks delicious and I love simple recipes! Plus anything with tomatoes, cucumbers and hummus is a winner in my book - thanks.
lisa
I agree!
Krizzia Scollon
Saved and printed this! I love beef shawarma but chicken shawarma looks delicious too!! Must try!!
Amanda Martin
My husband makes a variation of this recipe and it is a staple in our house!
Maggie Unzueta
Wow! This Chicken Shawarma looks soooooo delicious! Can't wait to try this at home
Kristin King
I love how quick this actually is! It looks like it takes a while, but most of that is marinating time. The actual work is minimal, and it's so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Nicole Hood
I LOVE Shawarma but have never tried to make it! Pinning this now!
Marina
I don't eat meat but my hasband does and he loves chicken, so I've saved your recipe x
Rachel
I have everything I need to make this! I can't wait to try it out. I have been looking for something to use my tahini paste for.
Jennifer
Loving all these flavors!!! I will be making this for my family for dinner this weekend!
Cammeo Murray
This used to be our favorite thing to order from the food trucks when we lived in NYC - I’m def going to make this recipe!
Toni
This looks great for dinner any night of the week!
Joy
I looooove it! I'm actually looking for a good shawarma recipe and this is a winner, now I just have to shop for a good store-bought pita bread!
John
love this chicken!!
Gwynn Galvin
This recipe is a keeper! I'll be making it over and over again! Thanks Lisa!
Baguio Restaurants by Mae
I agree with you that by looking at the name of the dish sounds very complicated to make. But upon reading your blog it seems that you make the recipe easy to make. Will surely cook this one tonight for dinner.