Best Homemade Chicken Shawarma

Chicken shawarma is one of those recipes that brings back memories of late night food adventures. This homemade version captures all that smoky, spiced, absolutely irresistible flavor right in your own kitchen. With tender, juicy chicken thighs marinated in warm Middle Eastern spices and served with cool, creamy yogurt sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Restaurant-quality flavor at home – no fancy equipment needed, just your trusty skillet or grill
• The marinade does all the work – let those beautiful spices work their magic while you go about your day
• Incredibly versatile – wrap it up for a quick weeknight dinner or serve it on a platter for weekend gatherings
• Family-friendly with adjustable heat – dial the spice up or down depending on who’s at the table
• Leftovers are a gift – if you’re lucky enough to have any, they taste even better the next day!

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Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Chicken & Marinade:

• 1 kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs (the secret to juicy shawarma!)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced (or 2 small cloves)
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground cardamom (this is the magic spice)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (use ½ tsp if you prefer mild)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil

For the Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 cup plain or Greek yogurt (Greek makes it extra thick and creamy)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To Serve:

• Soft flatbreads or pita
• Lettuce (cos or iceberg), shredded
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Optional: cheese, pickles, hot sauce, extra veggies

Why These Ingredients Work

Chicken thighs are the real star here. They stay tender and juicy even if you cook them a touch too long, unlike chicken breasts which dry out quickly.

The spice blend is where the magic happens. Coriander, cumin, and cardamom create that unmistakable shawarma warmth. Cardamom gives you authentic Middle Eastern flavor you just can’t skip.

Smoked paprika adds subtle smokiness that mimics the traditional rotating spit. Cayenne brings just enough heat to wake everything up.

Fresh lemon juice brightens all those warm spices and helps tenderize the chicken. Olive oil carries the flavors deep into every bite.

The yogurt sauce is your cooling counterpart. Creamy, tangy, and garlicky, it balances the spiced chicken perfectly.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large mixing bowl or zip-top bag for marinating
• Measuring spoons
• Large skillet (if cooking stovetop) or grill
• Sharp knife for slicing
• Cutting board
• Small bowl for yogurt sauce
• Tongs for flipping chicken

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Marinate the Chicken

In a large bowl or zip-top bag, combine your minced garlic, ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil.

Give it a good stir until everything’s mixed together and it looks like a beautiful, fragrant paste.

Add your chicken thighs and use your hands to coat every single piece really well. You want that marinade covering every bit of chicken.

Step 2: Make the Yogurt Sauce

This part is wonderfully simple and you can do it anytime during your marinating period.

In a small bowl, mix together your yogurt, crushed garlic, ground cumin, a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Give it a good stir, taste it, and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. This sauce actually gets better as it sits, so making it hours ahead or even the day before works perfectly. It’ll keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Step 3: Cook the Chicken

When you’re ready to cook, take your chicken out of the fridge about 15 minutes beforehand so it’s not ice cold.

For the skillet method, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with just a little drizzle of oil. Once it’s nice and hot, add your chicken pieces in a single layer. Don’t crowd them or they’ll steam instead of getting that gorgeous golden crust.

Cook for 4-5 minutes on the first side without moving them around. Let them develop that beautiful caramelized color.

Flip them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they’re cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

If you’re grilling, heat your grill to medium-high and cook using the same timing, until the chicken has those lovely char marks and is cooked through.

Here’s an important step – once your chicken is done, let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. This lets all those delicious juices redistribute so every bite is moist and flavorful.

Step 4: Assemble Your Shawarma

For wraps, warm your flatbreads for just a few seconds in the microwave or on a dry skillet until they’re soft and pliable.

Spread a generous amount of that cool yogurt sauce down the center, then layer on your sliced chicken, crispy shredded lettuce, juicy tomato slices, and thin red onion rings.

Add any extras you love – a sprinkle of cheese, tangy pickles, or a drizzle of hot sauce if you like things spicy. Fold up the bottom, then roll from one side to create a beautiful wrap.

For a shawarma plate, arrange your sliced chicken on a platter alongside warm flatbread, a fresh salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, and a generous bowl of yogurt sauce.

You Must Know

The absolute most important thing about this recipe is giving yourself enough time for marinating. I know we’re all busy and sometimes we want dinner right now, but shawarma really needs at least 3 hours to develop its flavor. If you can swing it, overnight is where the magic happens.

Those spices need time to penetrate the meat and work their way in. Also, please don’t substitute chicken breasts for the thighs – I know they might seem healthier, but thighs give you that tender, juicy, authentic shawarma texture. They have just enough fat to stay moist and flavorful.

Here’s my personal secret: when you’re cooking the chicken, resist the urge to move it around or press down on it with your spatula. Let it sit undisturbed so it can develop that beautiful golden-brown crust. That’s where so much of the flavor lives!

