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Chicken Shawarma
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Traditional Middle Eastern shawarma roasts spiced meat on a vertical spit; as the exterior cooks, slices are carved away while the meat slowly rotates. Our easy weeknight chicken shawarma uses the intense heat of the broiler to char chicken thighs and onion slices that have been tossed with spices, olive oil and a little tahini to help with caramelization. Shawarma isn’t complete without a creamy, cooling sauce—we make ours by combining yogurt, olive oil, tahini, lemon and herbs. Serve with pita, along with sliced cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce for making sandwich wraps. Alternatively, offer a rice pilaf alongside.
4
Servings
Tip
Don’t use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Thighs are best here, not only because they’re more flavorful, but also because they’re more resistant to overcooking, which is important when broiling.
40 minutes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons hot paprika or 1¾ teaspoons sweet paprika plus ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini, divided
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
1 medium red onion, halved and sliced ½ inch thick
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup lightly packed fresh mint, flat-leaf parsley or a combination, chopped
Ingredients
-
1
tablespoon ground cumin
-
1
tablespoon ground coriander
-
2
teaspoons hot paprika or 1¾ teaspoons sweet paprika plus ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
-
1
teaspoon ground cinnamon
-
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
-
⅓
cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
-
3
tablespoons tahini, divided
-
1
teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
-
2
pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
-
1
medium red onion, halved and sliced ½ inch thick
-
1
cup plain whole-milk yogurt
-
1
cup lightly packed fresh mint, flat-leaf parsley or a combination, chopped
Directions
-
01In a large bowl, stir together the cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, 1½ teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons black pepper. Measure 1 teaspoon of the mix into a medium bowl; set aside. Into the remaining spice mix, whisk ⅓ cup oil, 1 tablespoon of tahini and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add the chicken and onion, then toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature while the broiler heats.
-
02Heat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches from the element. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, then mist with cooking spray. Meanwhile, to the reserved spice mix, add the yogurt, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the remaining 2 tablespoons tahini, the lemon zest, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of mint. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Stir, then set aside until ready to serve.
-
03Transfer the chicken-onion mixture, along with its marinade, to the prepared baking sheet, then distribute in an even layer. Broil until the chicken is lightly charred on both sides, 18 to 20 minutes, flipping the pieces once about halfway through. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining mint and toss to combine. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve with the yogurt-tahini sauce.
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Reviews
June 19, 2023
Delicious
Warm spices, delicious sauce. I will definitely make this again.
April 26, 2023
perfect!
This will become a regular meal for us. I served it in flatbread (yogurt flatbreads with flavored butter recipe) with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes to make a wrap. Most recipes take me twice as long as the listed time, but this one was pretty spot on! I'll buy flatbread for nights I am in a rush.
February 6, 2023
Now a family favorite
I've made this a few times and absolutely love it. It's quick and pretty easy and you can prep all of it ahead of time if you need to. Milk Street recipes always pack in the full heat content of the original culture so I've learned to modify to our family's taste which tends toward medium heat, not super hot. I prepare this as written except I use half hot paprika and half sweet and that adds plenty of flavor for us. Since it's winter here, I've used fresh parsley from the store for the yogurt sauce but want to make it with mint when it starts growing again. Great with pita but last night we had it over brown rice and a nice chopped tomato/cucumber/red onion/parley salad on the side. I really recommend trying this since my daughter said it's almost as good as the Halal truck shawarma she bought frequently in college --- high praise!
January 16, 2023
Excellent
A family favorite
July 2, 2022
Cooked on the grill
I made this for visiting guests as an alternative to the usual cookout fair. So as not to have to heat up the kitchen, I cooked the chicken on the grill and served with a salad and pita bread. Some people turned these into pita sandwiches while others just ate the bread on the side with hummus. My daughter said this was one of the best meals I have ever made.
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Your First Issue
Can you grill this?