Crispy chicken shawarma was a late night delicacy for me in college (as I’m sure was the case for many of us!). I was always so stoked to dive into this incredible sandwich with warm spices. But since I’m not bellying up to the shawarma truck at 2 a.m. like I did back then, I wanted to create a version that I could enjoy at home anytime the craving hit. This crispy chicken shawarma recipe most definitely delivers. Easy lunch of crispy chicken shawarma wraps, family dinner at home, backyard party with your friends? This freakin’ delicious shawarma covers it all.
Why You’ll Love Crispy Chicken Shawarma
There’s just something about the combination of chicken marinated in warm shawarma spices, tangy red onions, soft bread and cool, creamy garlic sauce that absolutely hits the spot. I loved these bold Middle Eastern flavors after a night out, and I love it even more over live fire at home!
I’m using boneless chicken thighs here for an extra tender, juicy chicken in our wraps. Make sure to marinate the chicken for two hours so you get all that classic shawarma flavor. I’m cooking the marinated chicken on a trompo, which is a rotating spit often used to cook shawarma. If you don’t have a trompo or don’t want to skewer the chicken on an onion to mimic that vertical rotisserie, you can just grill the chicken. It’s much faster, even if you miss a little bit of that shawarma effect.
Looking for more shawarma recipes? Check out my recipes for Beef Shawarma or Flake Steak Skewers!
Crispy Chicken Shawarma Ingredients
- Chicken & Shawarma Marinade: We’ll make our chicken shawarma with chicken thighs, olive oil, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, ground turmeric, ground cloves, cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon, kosher salt and white onions.
- Red Onions: For our tangy pickles, we’ll use sliced red onion, lemon juice and sumac powder.
- Wraps: Grab some large lavash bread and toum sauce to finish off this freakin’ delicious chicken shawarma!
Make Your Own Toum Sauce
Toum sauce is a Lebanese garlic spread that adds an extra kick to any sandwich, and especially this crispy chicken shawarma. You can find it in some specialty markets, but it’s easy to make your own too. Place 1/3 cup garlic cloves into a food processor and pulse until the gloves are minced (about 10 pulses). Then, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and run the processor until you create a paste. Add another teaspoon of lemon juice; then, with the food processor running, slowly pour in 1 cup of neutral oil. Serve and enjoy with your crispy chicken shawarma! Store any extra garlic sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month.
Add flavor to everything you’re cooking
shop over the fire spice lines
How to Make Crispy Chicken Shawarma
To start, pound your 2 pounds chicken thighs thin (about ¼”). Then, add the chicken to a bowl along with marinade ingredients: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt and 1 halved white onion.
Mix together thoroughly until well coated, then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
When you’re ready to cook your crispy chicken shawarma, remove your chicken from the fridge and stack the pieces on a trompo. If you don’t have a vertical spit, you can skewer them on top of an onion. Add some sliced onions to the base, then set the setup to the side.
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat (around 375 degrees Fahrenheit) for indirect cooking. Once it reaches temp, add the shawarma to the oven. Cook for 1.5-2 hours, until the chicken is deep brown and cooked through (you want the internal temperature to be 165 degrees F). When you reach temp, pull off the chicken and let it rest.
While the chicken cooks, mix together 1 cup sliced red onions, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, olive oil and 1 teaspoon sumac powder in a large bowl.
Carve the chicken off the skewers and place on a warmed lavash bread with red onions.
Wrap tightly, then brush the outside of the wrap with some of the juice from the baking dish. You’ll want about 5-6 lavash breads for this crispy chicken shawarma recipe.
Add a cast iron skillet over the grill on high heat, then sear off the shawarma wrap in the preheated pan until you’ve got crispy edges on all sides. Start with the wrap seam-side down to make sure the wrap stays secure.
Once seared, pull the crispy shawarma wrap off the cast iron and serve with some toum sauce and fries. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Crispy Chicken Shawarma
I love this crispy chicken shawarma with fries, tomato and cucumber salad and a cold beer. You could also add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses or hot pepper paste for an extra kick of flavor!
Leftovers and Reheating
If you’ve got leftover crispy chicken shawarma, it’s best to store the components separately and assemble the sandwiches again when you’re ready to eat them. Store the chicken thighs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days and the pickled red onions in another container in the fridge for up to five days. No need to reheat the onions! And the chicken will warm up when you’re searing off the wrap itself.
More Chicken Skewers
FAQs
For sure. Chicken breasts are leaner, though, so you definitely want to marinate for the entire time and keep an eye on the internal temp so they don’t dry out.
Definitely! You can use the same process with the trompo and cook the chicken in the oven at the same temp (375 degrees) for the same amount of time. You can finish the wrap on the stovetop!
It’s easy to find in the bakery or deli section of your local grocery store. If they don’t stock it, large flour tortillas will get you best results as a substitute.
Get The Cookbooks!
Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture.
Crispy Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
Chicken & Shawarma Marinade:
- 2 lbs Chicken Thighs pounded thin
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 3/4 tsp Ground Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1.5 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 White Onions halved
Red Onions:
- 1 cup Sliced Red Onion
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Sumac Powder
Wrap:
- 5-6 Large Lavash Bread
- Toum Sauce
Instructions
- Pound your chicken thighs thin (about ¼”)
- Add the chicken to a bowl along with marinade ingredients. Mix together thoroughly until well coated. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Pull out the chicken and add to a trompo or skewer on an onion. Stack on top of each chicken until good. Add to the base some sliced onions and then set to the side.
- Preheat your grill or oven to medium high heat (around 375F) for indirect cooking.
- Add the shawarma to the oven to cook for 1.5-2 hours until the chicken is deep brown and cooked through (about 165F internal). Pull off once done and let rest.
- In a bowl, add the red onions, lemon juice, olive oil and sumac.
- Carve off chicken from the skewers and place on a warmed lavash bread with red onions. Wrap tightly and brush with some of the juice from the baking dish.
- Add a cast iron skillet over the grill on high heat and sear off the shawarma wrap until crispy on all sides. Start with the seam side to make sure the wrap stays secure.
- Once seared, pull off and serve with some toum sauce and fries. Enjoy!