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Double the marinade recipe and freeze half the chicken for another night – future you will be so grateful for this shortcut
• Make extra yogurt sauce – it’s absolutely delicious on roasted vegetables, as a salad dressing, or with pita chips
• If you’re short on time, use a meat mallet to pound the chicken thighs thinner so they’ll marinate faster and cook more quickly
• Don’t have cardamom? It’s worth buying for this recipe, but in a pinch, you can add a tiny pinch of cinnamon and extra cumin
• For restaurant-style charred edges, turn your broiler on high for the last 2 minutes of cooking
• Save your chicken drippings from the pan and drizzle them over rice or use them to brush on your flatbreads for extra flavor

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

If you want to mix things up, this recipe is beautifully flexible.

For a citrusy twist, add some orange zest to your marinade along with the lemon juice – it adds a subtle sweetness that’s absolutely lovely. You can make it Mediterranean-style by adding some dried oregano and serving it with tzatziki instead of the cumin yogurt sauce.

Want to keep it low-carb? Skip the flatbread and serve your shawarma over a big green salad or with cauliflower rice.

For a spicier version, add some harissa paste to your marinade or drizzle some sriracha in your wrap. You can also swap the chicken thighs for lamb if you want to go more traditional, or even try it with firm tofu for a vegetarian version – just adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Some folks love adding fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley to their wraps, and a handful of fresh mint in the yogurt sauce is absolutely divine.

Make-Ahead Options

This recipe is a meal-prepper’s dream!

You can prepare the chicken in its marinade up to 24 hours in advance – in fact, that’s when it tastes best. The yogurt sauce can be made 2-3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you want to cook the chicken ahead of time, it’ll keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Just slice it when you’re ready to serve and warm it gently in a skillet or microwave.

You can even freeze the marinated raw chicken for up to 3 months – just thaw it overnight in the fridge before cooking. The cooked chicken freezes well too for up to 2 months, though I find it’s best when freshly made.

When you’re ready to eat, just warm everything up, prep your fresh vegetables, and you’ve got dinner on the table in minutes.

What to Serve With Chicken Shawarma

This dish is wonderful with so many sides!

Classic choices include crispy oven-baked fries or sweet potato fries for a heartier meal. A simple tabbouleh salad with fresh parsley, tomatoes, and bulgur wheat is refreshing and traditional.

Hummus is always a winner – serve it with extra pita for dipping. A cucumber and tomato salad dressed simply with lemon and olive oil cuts through the richness beautifully.

For something a little different, try serving it with creamy coleslaw or a tangy fattoush salad. Rice pilaf makes it a complete meal, and pickled vegetables add that perfect tangy crunch.

Don’t forget a wedge of lemon on the side for anyone who wants an extra citrus squeeze!

Allergy Information

This recipe contains dairy in the yogurt sauce, but you can easily make it dairy-free by using coconut yogurt or cashew-based yogurt instead.

The chicken marinade itself is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. If you’re serving this in flatbreads or pita, those typically contain gluten, so look for gluten-free wraps or serve it over rice or salad instead.

The recipe is naturally low in sugar and can be made Whole30 compliant by serving it without the bread and ensuring your spices don’t have added sugar.

For those avoiding nightshades, you can omit the cayenne and paprika and add extra cumin and coriander, though you’ll lose some of that characteristic warmth and color.

Storage & Reheating

Store any leftover cooked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The yogurt sauce keeps separately for 2-3 days.

To reheat, I prefer using a skillet over medium heat with just a tiny bit of oil or water to keep the chicken from drying out. You can also microwave it in 30-second intervals until warmed through, though it won’t have quite the same texture.

If you’re reheating for wraps, a quick sear in a hot skillet helps bring back that fresh-cooked flavor.

The vegetables should always be kept separate and added fresh when you’re ready to eat – nobody wants soggy lettuce! Assembled wraps don’t keep well, so it’s best to store all your components separately and build them fresh.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

How spicy is this recipe?

With the full teaspoon of cayenne, it has a nice warm kick but isn’t overwhelming. If you’re sensitive to heat or cooking for kids, start with just ½ teaspoon. You can always add hot sauce at the table for those who want more heat!

Can I make this without a grill or if I don’t have a large skillet?

Absolutely! You can use a regular-sized skillet and cook the chicken in batches, or even bake it in the oven at 425°F for about 20-25 minutes until cooked through. It won’t have quite the same charred exterior, but it’ll still be delicious.

What if I can only marinate for an hour?

It’ll still be tasty, just not as deeply flavored. To speed things up, you can cut your chicken into smaller pieces so the marinade penetrates faster, or use a fork to poke holes in the chicken before marinating.

Can I make this in my slow cooker?

Yes! After marinating, add the chicken and marinade to your slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 2-3 hours. The texture will be more fall-apart tender rather than having a seared crust, but it’s still delicious.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I’d love to hear how your chicken shawarma turned out and what you served it with.