Chicken Shawarma Recipe: How to Make Shawarma at Home (2024)

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Last Updated on June 13, 2022

Chicken Shawarma Recipe

Chicken Shawarma is a popular gourmet sandwich that you can get at Middle Eastern restaurants. Marinated chicken chunks are mounted on a large rotating skewer and then roasted slowly to perfection against a gas-burning grill. Due to the unavailability of such industrial roasters at home, Chicken Shawarma has typically remained a restaurant dish. However, we’ve learned a few tricks that can bring you the beautiful flavor of the Chicken Shawarma Recipe at home without the need of such roasters.

Chicken Shawarma Skewers in Tripoli, Lebanon

We’ve experimented with at least 3 recipes; 2 of them tasted good but were closer to “Shish Tawook” (another chicken dish) than they were to Chicken Shawarma. So what we’re going to feature here is our third recipe which was adopted from a family friend who was once a Chef at a Lebanese Restaurant in Michigan.

Nice Marination of Chicken Shawarma

The basic concept in our recipe is to have a nice marination that mimics a good chicken shawarma flavor and then grill the chicken in such a way that keeps it juicy. We’ve found that our friend’s advice of using a panini or George Foreman grill is the best as it cooks fast and it keeps the chicken moist. Do not overcook the chicken, we’ve found that 13-15 minutes on medium heat was plenty, especially that we we were cooking thin slices of chicken.

The Chicken Shawarma Sandwich

Once the chicken shawarma is grilled, place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and shred into thin slices as per the photo above. Spread those slices along the diameter of a pita bread, add a bit of Lebanese Garlic Paste (check recipe) , some salty cucumber pickles, a bit of roasted tomatoes, french fries, roll it and voila.. you’ve got yourself a nice chicken shawarma sandwich, made at home! The image below is of our Chicken Shish Tawook sandwich just for illustration purposes, so you can see the chicken pieces are similar to kabobs where as in the Shawarma they’re shredded.

If you like beef try our Beef Shawarma Recipe as well. Now on to the recipe…

Lebanese Chicken Shawarma Recipe

Learn How to Make a Delicious Chicken Shawarma Recipe at Home Using Your Panini Grill.

4.9 from 33 votes

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Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 12 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course lunch, Sandwich

Servings 6

Ingredients

2.5 lbs boneless chicken breast or thighs

Marinade Ingredients

1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
4 tablespoons plain yogurt
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 head garlic pealed, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoons salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano ground
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder optional
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder

Sandwich Wrap Ingredients

6 loafs pita bread
4 tomatoes grilled or roasted
6 teaspoons Garlic Paste Lebanese
1/2 lb cucumber pickles salty
2 cups French fries

Instructions

Marinating the Chicken

Cut the chicken into thin slices of about 1/2 inch and place in a marination bowl.
To make the marinade, mix all dry and liquid ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend for a couple of minutes.
Add the marinate to the chicken bowl mixing well. Cover and let marinate in the fridge overnight.

Cooking

When ready, grill the marinated chicken on a panini/George Forman grill for about 15 minutes on medium heat. You can also cook the chicken on a BBQ grill if so you wish.
Shred the cooked chicken thinly and set aside to make a bombastic sandwich.

The Making of the Shawarma Wrap

Spread 1 teaspoon of Lebanese Garlic paste along the center/diameter of a pita bread.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of chicken
Add salty cucumber pickles, some French fries, and some grilled tomatoes, roll and enjoy.

Notes

Try marinating a mix of 75% chicken breast and 25% skinless boneless chicken thighs. The fat in the thighs gives the chicken a nice kick when grilled. Add grilled tomatoes in the sandwich instead of raw tomatoes Some restaurants add french fries in the sandwich, others add a cabbage/mayo salad to the sandwich. Baking or broiling in the oven will rid the chicken of its juice and must be avoided if possible. We found that using a panini grill cooks faster and keeps the moisture inside the chicken You can find salty middle eastern cucumber pickles from Middle Eastern grocery stores.

Nutrition Facts

Lebanese Chicken Shawarma Recipe

Serving Size

1 wrap

Amount per Serving

Calories

511

% Daily Value*

Fat

Saturated Fat

Trans Fat

Polyunsaturated Fat

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62 Responses to Chicken Shawarma Recipe: How to Make Shawarma at Home

Lebanese PizzaJuly 22, 2023
Why did you give it a Turkish name such as shawarma, if it is indeed “Lebanese”
Reply
Lucy DanielMarch 24, 2022
Edgard, thank you for sharing this delicious food! I followed your instructions to the letter, but my chicken pieces were still a little dry. I also made a cabbage salad with roasted tomatoes to make a sandwich. Overall, I’m pleased with the results, albeit slight tweaks are needed to avoid overcooking the chicken the next time. Thank you for sharing.
Reply
- EdgardMarch 25, 2022
  Lucy I’m glad you tried the recipe and sorry the chicken came out dry. Chicken is kinda hit and miss and depends greatly on its temp while hitting the grill, the grill’s temp etc.. what I learned recently to get consistent results is to simply use an instant thermometer and once the chicken hits around 160F I take it off the grill. The ideal temp is 165 but it continues to cook for a couple of mins after being taken off the grill.
  Reply
DaveSeptember 18, 2020
I want to subscribe to your newsletter
Reply
DemMay 14, 2020
I knew this was the true authentic Shawarma chicken marinade I was looking for when the recipe didn’t have cumin listed. Thank you! This turned out soooo good.
Reply
GaryApril 3, 2020

