Let me start by saying that I love chicken shawarma in all its forms, whether as a bowl, sandwich, or salad. This chicken shawarma bowl is no exception. The marinade for the chicken is nostalgic to the flavor of shawarma I enjoyed on many occasions in the Middle East. All the components of this dish come together to create the perfect bite of food. I can have this meal on repeat and always look forward to it. It is comparable if not better than what you will get in any Arab restaurant!
What’s great about this recipe is that it is so easy to put together and it is healthy! You will not feel guilt eating the entire bowl of this! You can also save yourself some time by marinating the chicken a day ahead which will yield an even more flavorful chicken. The yellow rice with pickled cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and garlic sauce work so well for the perfect chicken shawarma bowl. It is also super flexible, as you can mix and match fixings to your liking! I list several options below. This is your chicken shawarma plate; you can customize it. The star of this recipe is the chicken shawarma itself!
What is in the Chicken Shawarma Marinade?
Nowadays, you can buy shawarma seasoning in any Arab supermarket but I still prefer to mix my own. Here are the spices you will need: Seven Spice, Cumin, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Smoked Paprika, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper.
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To these seasonings, you will also be adding both olive oil and lemon juice to add moisture and more flavor. You can marinate your chicken the day before or just an hour in advance. You will be left with a very flavorful aromatic chicken that tastes like authentic chicken shawarma.
Chicken Shawarma Bowl Fixings:
This is what’s awesome about this bowl- you can customize it with whatever fixings you prefer. It is easy to mix and match based on what you have available at home! I’ll share with you the most popular options:
- Sauce– you need a sauce to tie all the components together, and my preferred sauce is always garlic when it comes to chicken shawarma. If it were beef shawarma, I would pair it with a tahini sauce, which would be more compatible. But yes, it must have a creamy garlic sauce, in my opinion. I share different versions of a garlic sauce in the recipe card, but you can always use pre-made garlic sauce known as toom or make your own.
- Rice- isn’t a must, but I think this carb choice ties the bowl together. If you want to make this low-carb or keto, you can skip out on the rice and go extra on the veggies. Another great carb would be a pita or a wrap. The chicken shawarma with the fixings is fantastic in a sandwich, pictured below, with a side of fries!
- Veggies– this bowl is on the healthier side as it incorporates a lot of veggies. To name a few: pickled cucumbers or even pickled turnips(this, to me, is a must)- you need a pickling acidic element to the bowl. Then, thinly red onions offer a sharpness to the bowl that I also find necessary! Tomatoes and lettuce are also great additions to the bowl. You can always make my Arabic salad, Tahini salad, or Fattoush salad as options too. You can even pair it with batata harra-a spicy potato side.
- Creamy hummus would be a great addition too that is protein-forward. If this chicken shawarma isnt for you, try my falafel recipe that goes fabulously with hummus.
How to make Chicken Shawarma Wraps?
Let’s say you were in the mood for a chicken shawarma wrap; this is how I would do it! Grab a piece of flour tortilla since that is readily available. But traditionally, shrak or markouk bread is used. Smear a large helping of Toum, a thick garlic creamy spread often sold in Arab restaurants, whole foods, and Trader Joe’s. On top of that, add the cooked chicken shawarma; the exact recipe you would be using to marinade the chicken shawarma for the bowl is perfect for this wrap too. Add slices of Arab pickled cucumbers and fries, then wrap and press the sandwich. I promise you-IT IS DELICIOUS!
The next time you are craving a plate of chicken shawarma; make this healthy chicken shawarma bowl! Save your money and make it at home where you know exactly what you are putting into your body!
Please leave a rating and review below if you do try my recipe. I also love to see your creations on my Instagram page, so feel free to share them!
Be sure to check out my Chicken Shawarma video below! For the best viewing experience, watch the video in full-screen mode!
Chicken Shawarma Bowl
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma Marinade
- 2 lbs Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless, cut tino 1 inch cubes you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs or a mixture of the two.
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1.5 tsp Salt you can always add more salt if needed after cooking the chicken.
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Seven spice
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Tumeric
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1/2 Lemon's juice
Garlic Sauce
- 1/2 cup Toom (garlic sauce) you can buy this in whole foods or trader joes or from any Arab restaurant.
