I LOVE Mediterranean food. No really, I LOOOOVVVEEE it. I was so excited when I mastered this dish. Not only because this Lebanese chicken shawarma recipe is amazingly delicious but it’s also super easy.
There is a little family-owned Lebanese restaurant close to my house that serves wonderful food and I’ve based this recipe off my experience there.I’m sure their shawarma recipe is a closely guarded secret, but I feel like I’ve gotten very close.
One of the memorable elements from their chicken shawarma is that they serve it with this tangy, creamy, pungent garlic sauce called Toum. I was a little afraid of it at first because I didn’t know what it was but it’s an absolute game changer, and to my pleasant surprise very easy to make.
I’m so excited to share my recipe for Lebanese chicken shawarma with you! I truly hope you will enjoy it as much as my family and I do.
Chicken Shawarma Origin
Chicken Shawarma can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire which is approximately where Turkey is located now. Shawarma can be found in countries along the Eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea including Lebanon and Egypt.
Shawarma is typically prepared by cutting chicken into thin fillets, marinating and stacking them on a spit and cooking the stacked chicken in a rotisserie. The chicken is then sliced off the spit and served.
Well known as a street food in many places, Shawarma is often served as a sandwich or Gyro. When served at a restaurant you may see shawarma served on a plate with hummus and ap pita. It is sometimes with veggies or rice, and sometimes with sauce like Toum, which originated in Lebanon.
How to Prepare Lebanese Chicken Shawarma
An important starting point for this Lebanese chicken shawarma recipe is of course, the chicken. Chicken breast meat is great in this recipe, but I prefer chicken thighs if possible. Thighs are rich and meaty, they stay juicy and tender, and lend themselves well to the spices of this dish. I chose organic, free range chicken from ButcherBox.
Unlike the traditional preparation of slicing and stacking the chicken, I’ve found that it’s much easier and just as delicious to use chicken pieces that are roughly the same thickness and cook them unstacked. So whether you are using thigh meat or breast meat, cut down only the very large pieces so you have relatively uniform pieces. Ideally the pieces should be about 1 inch thick.
Chicken Shawarma Seasonings
Next make the marinade. Marinating the chicken will make it tender and flavorful. Both yogurt and lemon juice act as meat tenderizers and will help in retaining juiciness in the chicken shawarma.
One of the reasons I love chicken shawarma is the spice palette. The combination creates delightful satiety balanced by the brightness of lemon juice and rich olive oil. I love the sweetness brought by the cinnamon and nutmeg coupled with the pungency of cumin. This combination of spices enlivens your taste buds and will leave you wanting more.
Mixing up a big batch of the spices and keeping it in your pantry is a great way to reduce prep time. The mixture is also great as a dry rub for steak, sprinkled on hummus, salads, lentil soup, rice, and really anything else you like!
To marinate the chicken; combine the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, and spices (4-5 TBL if adding from bulk mixture) until it forms a loose paste. Pat the chicken dry, this will help the marinade stick. Coat the chicken with the mixture and store in a covered glass container in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 12 hours.
How to Cook Chicken Shawarma: 2 Ways
There are 2 main methods that have proved to be the easiest and most delicious when cooking this Lebanese Chicken Shawarma recipe at home, grilling and broiling. Both methods are quick and produce lovely crispy edges on the chicken that enhance the flavor. Fair warning, broiling can make the air in your home a little spicy, just be aware and maybe open a window and use the exhaust fan.
Grilling Chicken Shawarma:
Preheat the grill to 450˚F by turning the burners on high and closing the lid. Watch the temperature gauge, when it’s reached 450˚F you’re ready for chicken.
If your grill doesn’t have a temp gauge, once you light the burners (or coals), put the lid on and allow to warm up for 10-15 minutes.
Prepare the grill by oiling the grates. A paper towel folded and held with tongs is a super easy and safe way to oil the grill. Oil once the grill is hot, dipping the paper towel in a bowel of olive oil and quickly sweeping the paper towel across the grates.
Lay the chicken out evenly on the grill. Close the lid and let the grill come back up to 450˚F. Cook for 6-10 minutes per side, longer for thicker pieces, shorter for thin pieces. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165˚F.
Broiling Chicken Shawarma:
Preheat the broiler, if you have a temperature setting it should be high, or between 450˚F – 500˚F. Place the chicken on a broiling pan.
Broiling pans are usually a 2-piece set, a rimmed sheet pan with a slotted flatter piece that fits onto the sheet pan. If you don’t have one of these you can use a baking sheet with a metal rack or you can just line a baking sheet with foil, but that’s not ideal.
