Easy oven chicken shawarma is marinated, roasted to perfection and an incredibly flavorful at-home shawarma recipe. Serve with pitas, over rice or hummus, or in a salad or grain bowl.
I fell in love with chicken shawarma in college and it’s been a favorite ever since.
I went to Northwestern University, just north of Chicago, and there was a Mediterranean restaurant called Olive Mountain that was my very favorite. (It’s where we got food for my 21st birthday bash.)
And I always got the chicken shawarma with hummus and yellow rice. Sometimes I’d get a salad to go with it and just feast. It was easily enough food for 3 people, but I rarely had leftovers. Cannot resist.
Fortunately, after college, I lived in Washington, D.C. for 5 years and man, there’s some really great restaurants there. Lebanese Taverna was a favorite spot. (It’s where my husband took me for dinner the night he proposed.)
And again, I’d always order the chicken shawarma. And hummus - and oh wow, their pita bread was to die for. I dream of that pita.
So I kind-of have a thing for shawarma and now that I’m back in my hometown of Charlotte, N.C., I’ve got a few new spots.
(The restaurant scene here blew up during my years away so I came home to tons more choices when it comes to international cuisine. Lucky me!)
In fact, for my birthday this week, we’ll be ordering from Yafo, one of my favorite Lebanese style restaurants here. They have amazing hummus, great pita and, you guessed it, I always get the chicken shawarma.
And because it’s one of my favorite dishes, I had to have a way to make it at home.
And I’m so happy to be sharing this easy oven chicken shawarma recipe with you today! I think you’ll be a shawarma fanatic for life as well.
Team shawarma for the win!
(And because I mean business, I also have this slow cooker chicken shawarma version of the recipe, which is just as delicious. Options are good, especially when it means more shawarma for all of us!)
First, in case you’re curious, let’s tackle the basics.
What is chicken shawarma?
- Chicken shawarma is a marinated chicken dish where cuts of meat are stacked in a cone-line shape on a vertical rotisserie and slowly turned while roasting.
- Shawarma, also sometimes spelled shawurma or shawerma, can also be made with beef, lamb or mixed meats. It’s a standard Middle Eastern street food that’s also popular in the U.S. It can be served as a sandwich or pita, over rice or hummus, or in a salad.
Now, caveat: We are not using a vertical rotisserie since those aren’t available to us home cooks. So this cannot be considered a 100% authentic recipe.
Instead, we are marinating our meat and roasting it in the oven. But don’t worry, the flavors are all there and you will love how tasty this is!
Tender, meaty chicken pieces that are infused with the perfect blend of spices and olive oil and lemon juice.
The chicken is roasted at a high temperature in the oven until it’s cooked through and starting to just get blackened on the edges.
Oh, and it smells simply incredible.
You will feel like a rock star making something this flavor-packed in your own kitchen!
OK, let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes and tips coming up on how to make oven chicken shawarma at home. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making easy oven chicken shawarma:
- The recipe calls for chicken thighs and I highly recommend using them. They have the extra fat, flavor and meatiness that is associated with chicken shawarma. (But OK, you can substitute chicken breasts or use a combination if you really want.)
- I marinate the onion slices with the chicken. It helps soften and flavor them and prevent them from burning on the roasting pan. (Though you can skip the onion if you’re not a fan.)
- The marinate time is critical here, so don’t skip it. At least 2 hours is needed, but you can marinate this for up to 6-8 hours. (It’s fine to even marinate overnight if needed.)
- Lining your baking sheet with aluminum foil and spraying it with cooking spray will make clean-up a breeze. Feel free to skip if you like doing extra dishes.
Now that we’ve got the cooking basics down, let’s talk about the fun stuff: serving and eating this yummy chicken!
Chicken shawarma is really versatile and you’ll see it on menus in a ton of different ways. So you can serve it up however suits you. Here’s a few ideas to get you thinking.
Serving ideas for chicken shawarma:
- Stuff the chicken into a pita pocket or wrap along with some hummus or tzatziki, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.
- Serve over steamed rice (white, brown, basmati or yellow rice) with a side salad. (We love this cucumber tomato red onion salad with this.)
- Add the cooked chopped or shredded chicken to a plate of hummus and serve with pita bread.
- Serve the shawarma chicken as the protein in a rice bowl or salad bowl, along with your favorite veggies and sauces for topping. (Check out these chicken shawarma rice bowls for inspiration!)
Hummus and tzatziki are a couple of my favorite sauces for serving with this chicken. (I have an easy tzatziki sauce recipe with these Greek turkey burgers if you’re interested.)
There’s really tons of options. And you can definitely save the leftovers for lunch the next day and enjoy them in a different way.
(I may just make this midday and keep it all to myself for the week!)
Whether you are a lifelong chicken shawarma devotee like me or a recent convert to this deliciousness, I hope you give this homemade version a try.
Enjoy and happy cooking!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Stay tuned because I’m perfecting a slow cooker version of this recipe.
You can also sign up for my free e-newsletter to get all of my new recipes delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss a thing. I’ll even send you my free e-cookbook, Healthy Weeknight Dinners, as a thank you!
Easy oven chicken shawarma
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 large onion, sliced thick (about ½ inch pieces)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika as a substitute)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs and onion slices in a large ziploc bag (or a large shallow dish).
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and remaining ingredients. Mix well.
- Add the marinade to the bag and turn to coat all of the chicken and onions really well. Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to 6-8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Spread the marinated chicken and onions on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Roast at 425 for 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and slightly charred around the edges.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Julie Harkey says
Kathryn: I made your easy oven chicken shawarma last night and it was delicious. I put it alongside a simple green salad with feta and tomatoes. This was an easy yet company worthy dish.
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you loved this shawarma Julie! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