- 1 tsp Dried Mint
- 1/2 Lemon's juice
- Sprinkle of salt
- Water to thin it out
Yellow Rice
- 1 cup Jasmine rice soaked and rinsed
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Salt
Fixings to the bowl
- Lettuce. shredded
- Tomatoes, diced
- Arabic Pickled Cucumbers, diced this can be found in any Arab store
- Red onions, thinly sliced
- Batata Harra (spiced potatoes) optional
- Hummus optional
- Salads- Arabic salad, Tahini salad, or Fattoush salad (all on my website linked in the blog post)
Instructions
- First, combine the ingredients for the chicken marinade and toss the chicken in this until evenly coated. Then, you should place it in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to come to room temperature.
- In the meantime, cook the rice. In a pot, combine the rice, turmeric, salt, and vegetable stock. Bring this to a boil then simmer, covered, for about 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Also, prepare the garlic sauce by combining the prepared garlic sauce, lemon juice, salt, dried mint, and enough water to slightly thin it out. ** Alternatively, you can keep the prepared garlic sauce as it is. If you have a hard time finding garlic sauce, you can combine yogurt with crushed garlic cloves, lemon juice, dried mint, and a tad of water to thin it out instead. You can even add a bit of tahini paste to that.
- To cook the chicken; heat a non stick skillet with a tbsp of oil. Add the chicken to the pan but be sure not to overcrowd the pan. You want to achieve a golden brown color and sear on the chicken. This brings a lot of flavor.
- Cook the chicken for approx. 8 minutes. Four minutes on each side and check the center to ensure it is completey white thoughout and therefore, cooked.
- To assemble the bowl, add a scoop of rice, followed by all the fixings to your liking and of course the chicken drizzled with the garlic sauce!
My new favorite at home shawarma recipe! I’ve tried so many in the past that just lacked flavor. However, this recipe was just perfection. The flavors of the chicken and even the rice tasted so vibrant and yummy. This will definitely be one of my new weekly meals to cook. It was so easy to prepare and the recipe was also very easy to follow. Thanks again!😍❤️
I am so happy to hear that, Daliah! Means a lot. Thanks for the review!
I made this for my husband and I this past weekend. It was so delicious and came together easily. I just had a baby a few weeks ago and cooking has been challenging so I’ve been looking for quick recipes. I cut and marinated the chicken the night before while my son was napping and the next day was able to cook everything else while he was napping too. It was very flavorful and I already want to make it again this week. So thankful for your page and can’t wait to try out another recipe. 😃
That makes me so happy to hear! Thanks for the review, Tiffany.
Delicious recipe and so easy to make. Highly recommend it – amongst many others on this site. Fufu is a very talented lady!
Thank you so much, Sadia!
I made this today and it was exceptionally delicious!!! Both me and my husband loved it as well as my picky 12 year old loved it as well. The flavors came together so beautifully and the taste was exceptional. Not to mention it was super easy to make and as a busy mom I love making quick and delicious recipes. This dish will definitely be in my rotation. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us
Just finished making this. I definitely say buy the garlic sauce if you are not familiar. Also, fufu told me to use a neutral oil as opposed to an olive oil so keep an eye out for that, and I added sumac to the spices. Other than that, I did my best to follow the recipe to the tee. Thank you for all of the yummy ness you bring into our homes Heifa. I also love how she makes her recipes simple and easy to follow. Mash’Allah. Can’t wait to dig in. I tasted the chicken and it is phenomenal ❤️ Alhamdulilah 🤲🏻
Thank you for the review, Rula!
delicious! these are a great weeknight staple. the marinade really makes a difference!
Hi! Thank you for sharing this wholesome recipe. I will definitely try this at my home for dinner. I think using ghee instead of olive oil will enhance the flavor even more. I personally prefer the nutty aroma of ghee in my dishes.
Mashallah..this is just the most delicious and requested chicken dish..it’s so healthy and I crave it, so thank you Fufu for sharing this. I can’t wait to make all your recipes.
Shokran Habiba 🙏
THE BEST shawarma recipe! You don’t even need to look elsewhere! Not any restaurant compares to this. I made my own toum and used pita bread instead of tortilla. Absolutely delicious!
loved loved loved!!!!
My husband is from Lebanon and he is Shawarma obsessed. Everywhere we travel to he searches for the local middle eastern places to try shawarma. I sent him the link to your Instagram reel about your chicken shawarma. He used your recipe and could not stop raving about how good it was. He is making your marinade his standard “go-to” recipe for chicken shawarma.
