Easy Oven-baked Chicken Shawarma

Some recipes just feel like home the moment they hit the table. Easy oven-baked chicken shawarma is one of those dishes. It’s the smell, the spices, and the flexibility of building your own plate. Homemade chicken shawarma is the kind of dish that makes you feel proud about your kitchen skills when it’s served and on the table. This is the kind of recipe that is outwardly impressive, but in reality requires just one skill to make correctly!

Traditionally, this dish is known for being cooked on a vertical rotisserie and shaved off to order, maximizing the browned, seasoned chicken crust. While that isn’t generally possible in a home kitchen, this version relies on a tool that most of us have available to get that characteristic crispness – the oven’s broiler setting!

The technique here is very simple, and the ingredients are famous for their flexibility. Once you master the broiler, the rest of the meal all falls into place!

Oven-baked shawarma is a great starting point if you’re new to Middle Eastern cuisine, especially if you need an intro to using spices. This recipe opens the door to many other recipes you might want to explore. Give our Middle Eastern tag a look around if you’re interested!

Things to love about this recipe:

• Packed with warm Middle Eastern spices

• Juicy, tender chicken with minimal effort

• Oven-roasted – less hands-on time!

• Pairs well with a variety of sides to meet any dietary need

• Freezer-friendly and meal-prep approved

But first, let’s learn a little bit about shawarma’s ingredients (and which ingredients can be swapped)!

Ingredient notes and substitutions:

• Chicken thighs – this particular cut of chicken is chosen because of it’s ability to remain moist a bit longer due to it’s dark meat content. Especially when using a dry cooking method like broiling, it is wise to have a bit of flexibility! However, if you only have chicken breasts on hand, they will also produce a delicious shawarma. Just be sure to keep a close eye on them, and check frequently for doneness!
• Lemon juice – Marinating the chicken in lemon juice not only adds a citrusy undertone, but also aids in producing a tender finished product! The lemon juice acts as a meat tenderizer!
• Traditional spices blend: flexible – focus on balance and aroma
  • Cumin: essential to a good shawarma blend!
  • Coriander
  • Turmeric
  • Paprika: for color and a smoky flavor – this spice is why chicken shawarma is red!
  • Cinnamon: quality cinnamon is what sets shawarma spice apart!
  • Cardamom
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Allspice
  • Za’atar
• Olive oil – Quality matters. If you’re wondering how to choose a bottle, see our olive oil guide.

Rotisserie vs. broiler

As the intro states, chicken shawarma is traditionally roasted over an open fire on a rotisserie. As the outsides of the chicken become crispy and ready to serve, a thin slice is shaved off, and then the process continues. Despite the specific traditional cooking method, the dish can be approximated at home!

Baking the chicken thighs is an easy choice to replicate the cooking method of chicken shawarma. That’s where our easy oven-baked chicken shawarma gets its name! But what about the crisp exterior that is characteristic of the dish? To get that result, you can use your oven’s broiler! To keep your chicken thighs from turning out dry, use an in-oven meat thermometer and pull the chicken out just before it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

Then, set your oven to broil. Place the chicken at the topmost position in your oven where it will comfortably fit. Don’t leave the chicken thighs alone for more than 5 minutes at a time at this stage; check on them frequently to make sure they aren’t burning!

Turn the chicken thighs over when the tops have reached your desired color, and repeat the process with the bottoms.

Serving suggestions

Our favorite way to serve easy oven-baked chicken shawarma is: however you like!

Start by picking a carbohydrate source. Saffron rice, wraps, or flatbreads like our bazlama or roti are all good choices!

Add in a sauce. Traditional choices include a garlic sauce or tahini, which are so so yummy! At our table, we also include tzatziki for a nice tang to offset the spices and earthiness of shawarma!

Top it off with some fresh vegetables! Greens like arugula and spinach are great choices! Fresh tomatoes, diced cucumbers, and sliced red onion are also fresh and generally easily sourced. Pickles and olives are great traditional, pickled options that increase the probiotic content of the meal.

FAQ:

• Is chicken shawarma healthy?
  • Depending on how you cook and serve shawarma, it can be part of a healthy diet! Frying chicken shawarma in oils will increase the overall fat content of the meal, potentially undermining the use of lean meats like chicken. Roasting the seasoned chicken in the oven, or even over a grill, will help ensure the delivery of maximum protein, while minimizing added fats.
  • Likewise, if your shawarma pita pocket is loaded with sauces, the potential for being a healthy meal is reduced. Make sure to stuff your pita with plenty of chopped veggies, greens, pickles, and olives to increase satiety and keep calories low!
• Can shawarma be vegan?
  • Yes! The beauty of shawarma lies in its flexibility! If you aren’t feeling like eating chicken, feel free to substitute any other meats, like beef, lamb, or turkey. Or, more to the point, if meat isn’t part of your diet at all, there are other substitutes that can be made! Tofu, mushrooms, chickpeas, and cauliflower all pair beautifully with shawarma’s traditional spice blend.
• Is there a way to cook the chicken any faster?
  • For very busy nights, there are some corners that can be cut. On school nights, (as pictured) we like to cut the chicken before seasoning. Then, the chicken is baked, broiled, and served. For this, I highly recommend the use of a thermometer that can stay in the thickest part of the chicken slices, and that will beep when the chicken has reached the perfect temperature.

Make-ahead, storage, and leftover options

While we don’t recommend making the chicken completely ahead of time, you can get the chicken marinating in the lemon juice/spices the day before! That way, it’s just a matter of popping the chicken in the oven, and then broiling it!

To store this safely, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. If you plan on eating the chicken past a week, it really does freeze beautifully! Just make sure to use a container designed for the freezer to avoid freezer burn!

What to cook next!

If chicken shawarma has you curious about other Middle Eastern recipes, we have a few more recipes for you to wander through! You can try our Turkish Bazlama or Moroccan Red Lentil Soup!

In conclusion…

By the time you’ve finished making our easy oven-baked chicken shawarma, you’ll have mastered the art of finishing a dish in the broiler – and you’ll have gained some confidence in the kitchen! The best part? You’ll ALSO have a dish to share!

Recipes like this are a reminder that cooks all over the world have one thing in common. We all have the same goal: to share a delicious, nutritious meal with our loved ones. Small choices, like switching up your cooking methods, shape how a dish tastes and how it is experienced. And the spirit of heavy spices show up in the cuisines from all over the Middle East and southern Asia!

If you’re looking for more ways to explore spice, give our Pumpkin Dal, Brazilian Black Bean Soup, or Mexican Tomato and Corn Soup a try!