Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce

Who can walk by a shawarma grill house and not be tempted by the delicious aroma of slow-cooked meat? You’ll be surprised how easy it is to satisfy your craving by making it yourself at home. 

Making chicken shawarma at home

Most of us don’t have a vertical BBQ spit at home, but you can replicate this delicious shaved meat by thinly slicing boneless chicken thighs and onions and marinating them in authentic-style shawarma flavours. Brown the chicken and onions in a skillet until golden and caramelized and serve with an easy-to-make garlic sauce. 

I tested this recipe including the garlic sauce over and over again. Mixing a combination of pantry spices, garlic, and lemon, I worked on it until I was satisfied with the method and flavour. I knew I was successful when my family assured me we wouldn’t have to go out for chicken shawarma take-out any time soon!

The delicious marinade has an exotic flavour made with freshly minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper. It sounds like a lot of ingredients but you likely have all of these in your pantry!

What is shawarma?

Shawarma is a Middle Eastern food consisting of spiced and marinated meat stacked on a cone-shaped vertical rotating spit and is slow roasted all day. It’s a common street food across the Middle East and is loved by many around the world including here in Canada. The cooked meat is shaved off in shreds and typically served wrapped in a flatbread or pita with salad and garlic sauce. 

Yogurt Flatbread

To take this shawarma over the top – I also developed an easy-to-make Yogurt Flatbread. This flatbread is soft and pliable which makes it perfect to wrap shawarma in.

Tips for making shawarma at home

• Boneless chicken thighs are the preferred meat for this shawarma as they absorb the delicious marinade and stay moist, tender and flavourful when cooked.
• There are a lot of thinly sliced onions in this shawarma. The onions cook to a golden caramelized texture and almost disintegrate to a point you won’t even know they’re there but give lots of flavour. So don’t skip them!
• Ideally, if you have a cast iron skillet it’s best for cooking the chicken. If you don’t have one, then any large skillet will do. Either way, make sure you cook the chicken in two batches to ensure even browning.

How to serve shawarma

Just like the traditional street food, you can serve shawarma folded in a warm flatbread or pita with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, lettuce, and garlic sauce. A sprinkle of cilantro is always nice as is a dash of hot chili sauce. Another way to serve shawarma is plated with a salad, rice, and flatbread or pita wedges and garnishes. However, you decide to serve your shawarma I promise it won’t disappoint!

I like to use up leftover chicken shawarma the next day for lunch by tossing the chicken in a green salad. Sadly, I rarely get this chance as the shawarma is typically all eaten up!

The chicken needs time to marinate (a few hours or overnight) so plan ahead! It’s so easy to prepare the chicken marinade early in the day or a day ahead. Once the marinating part is done, you’re set to have dinner ready in a flash.

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Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce

Thinly sliced boneless chicken thighs and onions marinated in authentic shawarma flavours. The chicken is browned in a skillet until golden and caramelized and served with an easy to make garlic sauce and optional yogurt flatbread.

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Chicken shawarma

• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon more for cooking
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 10-12 boneless chicken thighs, sliced thinly (approximately 900g / 2 lbs)

Garlic sauce

• ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon liquid honey
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup plain yogurt

Optional serving suggestions

• Flatbread, pita, rice, cilantro, hot sauce and/or salad

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine onions, garlic, lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. Add the sliced chicken to the bowl and stir to combine well. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to marinate.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic sauce. In a mason jar or small bowl, whisk together the garlic sauce ingredients; oil, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and yogurt until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

3. To cook the chicken, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large 12” skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken to the skillet. Cook for 10 – 12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken and onions become browned and caramelized. Remove chicken to a serving bowl. Wipe out the skillet. Add another 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet and repeat the process with the remaining chicken. 

4. Serve chicken shawarma on a warm flatbread or pita bread topped with salad and garlic sauce or plated with salad, rice and garlic sauce. Garnish with cilantro and hot sauce as desired.