Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma

Slow cooker chicken shawarma is marinated in the perfect mixture of spices and slow cooked until incredibly tender, flavorful and delicious. Serve with pitas, over rice or hummus, or in a salad or grain bowl.

Chicken shawarma is a very long-time favorite of mine.

I fell in love with it in college, at a small Mediterranean restaurant near my apartment outside Chicago, Ill.

Then I found a favorite spot in Washington, D.C., where I lived for about 5 years.

And now that I’m back to my hometown of Charlotte, N.C., I’ve happily discovered a new favorite spot to get my shawarma fix.

But you know I love cooking at home, too, so I just had to tackle this favorite dish of mine!

First, I shared with you this easy oven chicken shawarma. It’s roasted to perfection and so flavorful.

But I couldn’t stop there, no, no.

Today, I’m so happy to share this slow cooker chicken shawarma that is quick to prep, hands off, smells amazing, and is incredibly flavorful and delicious.

We’ve got chicken thighs that we marinate in a yogurt-based marinade with lemon juices and the perfect blend of spices.

Then the chicken is slow cooked in the crock pot until it’s tender, cooked through and perfuming your entire kitchen with the most enticing smells.

The chicken is chopped and returned to get mixed with the sauce created from the marinade. And then it’s ready to devour.

You will have to stop yourself from just inhaling a whole plate of this delicious chicken!

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, an important 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 cooking it in the crock pot. But don’t worry, the flavors are all there and you will love how tasty this is - and how easy!

Besides mixing up the marinade, this is a really hands-off meal. 

It’ll be ready and waiting for you come dinnertime and nothing beats that! 

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 crock pot chicken shawarma. 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.

Recipe Notes:

• Chicken: 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.)
• Marinade: This recipe calls for at least a 4-hour marinade, so please plan accordingly. That marinade time is critical. You can marinate this in the morning then start it at lunchtime or in the afternoon. Or you can marinate it overnight the night before.
• Onion: I adore the tender onion slices mixed in with the chicken. However, you can skip the onion if you’re not a fan. (Or cook the chicken with them but remove the onions when serving.)
• Cooking temp: You can cook this in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. 

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. I love that about it.

Here’s a few ideas to get you thinking.

Serving Ideas:

• 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 a marinated cucumber and tomato 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.

I have a shawarma rice bowl recipe coming up for you as well.

You can 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!

But back to serving this up cause you’re going to want to devour it.

Hummus and tzatziki are a couple of my favorite sauces for serving with this chicken. They make a great pairing and give some freshness and juiciness to the chicken.

I have an easy tzatziki sauce recipe with these Greek turkey burgers if you’re interested in making it yourself.

Last thing: the leftovers.

How to store leftovers:

- The leftover chicken, once cooled, will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave.

- You can also freeze the extras - it freezes great! Put leftovers in a freezer-safe container or ziptop bag. Label and date it. Freeze for up to 5-6 months.

There you have it. You are more than ready to tackle some chicken shawarma in your own kitchen — and you are going to be so happy you did!

Oh man, I am so excited for you to try this. And I’d love to hear from you when you do - please leave me a comment below.

Happy cooking and enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

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4.50 from 18 votes

Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma

Slow cooker chicken shawarma is marinated in the perfect mixture of spices and slow cooked until incredibly tender, flavorful and delicious. Serve with pitas, over rice or hummus, or in a salad or grain bowl.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs

Additional TimeAdditional Time4 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Yield: 4 -6 servings

1x2x3x

Cook Mode

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced thick (about ½ inch pieces)

For the marinade:

• ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 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

• Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl or plastic bag. Add the chicken thighs and mix well to coat all of the chicken in the marinade. Cover the bowl or seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Add the onion slices to the slow cooker insert. Add the marinated chicken on top of the onions, with as much of the marinade as you can get out of the bowl/bag.
• Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours, until the chicken is cooked through.
• Remove the chicken thighs and roughly chop the chicken. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and stir until well mixed with the sauce and the onions. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to help the chicken absorb the juices and flavor.
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Chicken: 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 you can substitute chicken breasts or use a combination if you really want.)

Marinade: This recipe calls for at least a 4-hour marinade, so please plan accordingly. That marinade time is critical. You can marinate this in the morning then start it at lunchtime or in the afternoon. Or you can marinate it overnight the night before.

Onion: I adore the tender onion slices mixed in with the chicken. However, you can skip the onion if you’re not a fan. (Or cook the chicken with them but remove the onions when serving.)

Serving ideas:

• 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 a marinated cucumber and tomato salad with this. Recipe coming soon!)
• 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.

Leftovers: The leftover chicken, once cooled, will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave. You can also freeze the extras - it freezes great! Put leftovers in a freezer-safe container or ziptop bag. Label and date it. Freeze for up to 5-6 months.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 185mg | Sodium: 488mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g

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