Learn how to make this super Easy Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma, plus an out of this world garlic sauce and prepare your own chicken shawarma wraps. Beats takeout or fast food!
At the risk of sounding like I’m exaggerating, this chicken truly is the best. I made this last weekend and I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you guys. Hubs loves chicken shawarma and he loves going to Extreme Pita almost every week to get his chicken shawarma wrap with tabbouleh salad. It’s his favorite there, but no surprise there since he loves his sandwiches and wraps.
I decided to surprise him and make my own chicken shawarma wraps with my own homemade tabbouleh salad and garlic sauce. First let me just say that this garlic sauce is money, you can’t have a chicken shawarma wrap without garlic sauce and it’s so easy to make, all you have to do is just put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
WHAT IS CHICKEN SHAWARMA
Obviously this isn’t an authentic shawarma because I roasted mine in the oven, whereas it’s usually prepared on a spit and it can be grilled for as long as a day. Well I don’t have a day so this is the speedy method.
However it is important to marinate your chicken, the flavors here are to die for, and the chicken will melt in your mouth. It’s also a bit spicy from the red pepper flakes, so if you don’t like heat, just omit them.
WHAT SPICES ARE IN CHICKEN SHAWARMA
Believe it or not the spices are not that out of the ordinary. You’ll need smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and salt and pepper.
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN SHAWARMA IN THE OVEN
You’ll want to roast the chicken at a pretty high temperature like 425 F degrees because you want it to crisp up. I also turned the broiler on for about 3 minutes to crisp it up a bit more.
After the chicken roasts until crisp you need to let it rest for about 5 minutes and then you can slice into bits.
HOW TO SERVE CHICKEN SHAWARMA
I love to serve this with tabbouleh salad either on the plate or add it to my wraps, if making wraps. You could eat the chicken as is with some rice, but I still recommend the garlic sauce for that true Arabic experience.
I also spread some hummus over my wraps but you can totally skip the hummus and just add tabbouleh salad, chicken shawarma and plenty of that garlic sauce.
Well I sure did surprise my hubs because he loved this. I know when he’s really enjoying a meal because he’s not complaining and there’s just silence as he’s eating, maybe a moan here and there. The only problem is that now he’s asking for chicken shawarma wraps every single day.
These wraps are a flavor bomb and it’ll beat any chicken shawarma take out. they’re perfect for lunch or dinner, you can even wrap them up in foil and take them to a picnic. They’ll be delicious!
CRAVING MORE MIDDLE EASTERN RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Best Ever Hummus
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma
- Moroccan Style Roast Chicken and Potatoes
- Baba Ghanoush
- Baklava
Easy Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma
- 4 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cumin ground
- 2 tsp black pepper ground
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 1 large onion sliced
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh, for garnish
Garlic Sauce
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 egg white *
- 1 tsp salt
Chicken Shawarma Wraps
- hummus
- tabbouleh salad
- garlic sauce
- pita wraps
Instructions
Chicken Shawarma
- In a large bowl add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cumin, black pepper, paprika, turmeric, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, garlic, and whisk well. Add the chicken and toss making sure the chicken is well coated in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer the meat marinates the more flavour you'll have.
- Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Add sliced onion to bowl with chicken and toss well so that the onion is fully coated in the marinade. Add everything to a 9x13 baking dish. I didn't have much marinade leftover since the chicken absorbed most of it, so that's why I added everything to the baking dish. Spread everything evenly over the baking dish.
- Bake in the oven until the chicken is browned and crisp on the edges, for about 40 to 45 minutes. If you want the chicken crispier on top, turn the broiler on to high and broil for 3 minutes until nice and crispy on the outside.
- Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then slice it into bits.
Garlic Sauce
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, it should take 1 to 2 minutes. This recipe will make about 1 1/2 cups of sauce, refrigerate leftover sauce.
Chicken Shawarma Wraps
- To make the chicken shawarma wraps, warm up the wraps first in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then spread some hummus over each wrap, spoon about 2 or 3 tbsp of tabbouleh salad, add chicken shawarma, and drizzle with garlic sauce and serve.
Notes
- Prep time does not include time for marinating chicken.
- *If you don't want to use raw egg whites in the garlic sauce, you can omit it, just add the oil little by little to the blender until it thickens and should have the consistency of mayonnaise.
- You can find the homemade hummus recipe here. You can find the tabbouleh salad recipe here.
- Nutritional information does not include tabbouleh salad, hummus or pitas. It does include garlic sauce. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
This chicken shawarma recipe is unlike any other. Taste is great. Easily and quickly cooked in the oven. I have to say that I didn’t have paprika and replaced it with Cajun. Also I did not have the garlic paste and the tabuli salad so I prepared fresh Avocado paste with salt and lemon juice and added it to my pita sandwich. It was really tasty.
Just one comment that the quantity of the olive oil and the spices is a bit to the higher side.
Thanks for this great recipe.
Where the hell is the shawarma – garlic sauce recipe???????
In the recipe card, where it says “Garlic Sauce”.
Awesome Recipe! I followed exactly and marinated the chicken all day, then cooked on the bbq. I also made your garlic sauce along with homemade flatbread. The entire family enjoyed this one! Thank you so much!
We’ll have to try the BBQ! That sounds amazing.
