Homemade Grilled Chicken Shawarma
Make your own shawarma wraps! My recipe for homemade grilled chicken shawarma features an intensely flavorful Mediterranean marinade, quick pickled cucumbers, and a tasty yogurt garlic sauce you'll want to put on everything.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma
- 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice, about 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pickled Cucumber Slices
- 3-4 small thin skinned cucumbers
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Yogurt Garlic Sauce
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2% or whole milk
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Shawarma Wrap
- 1 large red onion, cut into thick slices
- olive oil and kosher salt
- 4 pita breads
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 4 cups mixed lettuce
Instructions
Chicken Shawarma
- Put the chicken thighs into a large resealable bag. Mix together all the marinade ingredients until well blended. Pour the marinade over the chicken, making sure to coat the chicken and then seal the bag. Put the bag in a container to guard against leaks and into the refrigerator for at 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
- About one hour before you want to eat, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, then make the pickled cucumbers and yogurt sauce
Pickled Cucumber Slices
- Using a knife or a mandoline, slice the cucumbers into 2 mm thick slices. Mix together the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Add everything to a medium bowl and stir together. Let the cucumber sit on the counter to marinate.
Yogurt Garlic Sauce
- In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, mint, and salt. Then shave the garlic over the sauce using a microplane and mix it in. (Alternatively, finely mince the garlic and then sprinkle some salt over and scrape it with the flat of the knife.)
Shawarma Wrap
- Preheat the grill.
- Toss the red onion with some olive oil and salt, then put on the grill and grill on high until browned and soft, turning occasionally, for 7-10 minutes. You can grill the onions directly on the grate by putting a skewer through the middle of each slice or grill them in a grill basket.
- Take the chicken out of the marinade and pat dry. Add the chicken to the grill, and cook 5-6 minutes per side, or until the chicken reaches 165F. Bring the chicken to a cutting board and slice thinly.
- Set out all the shawarma wrap ingredients - chicken, onions, cucumber slices, yogurt sauce, pitas, tomatoes, and lettuce - and let everyone makes their wraps.
Notes
- Hummus: A great addition to the meal is my Israeli Hummus. Have extra pitas handy if you make the hummus too.
- Extra equipment: I use this grilling basket to cook my onions. Also, I have a GSD mandoline to slice the cucumbers.