It’s good to have a raised perforated rack to broil meat because it allows excess moisture to evaporate, and you get a better “crust”. Don’t let this dissuade you from cooking this way though. You’ll still have a delicious dish.
Cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side, turning the chicken over with tongs halfway through. The internal temperature should be 165˚F.
Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving dish.
Free Measurement Conversion Chart
Chicken Shawarma Sauce
Lebanese Toum: Garlic Sauce
Lebanese Toum is akin to mayonnaise or aioli and is so easy to make. With only four simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, you can make this amazing versatile sauce. Toum pairs perfectly with chicken shawarma but is also amazing as a dipping sauce and sandwich spread. It’s also the perfect way to use excess garlic from the garden.
Click here for the full Lebanese Toum recipe
While the chicken is marinating, make the Toum sauce. I recommend using an immersion blender if you have one but a standing blender or food processor work well too, especially if you make a larger batch.
If using a standing blender or food processor, blend the garlic, lemon juice and salt until it forms a paste. With the blender/processor running, remove the lid insert (or pour spout stopper) slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream. Pouring too quickly will separate the mixture, a slow pour is needed to emulsify the toum well. Blend until you have achieved a mayonnaise-like consistency.
Pour the toum into a glass container and refrigerate until needed. This sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
It’s worth mentioning that when I’ve stored it in the fridge for longer than a week it does start to separate and thin a little. A quick whiz with the blender brings it back together but it is best within the first few days.
How to Serve Chicken Shawarma
Chicken Shawarma is amazing served with a generous portion of warm hummus topped with a dollop of Lebanese Toum. It can also be prepared as a sandwich or a gyro on a delicious fluffy pita. Some amazing bread free side and meal options are rice , salad, roasted veggies, tzatziki, pickled onions, and lemon wedges.
There you have it! I hope you love this as much as I do!
Lebanese Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing bowl & air tight cover or container with lid
- Mixing spoon
- Knife
- Citrus juicer (optional)
- Garlic press (garlic press)
- Blender (immersion or standing)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken pieces – either breasts or thighs.
Marinade
- 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt – Plain, unsweetened
- 2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper – add more or less depending on your spice tolerence
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground Clove
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Ground Turmeric
- 2 tsp Paprika – sweet or smoked
- 1 tbsp Ground Cumin
- 2 tbsp Fresh chopped cilantro – or 1 tbsp dried cilantro, or 2 tsp cilantro powder.
Instructions
- Combine Greek yogurt, lemon juice, 2 Tbl olive oil and all spices in a large bowl. The mixture should form a paste. If it is too thick or dry, add a bit more olive oil.
- (If using larger chicken pieces, cut into pieces that are about 1 inch thick.) Pat chicken dry with paper towel. Add the chicken to the bowl of marinade and stir and turn until chicken pieces are well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
- Prepare and preheat grill or preheat oven broiler. (If broiling, prepare a broiling pan with cooking spray or use a rimmed cookie sheet with a greased rack.) Grease grill rack using a folded paper towel dipped in olive oil and held in tongs.
- Spread chicken out evenly on the grill (or pan) not overlapping the pieces. Cook for 5-8 minutes per side. The chicken is fully cooked when an internal temperature of 165˚ F (74˚ C).
- Prepare the garlic sauce. Push the garlic through a garlic press into an immersion blender cup. Add the salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Keeping the immersion blender submerged, pulse until you begin to see emulsification begin. Then continuously blend slowly drawing the blender upward to incorporate the remaining oil. (If using a blender, pulse the garlic and salt together until pasty. Add half the lemon juice. Slowly drizzle in the oil with the blender running until light and fluffy. Add the remaining lemon juice and blend until fully combined.)
- Serve the chicken with the garlic sauce on the side.
Notes
• Adjust the amount of cayenne to your personal spice tolerance.
• You can substitute buttermilk for the yogurt if that’s what you have on hand. SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Serve with hummus, Lebanese toum, cous-cous or rice, tzatziki sauce, pita. Bulk Spice Mixture: I combine spices using ratios. Typically 1 part = 1 teaspoon. Recipe for 1 pound of chicken will use 4-5 tablespoons of seasoning. 1 Part:
- Sea Salt
- clove
- Ginger
- Allspice
- Black Pepper
- Cayenne (reduce for less spice heat)
- cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Turmeric
- Paprika
- Cilantro (dried or powdered)
- Cumin
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