When I was in college I had the luxury of ordering food until the wee hours of the morning. After a night out with friends, you could always stop at the "Grease Trucks" on the way home. They were available 24 hours a day. Many of the grease trucks carried Middle Eastern sandwiches and college was where I was first exposed to gyros and shawarma sandwiches.
I am no longer able to order sandwiches at all hours of the night. We don't have a good variety of Middle Eastern restaurants where I live either. So I decided to create my own Chicken Shawarma sandwich.
What is a Chicken Shawarma sandwich?
A shawarma sandwich is a Middle Eastern wrap usually on pita bread and consists of some type of roasted or grilled meat. The meat is marinated before it is cooked. The smell of it cooking is incredible! I like my shawarma with chicken.
Toppings are put on these sandwiches. I prefer tahini sauce, cucumbers, feta cheese and tomatoes but onions, herbs and pickles are also added. In the recipe below, I went light on spices however you can add more curry and cayenne (which I did) if you like more spice. Try one and I guarantee you'll love it!
I also make homemade Tahini sauce to go on top of this middle eastern chicken shawarma sandwich. It's really easy to make!
Tahini Sauce:
¼ cup tahini paste (sesame paste)
2 TBS plain yogurt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
dash of cayenne, paprika and salt to taste
Whisk all the ingredients together and add water to thin out to whatever consistency you would like.
Now it's time to assemble the Chicken Shawarma sandwich. Here is what you need:
Pita breads. The fresher, the better!
Toppings such as chopped tomatoes, sliced onions, pickles, chopped cucumbers, fresh parsley, olives, feta cheese, hummus or any other toppings you choose!
The cooked chicken.
How is the chicken cooked?
The chicken is initially marinated and roasted but to make the chicken really good, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and saute the cooked chicken so the pieces get nice and crusty. The chicken can be made in advance then reheated in a pan.
I love using my cast iron pan to give the chicken a nice crust. Grill the pita breads so they are warm. Add some chicken, toppings and sauce to the pita. Make sure to eat the Chicken Shawarma while warm!
What should you serve with Chicken Shawarma?
This Middle Eastern sandwich is great by itself but I like to make a side of Roasted asparagus or Tomato and Chickpea salad to go with it. I'm always looking to get in a few extra veggies. Rice is also a great choice to serve on the side. If you are watching carbs, that is not a problem as you can skip the pita bread and just pile on the low- carb toppings.
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.
So now that you see how easy Chicken Shawarma is to make, why don't you give it a try? Enjoy!
Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 3 TBS olive oil
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp 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
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.
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
this looks fantastic!
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!
I've never had shwarma, but this looks awefully good!
That looks really good. I love hummus.
This looks really good, I've never tried it but I think I must!
sounds and looks awesome!
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!!
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!
oh my goodness, I am so making these! And I have the perfect recipe for soft wrap bread to go with them! 🙂
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.
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 🙂
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
oh yummy! so fresh and healthy, but also just packed with flavor.
Wonderful flavors in this Lisa! I could happily eat one of these everyday.
This looks fantastic! Perfect midnight food. Yum!
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.
Oh I love chicken shwarma! Great idea!
There are such wonderful flavors in this dish, Lisa. It looks beautiful and sounds delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
I wish I had one of these for todays lunch! 🙂
Yeah totally makes me think of the after bar snack food we used to get in Columbus, OH
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!
Talking about making someone hungry.....wow....those shwarma's look good and just reading the ingredients make your mouth water. yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!
Thanks for the recipe. Going to try it tonight. LOVE the Grease Trucks!
You'll love it! Yes, i Loved those college days of the Grease trucks!
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.
I promise you this recipe is easy! Try it and see for yourself!
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.
I agree!
Saved and printed this! I love beef shawarma but chicken shawarma looks delicious too!! Must try!!
My husband makes a variation of this recipe and it is a staple in our house!
Wow! This Chicken Shawarma looks soooooo delicious! Can't wait to try this at home
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!
I LOVE Shawarma but have never tried to make it! Pinning this now!
I don't eat meat but my hasband does and he loves chicken, so I've saved your recipe x
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.
Loving all these flavors!!! I will be making this for my family for dinner this weekend!
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!
This looks great for dinner any night of the week!
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!
love this chicken!!
This recipe is a keeper! I'll be making it over and over again! Thanks Lisa!
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.