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve made this recipe so many times, I’ve lost count! It’s sooo delicious and always my go-to along with the Toum recipe. It’s always a big hit in our home and because of this, I usually make a double or triple batch—it’s that good!
My family and i love this recipe 🤍
it’s a definite must try if you haven’t already!
Thanks, Katelynn!
Wow this bowl was absolutely incredible. I found the garlic sauce at Trader Joe’s and it definitely brought this meal together, thanks fufu i love easy dishes like this especially in Ramadan.
I am so happy to hear that!
Love love love how easy your recipes are to follow! They always turn out amazing thank you! 🤍
Love how easy and perfect this recipe is. Always a hit at home!
جربتها كتيير بشهي و ولادي كلهم حبوها 🥰🥰
I absolutely love this shawarma recipe. Normally I prefer beef rather than chicken but ever since my husband developed gout, red meat has been super limited in our menu. This recipe was perfect for us and cooks super fast and tastes delicious. Be sure to follow her tip of marinating ahead of time because it really helps the spices stick to the chicken and gives more flavor. I can safely say I have made this atleast 5 times if not more and will always go back to this recipe.
Thanks for simplifying and making it easy to make this delicious recipe at home. Didn’t disappoint.
I literally make this recipe once a week. Even my four year old loves it. Perfect chicken seasoning and perfect white sauce every single time. Thank you ❤️
The chicken spice marinade is sooooo good!! Thank you 😍😍
This dish has so much flavour, even my kids enjoy it.
My family and I love this recipe! We’ve had at least 5 times in the last month.
Such a delicious meal – easy and filling. It’s a go to in our home. Thank you so much for sharing 🥰
This was absolutely delicious and fast to make! Definitely a staple in home now!
This marinade/spice blend is on point! It could not be easier and more delicious. I’d give it 100 stars if I could. 🤤
I love this recipe out of all the shawarma recipes I’ve tried, it’s the best one! So easy to make and everyone said it was delicous
honestly. i really dont know what to say about this recipe. Its more than amazing. Actually all your recipes are, you are actually the only one i trust to try their recipes for my husband and kids because I know its going to be just WOW. Im in love with this tabkha i literally have to make it every week. My husband hates it when I say I’m cooking chicken but with this one, he gets really excited, it really is good and its kids approved meaning it is AMAZING. ysalem 2dayke♡ keep it going mashallah
Heifa, I really need to get better at leaving reviews because I know you put your heart and soul into every dish you make and you deserve to be recognized. I will say, that these shawarma bowls are on REPEAT at my house. They are delicious and so filling that even my picky kid loves it. The flavors come together so well and all the fixings that I add top it off pleasantly. Thank you for doing what you do and continue to do. You are an inspiration to many of us and I will always be a fan!! I
Finally made chicken Shawarma and this recipe nailed it. The chicken is filled with flavor and tasted delicious with the fixings. I know I can count on Heifer when it comes to middle-eastern recipes. This will be on my weekly rotation for sure! Thank you.
Love all the 30 minute recipes!! I made this dish when I had unexpected guest over, didn’t have time to marinate the chicken and still the flavor on the chicken was amazing! was so easy to put together, had all ingredients at home ! made french fries on the side and a lemon mint lemonade ! meal was a 10/10
This recipe is such a hit, everyone loves it! I’ve tried many shawarma bowls/white sauces and this was is the best. I have to make double! Very easy recipe to follow as well.
I made this today because I was craving chicken over rice and my God!! It satisfied my craving and gave me a great easy meal to add to my weekly rotation. 10/10 absolutely loved it!
Another hit in our house! We came back from NYC craving dishes from the food carts and this recipe was spot on. We have placed this and the Halal cart recipe in our regular meal rotations. Thank you!
This is a go to meal in our house. It’s so flavourful, delicious and easy to make!! Thank you Heifa 🩷
This is a go to meal in our house. It’s flavourful, delicious and so easy to put together. Thank you Heifa 🩷
This recipe is soooo good, I love shawarma and it’s so easy to make at home. must try recipe
My absolute go to recipe for a quick and hearty meal! I live in an area where middle eastern food isn’t as accessible, fufus recipes really help me when I’m in a pinch and quickly become household staples. Love this meal!
Delicious! Another regular rotation in my house! So good!
My family’s go to Shawarma recipe!
We make it once every two weeks:)