This Chicken Shawarma Tabbouleh Salad is super fresh and loaded with incredible flavors. The chicken is marinated in Middle Eastern spices, super moist and delicious served over the best tabbouleh salad and a side of homemade hummus.
Today I’m sharing with you a couple of my favorite recipes put together to show you how I love to eat my salads – because a boring salad will not work for me. Not only is this salad fresh, bright, satisfying, and savory, but it’s also packed full of super foods so it’s amazing for you.
What Is Chicken Shawarma?
Shawarma is a Middle Eastern method of preparing meat. Have you been into a Donair shop and seen the cuts of meat piled high rotating slowly on a vertical rotisserie? While I don’t exactly have one of those rotisseries lying around (and I’m sure you don’t either) we’re going to use our oven today to replicate the flavor and juicy cuts achieved more traditionally.
What Is Tabbouleh?
Tabbouleh is a traditionally vegetarian salad hailing from Lebanon. It’s chock full of super fresh herbs like mint and parsley, tomatoes, bulgur (an ancient grain) and a glug of good olive oil. It’s got everything you need, fresh bright flavors, great texture and chew, as well as super tender and flavorful chicken – in this recipe’s case.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Chicken shawarma
- Olive oil – We want a nice neutral tasting oil to cook our chicken down in.
- Lemon juice – Fresh is best! We’re using the juice from 2 lemons.
- Spices – Smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Onion – White or yellow, something that cooks down well.
- Chicken – I used chicken breasts today, but you can definitely use chicken thighs.
- Parsley – Fresh chopped up nice and fine.
Tabbouleh salad
- Water – To cook down our bulgur.
- Bulgur – Cooks down similarly to rice, you can use quinoa in its place.
- Olive oil – A few glugs of the good stuff.
- Lemon juice – Fresh is always best from 1 or 2 lemons.
- Veggies – Tomatoes and cucumbers chopped up into bite sized pieces.
- Herbs – Parsley, mint, and green onion.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Optional ingredients
Optional but in my opinion, completely mandatory.
- Feta – Crumbled up nice and fine. Optional but in my opinion totally mandatory!
- Olives – Kalamata olives pitted and sliced up.
- Pita bread – My recipe for some perfect pita can be found here.
- Hummus – My hummus recipe is the best hands down, although store bought will work in a pinch.
- Avocado – Sliced up and laid over top.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma Tabbouleh Salad
Shawarma
- Marinate the chicken: In a 8×8 baking dish add the smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic, and whisk well. Add the chicken, sliced onion 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 the oven: To 425 F degrees.
- Bake the chicken: Bake uncovered until the chicken is browned and crisp on the edges, and cooked through. It should take 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.
- Rest the chicken: Let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
Tabbouleh salad
Prepare the salad while the chicken bakes away.
- Make the bulgur: Add the water to a small pot and bring to boil. When the water is boiling add the bulgur and cover. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Stir occasionally. Let the bulgur cool before adding to the salad.
- Combine the salad: Add the bulgur to a large bowl, then add the remaining ingredients. Toss well.
- Assemble the salad: To assemble the salad, spread the tabbouleh salad over the bottom of a large shallow plate. Arrange with sliced chicken, sliced avocado, Kalamata olives and sprinkle some feta cheese over the top. Serve with hummus and pita bread.
Other Cooking Options
Don’t want to make this in the oven? Well lucky for you this chicken shawarma cooks up beautifully in many a cooking vessel, so let’s get down to it.
Instant Pot
Lucky for you I’ve posted an instant pot recipe for Chicken Shawarma to the blog in the past! Refer to this recipe to find out exactly how to make it all happen.
Slow cooker
- Create the marinade: Marinate the chicken the same as instructed above and allow to sit for at least 1 hour, although longer is ideal.
- Cook the chicken: Dump the chicken and marinade in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Remove the chicken and brown in a skillet on the oven. Follow the instructions outlined above for what to do with this chicken once it’s done cooking!
Leftovers
Chicken
The Chicken Shawarma will last in the fridge in an air tight container for 3 – 4 days. If you’d like to freeze this dish I recommend freezing the chicken in the bag with the marinade while still raw, then when it defrosts you can pop it in the Instant Pot from there!
Tabbouleh salad
This salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container. I don’t recommend freezing this salad as all that fresh veg and those carbs will not thaw properly once out of the freezer.