I have made this Countless times, we make this Quite Often, it is Excellent, so delicious, I am drooling just thinking about it.
Reply
Kiran CJanuary 6, 2018
Hi
I have tried thia recipe earlier and didn’t get it right.
With a2.5 lbs( little over a kilo) of chicken, half a cup of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of ehite vinegar along with greek yoghurt makes it very sour.. is it the right quantities oram i getting it wrong.. because the sourness just overpowers all the flavors of the chicken and spices… appreciate if u can advise as i am working on it tonight as i have guests coming over tomorrow afternoon ??. Thanks
Reply
Aditya AmonkarJune 30, 2017
Looking for Shawarma cook in Goa. Please contact me on 9890511996 / 9960076400
Reply
HajraApril 8, 2017
Hi there thank you so much for this recipe I made it today and it tasted amazing and it had the same that I had in my back home country which is India and they sell the same shawarma that I just ate today out on the streets of surat
Reply
- HajraApril 8, 2017
  I will make this more often since I was looking for the recipe that I needed.Thanks so much!!:)
  Reply
Eric SanchezMarch 12, 2017
How to make your left over chicken shawarma(chicken breast) soft and moist?
Reply
- EdgardMarch 14, 2017
  Eric you could try to add some butter or ghee when reheating the leftover chicken.. this will make them tender/soft.
  Reply
HasanFebruary 1, 2017
I love your recipes! I’ve tried most of them at some point..However could you please please please let me know how to make the pickled cucumbers which are put in shawarma?
Some recipes call for vinegar and salt and water while some skip vinegar altogether. How is it done traditionally in Lebanon?
Reply
- SetaApril 15, 2020
  
  In one liter jar place the cucumbers tightly add few cloves of garlic one piece of green chilli add 1/3 of the jar white vinegar 3l4 tablespoon of salt fill the rest of the jar with water shake it and place it on the counter top. You can use it after 4 days. I put the leftover in the fridge with the liquid to keep them crunchy, This is the best recipe I use.
  Reply
MikeJanuary 22, 2017

THANK-YOU! Excellent recipe(s)! My daughter and I no longer go to the restaurant when we what a Chicken Shawarma. We like to garnish ours with Tabbouleh (Great recipe here)and Garlic (Toum)Sauce (also excellent recipe here). I use to date a Lebanese Lady and I did use to miss her traditional cooking ( Not no more!)
Mike
Reply
RodoSeptember 3, 2016

Hey guys, anyone knows what’s the shelf life of this recipe if kept in the fridge? Chicken goes bad very quickly, but I’ve found that the marinate keeps it good for a little longer.
Reply
- EdgardSeptember 22, 2016
  Hi Rodo – the challenge with the fridge is that it tends to suck the moisture out of meats. You may be able to keep a cooked shawarma meat in the fridge for say 2 weeks but it’s almost guarenteed that it’ll dry it.. unless you place it in an airtight container inside the fridge. The longest we’ve kept such cooked meats is perhaps a week. You could also freeze leftovers which can give you several weeks more of storage.
  Reply
durgJune 26, 2016

Need proper guidence to open a shawarma shop in india ..
About uncooked rolls n machines. ..
Can u help me out please ..
Thank you in advance
Reply
KevinApril 14, 2016

I can’t thank you enough for this recipe – I moved away from Detroit and haven’t been able to find anything remotely close to the shawarma from home. I modified this slightly by adding an additional tablespoon of garlic powder to the marinade along with the head of chopped garlic; I also used all chicken thighs, no breasts, and sliced them before I marinated them, then let them sit for two days in the fridge. I baked them on a baking sheet at 425 for 15 minutes, and then dumped all of the liquid out of the pan and turned the broiler on high until they got nice and crispy. They were out of this world – better even than my favorite Lebanese restaurant back home. I served them with homemade garlic paste, sliced pickles, and a fattoush salad. Highly recommend this recipe – I’ve searched for years for one that comes close. Thanks again!
Reply
- EdgardApril 26, 2016
  Kevin very glad you enjoyed the shawarma recipe and thank you for giving us your feedback 🙂
  Reply
AbihaMarch 26, 2016

I am trying this recipe today. I hope my hubby likes it. He’s a true shawarma critic. Fingers crossed
Reply
- EdgardApril 26, 2016
  Abiha how did the shawarma turn out?
  Reply
sangeetaMarch 11, 2016

How to make pita bread at home.
Reply
FranceMarch 17, 2015

Thanks for this awesome recipe. Can you tell us how to make the pickled turnips that are purple in color that we usually find in shawarma restaurants? thanks
Reply
AfaqDecember 4, 2014

I love Lebanese food and authentic it is.
Reply
amakaJuly 8, 2014
Nice recipe
Reply
GregJuly 7, 2014
This isn’t right yeah, this is not the real chicken shawarma recipe! Tomato sauce and Greek yogurt? C’mon now! I mean this could be your version but it’s nothing close to the real one!
Cheers
Reply
- EdgardJuly 7, 2014
  You gotta try it Greg 🙂 We’ve tested a few recipes before deciding on this one to be the closest we can get to the store bought shawarma. And they indeed use tomato paste in the marinade to enhance flavor and color, and yogurt to tenderize the meat.
  Reply