Do I cover the chicken while it’s baking?
No I do not!
This recipe is so good! I made this for a gathering and then again for my VERY picky and VERY particular husband. It was a hit with everyone. My husband even texted me just to tell me that he liked it (which never happens). This is simple to make, yet so flavorful. The chicken was so moist. I made it again while meal prepping and used the chicken throughout the week in my lunch. I also made the hummus. Thanks so much for this!
I’m a dietitian and have clients who are always looking for healthy recipes..this is now one that I will be recommending regularly 😉
I have made this recipe so many times and every time it comes out delicious!! It is so easy to put together and works for weeknight meals or to serve a crowd for a party! Thank you so much for sharing!! Every time I make it people ask me for the recipe!
Just send them over! 🙂
My family thought this was delicious! All three children enjoyed it and one even had seconds! Incredibly tender and delicious!!! Will absolutely make again. We marinated chicken for 4 hours.
Thanks for sharing this Joanna. I found a link to your site on a Facebook group, ‘Instant Pot Recipes Only’, I prepared a Chicken Shawarma cook-off this evening – the oven-roasted version vs the Instant Pot version. This cunning plan ensured planned-overs (not leftovers) for the freezer for future meals. Both versions turned out great and were well received by the family. The teen preferred the oven-roasted chicken breast. The husband appreciated the moistness of the chicken thighs but couldn’t choose between them.
I love it when you can’t choose which you like better, that means that they’re both good. So happy you guys enjoyed this!
This is by far my favorite chicken to make when I am entertaining. Everyone loves it! I also make whipped feta and spread that on the pita too. Money!
Love the whipped feta idea!
Just made this recipe after seeing it on Buzzfeed. It’s literally the tastiest thing I have ever made myself and my partner also agreed! I added some roasted aubergine spread instead of hummus and it was very tasty.
Thanks for the recipe; I’ll be trying some more over the coming weeks.
Glad you liked it, Mark!
Simply delicious!!! I ended up marinating my chicken overnight and I seared it on the stove top. Served with lettuce, taziki sauce, flat bread and rice. Definitely a redo recipe!!!
Look forward to trying it on the grill.
Thanks for the great recipe!!
Forgot to rate the recipe….
Definitely 5 stars
My family & I absolutely love this recipe! Someone asked you about making the garlic sauce spicy. I made it exactly like your recipe.It turned out extremely spicy, I later read that it’s the garlic it’s self that makes it spicy.
I cannot tell you how much I love this recipe. I live in Vermont and we can’t get shawarma anywhere in the state and I miss it like crazy. I make it at least once a month and my husband and I can’t get enough of it.
I was just wondering though, if you would know of a way to make spicy garlic sauce? I love the one you have, but my husband always wants his to be spicy and adding sriracha to it, while effective, didn’t produce the results he wanted. From all the shawarma shops I went to, I remember their sauce being a quite vibrant orange colour and I haven’t been able to reproduce that here.
Thanks!
I don’t think I’ve ever had a spicy garlic sauce, but that’s what I would have suggested, adding either sriracha or some chili garlic sauce.
Add cayenne pepper. It’s what I add when I just want heat and I don’t want the other stuff hot sauces have like salt.
Hi Jo-
Love your recipes and stories. I would like to purchase an instant pot but there are so many models out there. Can you tell me which one you purchased and I assume you are very pleased with it???
I have the Instant Pot Smart BluetooQT 6 qt and yes I am very pleased with it. It’s so versatile, I just love it!
Did you ever make this in your Instant Pot? If yes, do you have the recipe/time conversions?
I’ve made this recipe many times. Love it. Would be great to make it in my pressure cooker.
Not yet, but it’s on the schedule to make. 🙂
We lived in the Middle East for 4 years, and yes, without being on a spit this is pretty darn tasty. We love the combo of these flavors. Thank you for sharing, it’s definitely a keeper in our house!
Thank you, Cheryl!
Hi! Do you think you could make this in advance and freeze it and then reheat?
Yes, absolutely!
Hi Jo! I don’t usually leave comments but just wanted to say thank you for delicious recipes I use all the time. Just made a few changes for this one. My husband asked to double the onions and triple the marinade (I serve it with rice). I also tried to make this recipe with rotisserie chicken leftovers that we always have (saute the onions, add the sauce (I tweaked it a little bit too), saute with the cubed chicken) and now it’s the weekly staple at my house. Thanks a lot!
Oksana, thank you so much for leaving a comment on my blog. This chicken is also one of our favorites and I make it quite often.
Could you do this in the crock pot instead of the oven?
Yes, absolutely. I’m actually going to be making this in my Instant Pot soon.
Do you alter anything when you make it in the crock pot? Also how long do you cook it for?
No, it can be done the same, I’d cook it on low for about 3 hours or until it reaches 165 F degrees.
Hi Jo I am marinating overnight and can’t wait to try this recipe. One question I have, do you bake the chicken in the marinade or drain off?
Yes, I use all the marinade, it’s the best part. 🙂
Had this for supper tonight and it was fantastic!! My husband says its a keeper! I even made the garlic sauce to go with it…so easy to make and
yummy. Will definitely try more recipes 🙂
I’m so glad you gave this recipe a try, it’s one of our favorite chicken recipes here as well!