More Delicious Middle Eastern Dishes To Try:
- Best Ever Hummus
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma
- Moroccan Style Roast Chicken and Potatoes
- Baba Ghanoush
- Baklava
- Moroccan Spice Blend
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Chicken Shawarma Tabbouleh Salad
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 cup lemon juice from about 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 1 large onion sliced
Tabbouleh Salad
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup bulgur wheat uncooked
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1 or 2 lemons, depends on size)
- 3 cups tomatoes chopped small
- 1 English cucumber chopped small
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
- 2 cups fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh mint chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
Other Optional Ingredients
- 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives
- pita bread
- hummus
- 1 avocado sliced
Instructions
For Chicken Shawarma
- In a 8×8 baking dish add the smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, garlic, and whisk well. Add the chicken, sliced onion 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 the oven to 425 F degrees.
- Bake uncovered until the chicken is browned and crisp on the edges, and cooked through. It should take 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 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
Tabbouleh Salad
- While the chicken is baking, prepare the tabbouleh salad. Add the water to a small pot and bring to boil. When the water is boiling add the bulgur and cover. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Stir occasionally. Let the bulgur cool before adding to the salad.
- Add the bulgur to a large bowl, then add the remaining ingredients. Toss well.
- To assemble the salad, spread the tabbouleh salad over the bottom of a large shallow plate. Arrange with sliced chicken, sliced avocado, Kalamata olives and sprinkle some feta cheese over the top. Serve with hummus and pita bread.
Recipe Notes
- In the previous recipe for the chicken shawarma I mentioned adding the onion after the chicken marinated, but I have changed it here and added everything all at once.Â
- If you have an Instant Pot at home, try my IP Chicken Shawarma recipe for this salad.
- You can use quinoa in place of the bulgur wheat for a gluten free version.
- Use a larger baking dish if you’re making 3 or 4 chicken breasts.
- You can find the recipe for the homemade hummus here.
- My favorite way to serve this is to make pita wraps by adding a bit of everything from the plate. It’s to die for!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
- Nutritional information does not include optional ingredients.
Can I grill the chicken? It’s hotter than hades today.
Hi Becky!
The grill might make the chicken too dry, but we do have an option to use the Instant Pot to cook your chicken and not make it hotter in the house – more than it already is :D.
Refer to this recipe to find out exactly how to make it all happen: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/instant-pot-chicken-shawarma/
Let us know how it all turns out!
This chicken was delicious and so full of flavor! I also made the
Tabbouleh Salad but took a tip from a nutrition coach friend and used riced cauliflower vs the bulgar. Her recipe added a little olive oil and cumin to the salad. That made for a better flavor for us. But combined with the chicken? Amazing. And the hummus (a must!) pulled it all together. We will certainly be making this again!
I made this salad for myself for Mother’s Day, and it didn’t disappoint. It was very delicious! I loved all the flavors and textures together. The chicken is so flavorful. I’ve made the shawarma chicken twice now–once in the oven as the recipe indicated, and one on the stove-top in a cast iron pan. I actually prefer the latter. I noticed no difference in flavor or texture, and I saved my house from getting warmed up by a hot oven for about an hour’s time. The chicken was much juicier cooked on the stovetop as well. It’s easier for me to gauge when the chicken is cooked and not overdone this way. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
I RARELY follow recipes. They’re usually boring and bland and I have to spice them up and do my own thing. But this recipe was SO SO yummy just how it was! Thanks so much for sharing!
I want to make this salad this coming week, but I have a question first. Does this salad have a dressing to drizzle over the top, or is there enough moisture with the rest of the salad ingredients that it’s unnecessary?
If you want you can toss it with some lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil!
Absolutely delicious!
This will be one of my go-to chicken recipes moving forward. The meat came out tender, juicy and an absolute explosion of flavor, which is generally not something I say about chicken. I did have to take it out about 10-15 minutes sooner, so I really recommend working with a meat thermometer here.
I can also attest to the fact that the addition of olives, avocado and feta is absolutely mandatory. I got my hands on some goat feta and the acidity took the entire meal up a notch.
I rarely comment on recipes but boy, this one’s absolutely worth it.
Thanks, Victoria! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment, and I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Can you make this ahead of time ? Would like to make it for a work lunch. Also, can you make the chicken in the crock pot ? A little hot here to turn the oven on ! Thanks !
You can, but keep in mind your crock pot will create a lot more moisture and you won’t get the exact same results with crisp edges on the chicken.
Hi Jo . This recipe says it serves 6 people but only 1 lb of chicken, which is 1 xl or two small breasts – is that correct?
Yes, because it’s in a salad. Anyway feel free to change the servings as you like.
Your recipes are to die for jo!
Thank you!