The Chunky Chef

Everyday meals with a dash of gourmet

Header Right

Amazing Chicken Shawarma

Are you looking to break out of your chicken routine?  Ever tried some Middle Eastern food?  Before this meal I hadn’t… but let me tell you, I’ll be trying more and more!  This chicken shawarma is seriously amazing!!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

My husband has had this before from a restaurant, so I was going by his opinion of how it tasted, and he gave it an, “oh wow this is GOOD!!!” 🙂  Don’t you just love that approval?  Especially when he went on to praise it several more times and had seconds, then thirds…. SCORE!!

I served this chicken up with a cool and refreshing cucumber yogurt sauce made from greek yogurt, and some garlic flavored naan from our grocery store.  Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of greek yogurt… but I decided to give it a shot 🙂  I just can’t seem to get past the “tang” that comes with greek yogurt, so next time I may try the sauce with sour cream as the base instead.  Everyone else loved the greek yogurt sauce, so you might too!

What I love most about this chicken recipe is that it uses regular, common spices that you probably already have.  So you can have Middle Eastern food without having to buy a bunch of spices you may hardly use!

I actually wanted to make my own naan (I’ve found a few great recipes to try), but was running short on time (and energy) that day, and it was our grocery store to the rescue with some great tasting naan 🙂  So if you’ve got a great recipe to make your own, go for it!

The original recipe called for chicken thighs, but we prefer breasts (get your mind out of the gutter 😛 ), so I just swapped those.

Just combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziploc bag, seal, and shake to mix it well 🙂  Pierce your chicken breasts with a fork a few times to allow the marinade to really get in there, and add the chicken to the bag.  Smoosh it around to get all the chicken coated, then put the bag in the refrigerator to marinate overnight or for 8 hours.

You could grill or saute your chicken, or actually you could bake it too if you prefer.  I just cooked them in my cast iron pan, but if it was summer, I’d be sending them outside for my husband to grill.  That smoky charred taste is just too irresistible!

Let your chicken rest 5 minutes or so before slicing it, so it stays nice and juicy 🙂  You can make the yogurt sauce ahead of time, in fact it tastes better after it’s been sitting in the refrigerator.

Now you could wrap some chicken, cilantro, and yogurt sauce in a naan, like a Middle Eastern taco… or just take little pieces of all the ingredients on a fork if you’d prefer.  I think the slices of chicken would also be great on top of a salad, with the cucumber yogurt sauce as a “dressing” 🙂

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

I love the fresh cilantro with the chicken… it really takes it to the next level!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

I have to tell you, the leftovers (if there are any) are amazing too!!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

If you try this amazing recipe, please let me know how much you like it 🙂

Recipe adapted from Recipe Tin Eats

This recipe will be linked up to all the fabulous parties on my Where I Party page, be sure to check them out for fantastic recipes!

Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!

Amazing Chicken Shawarma

Course: Entree
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: The Chunky Chef
Chicken marinated with some common spices, olive oil and lemon juice will amaze your tastebuds! Take your mouth on a Middle Eastern vacation!
Print

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Marinade:
  • 1 clove large garlic minced
  • 1 Tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp ground cardamon
  • 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper or to taste
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Yogurt Sauce:
  • 1 cup Greek yoghurt or sour cream if you prefer
  • 1 clove garlic finely minced or grated
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp grated peeled cucumber
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag (or bowl).
  2. Add the chicken make sure each chicken piece is coated in the marinade.
  3. Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.
  4. Combine the yogurt sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix. Cover and put in the fridge until needed (it will last for 3 days in the fridge).
  5. Heat grill (or large heavy based pan on stove) on medium high. Spray with cooking spray.
  6. Place chicken on the grill and cook the first side for 6-7 minutes until nicely charred, then flip and cook the other side for 5-6 minutes.
  7. Remove chicken from the grill and cover loosely with foil. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Thank you!! Awesome, I hope you love it 😀 We eat chicken 2-3 times a week sometimes, so I’m always trying to change it up so everyone isn’t thinking “great, chicken… again” lol 🙂

