Authentic Lebanese chicken shawarma is an easy oven-baked chicken recipe made with thinly sliced chicken, tomatoes, onions, shawarma seasoning, salt, and vinegar.
Chicken shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern street food. I am half Lebanese and hold chicken shawarma close to my heart (and chicken shish tawook!). This recipe is the perfect way to make Lebanese shawarma at home without the typical vertical spit shawarma setup. The thing I like the most about this recipe is the juicy chicken. Sometimes, traditional shawarma is a bit dry.
Make a shawarma wrap with shawarma, Lebanese garlic sauce (toum), french fries, and pickles. Or, serve this juicy chicken as a chicken shawarma plate alongside Lebanese rice.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken breast, chicken tenders (or chicken strips), or boneless skinless chicken thighs. My preference is chicken tenders.
- Shawarma seasoning: Shawarma seasoning can vary quite a lot. Buy shawarma seasoning from Amazon, Middle Eastern grocery stores, or make your own. I like Plant Based Folk's shawarma blend. Some Lebanese shawarma recipes just combine Lebanese 7 spices (a popular Lebanese spice mix) and allspice.
- Tomatoes: Use Roma tomatoes, beef steak, tomatoes on the vine, or even cherry tomatoes.
- Onion: I prefer white onion, yellow onion, red onion, or brown onion.
- Garlic paste: Make garlic paste using fresh garlic cloves.
- Vinegar: I prefer apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar or red wine vinegar also works.
How To Make Lebanese Chicken Shawarma
Preheat the oven to 425 ℉ (220℃).
Slice the chicken into thin strips and add the chicken pieces to a bowl. Measure the salt, garlic paste, shawarma spice, and vinegar. Mix until the sliced chicken is fully coated in spices. Marinate the chicken pieces for a few minutes or overnight.
Slice the tomatoes and onions using a sharp knife. Set aside.
Mix the marinated shawarma chicken, sliced onions, and sliced tomatoes in a baking dish. Bake the chicken shawarma at 425 ℉ (220℃) for 40 minutes. Halfway through, mix the shawarma once.
The chicken shawarma is done when the chicken is cooked through. There should be some juices on the bottom of the pan.
Serve baked chicken shawarma with vermicelli rice or in a chicken shawarma sandwich. On Lebanese pita bread, slather garlic toum sauce. Top with chicken shawarma, french fries (or roasted batata harra), and pickles. Wrap tightly.
Tips and Tricks
- Make toum garlic sauce while the chicken is roasting in the oven. Toum is essential for this popular dish.
- Experiment with your favorite shawarma spice blends. Make your bulk shawarma blend, try different store blends, or use Lebanese seven spices. Tweak the recipe to suit your favorite flavor profiles.
- Lebanese flatbread is thin and flexible. It's the perfect bread to use for shawarma wraps. I prefer to store my Lebanese pita in the freezer so it doesn't dry out. I reheat it in the microwave one pita at a time (about 15 seconds).
Variations and Substitutions
- Substitute equal parts fresh lemon juice for vinegar.
- Make it spicy by adding some red pepper flakes.
- Beef shawarma is equally delicious but usually served with a tahini sauce.
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📋 Recipe
Authentic Lebanese Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma
- 3 lbs sliced chicken chicken tenders, chicken breast, or chicken thighs (see note 1)
- 3 medium tomatoes Roma
- 1 medium onion
- 4 tablespoon shawarma seasoning see note 3
- 6 crushed garlic cloves
- 6 tablespoon vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Batata Harra Fries (Optional)
- 2 medium potatoes
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
Chicken Shawarma
- Preheat the oven to 425 ℉ (220 ℃).
- Slice the chicken into thin strips. Mix the garlic paste, shawarma seasoning, vinegar, and salt with the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for a few minutes while slices the tomatoes and onion.
- Slice the onion and tomatoes thinly.
- In a large baking dish (9" x 13"), mix the marinated chicken shawarma, sliced onions, and sliced tomatoes. Bake the chicken shawarma at 425 ℉ (220 ℃) for 40 to 45 minutes. Mix the shawarma once halfway so the meat cooks evenly.
Shawarma Wrap
- Slather toum garlic sauce on large Lebanese pita bread. Lay chicken shawarma, french fries (or baked batata harra fries), and pickles. Wrap tightly and enjoy!
Batata Harra Fries (Optional)
- Peel and slice the potato into fries. Coat the fries in olive oil. In a large bowl, mix garlic paste, chopped cilantro, salt, and fries.
- Lay the potatoes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a thin layer without over-crowding the pan. You might need two large baking sheets, one for each potato.
- Bake the french fries at the same time as the chicken. Bake at 425 ℉ (220 ℃) for about 40 to 45 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Use boneless skinless chicken: either chicken breast, chicken thighs, or chicken tenders.
- Make chicken shawarma into a wrap, salad, or bowl.
- Some homemade Lebanese shawarma recipes use Lebanese 7 spices + allspice instead of shawarma mix (that's how my family makes shawarma). It tastes different than what you might find at a restaurant. Substitute 4 tablespoon shawarma mix for 3 tablespoon Lebanese seven spice + ½ tablespoon allspice.
- Storage: Store shawarma in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a microwave, oven, or air fryer. Method for freezing raw shawarma: Batch prepare shawarma by slicing and marinating a bulk quantity of chicken. Store the raw marinated thin slices of meat in a freezer bag. When ready to prepare, defrost the meat.
Lily
Turned out delicious