Learn how to make a healthy Middle Eastern chicken shawarma plate at home. Loaded with juicy shawarma-flavored chicken, creamy hummus, fresh pita bread, and delicious Lebanese tabouli salad, you’ll never order again.
You and your dinner guests will love this chicken shawarma plate recipe. The recipe is easy to assemble and tops the flavor scale. You don’t have to be a special cook to marinate and grill chicken, throw chickpeas in a food processor, or chop vegetables for a Middle Eastern salad.
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😍 Why you’ll love this recipe
If preparing a chicken shawarma plate is too difficult, you can prepare hummus in advance and buy pita bread instead of baking it yourself. Overall, this is a nutritious meal that everyone will love. Making a shawarma plate yourself is much cheaper than making a shawarma plate outside.
🛒 What you need for this recipe
🔖 Materials and Substitutes
Chicken — I prefer to use chicken thighs in this shawarma plate recipe. Thigh meat is juicier and full of flavor than chicken breast meat. However, you can use either. To make shawarma, it is best to use boneless, skinless chicken, as it cooks more easily and is easier to slice. Lemon juice — If possible, use freshly squeezed lemon juice instead of bottled. Olive oil — This recipe uses olive oil, but you can substitute a healthy avocado oil instead. Shawarma seasoning — You can buy shawarma seasoning if you like, but I highly recommend using my shawarma seasoning recipe.
🍗 How to make chicken shawarma plate
marinated chicken
Combine olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add crushed garlic.
Add shawarma seasoning and stir.
Place the thawed chicken in a ziplock bag and cover with the marinade. Use a spatula to remove every last drop.
Remove the air from the bag and then seal it. Massage the marinade onto the chicken, then place on a plate and refrigerate for at least a few hours, preferably longer.
cooking procedure
Grill the chicken shawarma over medium heat until done.
Another method is to shred the chicken and cook it in a lightly oiled and seasoned cast iron skillet.
You can also cook chicken shawarma in the oven. Place the chicken slices on a lightly greased, foil-covered baking sheet and bake in a 425°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
🍽 Suggestions for serving shawarma
Plate the chicken shawarma slices with a Middle Eastern salad, hummus with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of pita chips, tahini sauce, and .
Or stuff pita pockets or flatbreads with meat, add fries, tabouli and drizzle with tahini sauce.
chicken shawarma bowl
Yet another option is to make a shawarma bowl instead of a plate or platter. Shawarma bowls are similar to Mexican rice bowls. First, add rice. I recommend the vermicelli rice. Next, serve with chicken shawarma and salad and top with tahini sauce. Sprinkling with sumac is also effective.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQ
Chicken shawarma is very flavorful and may have some spiciness. Flavored with exotic spices like cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cloves and allspice, it will take your taste buds on a flavorful adventure. If you like bland food, avoid shawarma chicken.
Chicken shawarma is usually prepared using dark meat or thigh meat. Using chicken thighs will give you a juicier chicken shawarma, but there is no rule against using chicken breasts.
The history of shawarma dates back to the Ottoman Empire (now Türkiye). The word “shawarma” means “spinning” in Arabic. It is called “shawarma” because the spiced meat (lamb, beef, chicken) is roasted on rotating vertical spits. But most of us do not have skewers at home, so you can cook shawarma meat on the grill, in a frying pan or in the oven.
In the Middle East, shawarma is just one of the popular street foods you’ll often see walking down the street.
However, shawarma is sometimes confused with the Greek word giro (pronounced ee-ros), which is of Greek origin. Like shawarma, “gyros” means “spinning” in Greek. Minced pork, lamb or beef is mixed with spices and formed into a bread shape around a rotating vertical spit.
Gyro bread is sliced into very thin long pieces of meat and served with flatbread, tzatziki sauce, onion slices, lettuce, and tomato.
👩🏼🍳Pro Tips
Slicing the chicken before marinating further enhances the traditional shawarma flavor and allows the marinade to penetrate the chicken evenly. Especially recommended if you don’t have time to marinate chicken. Even if you slice the chicken raw, you can still cook it on the grill using a grill basket. This marinade is also delicious when used to marinate beef, pork, and lamb. To transform this recipe from chicken shawarma plates to chicken shawarma wraps, simply stuff all the delicious ingredients inside a flatbread, lavash bread, or tortilla. Another delicious salad to try with shawarma chicken is tabbouleh.
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📖Recipes
chicken shawarma plate
Learn how to make a healthy and juicy Middle Eastern chicken shawarma plate at home.
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Quantity: 6 people
calorie: 375kcal
Instructions
marinated chicken
Mix olive oil and lemon juice. Add crushed garlic.
Add shawarma seasoning and stir.
Place the defrosted chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in the marinade. Use a spatula to remove every last drop.
Remove the air from the bag and then seal it. Massage the marinade onto the chicken, place on a plate, and refrigerate for at least a few hours, preferably longer.
cook chicken shawarma
Grill the chicken shawarma on medium heat until done.
You can also cook chicken shawarma in the oven. Place the chicken slices on a lightly oiled foil-covered sheet pan and bake in a 425°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
offer suggestions
Serve the sliced chicken shawarma on a plate with a Middle Eastern salad, hummus, and pita bread.
Precautions
Slicing the chicken before marinating further enhances the traditional shawarma flavor and allows the marinade to penetrate the chicken evenly. Especially recommended if you don’t have time to marinate chicken. Even if you slice the chicken raw, you can still cook it on the grill using a grill basket (affiliate link). This marinade is also delicious when used to marinate beef, pork, and lamb. To transform this recipe from chicken shawarma plates to chicken shawarma wraps, simply stuff all the delicious ingredients inside a flatbread, lavash bread, or tortilla. Another delicious salad to try with shawarma chicken is tabbouleh.
nutrition
Provided by: 8ounce | calorie: 375kcal | carbohydrates: 2g | protein: 45g | fat: 19g | Saturated fat: 4g | cholesterol: 250mg | sodium: 1145mg | fiber: 0g | sugar: 0g