      Reply

  3. Welcome to “living” lol

    Kidding (kinda), but chicken shawarma is one of my all time favorite foods, so I’m always super pumped to see other people catch on to its deliciousness. Yours looks delicious- great job 🙂
    [email protected] recently posted…My Grandma’s CornbreadMy Profile

    Reply

    • Lol, I get caught up in my standard chicken routine and it sure was great to break out of that 🙂 Thank you!! It means a lot to have someone who loves the food compliment on my dish 😀

      Reply

  6. I have to say, this does look AMAZING! I read through the list of ingredients and they look almost identical to a recipe I made from The Clothes Make the Girl blog (she’s a “Paleo” food blogger) and my husband said it was the best chicken he ever had. I will try this for sure. Thank you for bringing to the party!
    sue obryan recently posted…Claypot Sardines in Vietnamese Caramel SauceMy Profile

    Reply

  7. “have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.” haha sorry, couldn’t resist (here’s hoping know what I’m quoting here or you’re just gonna think I’ve lost it haha!
    This looks delicious though, and I haven’t ever had shawarma so the quote applies – just instead two blocks I only have to come here!
    Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake recently posted…Chocolate Chip Cookie Ultimate Layer CakeMy Profile

    Reply

    • Yes, marinades are one of my favorite cooking techniques, I love how much flavor can develop even after just 1 hour of marinating! I put cilantro on most anything lol. Happy FF! Enjoy your weekend 😀

      Reply

    • You’re so right… I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who kind of likes cilantro, it’s one way or the other 🙂 Hello fellow cilantro lover! Thank you! And I’ll be sure to stop by this afternoon during the kiddos’ nap time 😀

      Reply

  13. Congrat’s to you for achieving success with chicken shawarma right out of the gate! Making hubby as happy as you did must have felt great. 🙂 I bet you’ll make numerous people happy with this delicious dish at the Fiesta Friday Anniversary Part 2 as well. Thanks for sharing it with all of the party revelers, Amanda!
    Nancy recently posted…Super Snacks for the Super Bowl!My Profile

    Reply

  19. That shwarma does indeed look amazing! And I am going to try it very soon, bcos the husband & I are big fans 😀 Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  24. Awesome recipe and beautiful photos! Thank you for joining us at #purebloglove. We enjoy having you every week on Thursday night at 8PM through Sunday night. ~Cydnee

    Reply

  27. This looks AMAZING! I will be featuring your awesome recipe at this weeks Tickle My Tastebuds Link Party! Have a terrific week!

    Reply

  28. Shawarma is one of my all time FAVES!!! Thank you for the mention!!! 🙂 (And I promise my mind did not go to the gutter….. 🙂 )
    [email protected] recently posted…Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Cheese SauceMy Profile

    Reply

  29. I made this for the first time tonight after finding it on Pinterest last week. This is my new favorite dinner EVER. I need to reduce the amount of cayenne (I used 1 tsp as per the recipe suggestion) and it was way too spicy for us. I sliced the chicken thinly and put it on pita with lettuce, tomato and tzatziki sauce. Amazing. Can’t thank you enough for this recipe!

    Reply

    • I’m SO SO glad you liked it Sarah!! My husband loves his spicy food lol. I love hearing from readers that have made a recipe, especially when they loved it as much as you did 🙂

      Reply

  31. Shouldn’t there be cucumber in the yogurt sauce? I don’t see it listed on the recipe. It sounds delicious though.

    Reply

  32. I made this tonight and it was fantastic! My husband is allergic to garlic so I had to omit it. I didn’t grill it, rather pan seared medium high for 3 minutes each side. (chicken breasts were thin). Then transferred them to a 200 degree oven to keep warm until served. I squeezed the juice of 1/2 a lemon over them just before serving. They were so moist and yummy! Thank you for this recipe.

    Reply

    • Hi Kelsey 🙂 I would bake the chicken at 425 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, until chicken is charred and cooked through. Times will vary depending upon the thickness of your chicken.

      Reply

  35. THis is so good. Did make some adjustments for my own pallet. Your dish has become a favorite of husband’s and five children.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

%d bloggers like this: