🌯 Chicken shawarma
Shawarma is marinated meat stacked on a vertical spit, roasted slowly and shaved off in thin slices. Chicken shawarma is usually marinated in yogurt, garlic, lemon and warm spices, then rolled in flatbread with garlic sauce, pickles and vegetables — or served as a plate with rice and salad.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 800 g boneless chicken thighs
- 150 g plain yogurt
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp olive oil, salt
- 4 pita breads
- To serve: garlic sauce, pickles, tomato, lettuce
Method
- Mix the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, spices, oil and salt. Coat the chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Spread the chicken on a tray and roast at 220 °C for 25–30 minutes, turning once, until the edges char.
- Rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly.
- Warm the pita, fill with chicken, sauce, pickles and vegetables and roll up tightly.
How to make it lighter
- Garlic sauce (toum) is mostly oil — about 100 kcal per tablespoon. A yogurt sauce is much lighter.
- Ask for a plate with salad instead of the wrap: one pita adds 150–180 kcal.
- Chicken breast is leaner than thigh.
History
Roasting meat on a vertical spit developed in Ottoman lands, probably in the 19th century; Turkish döner kebab is a close relative. The Arabic name shawarma comes from the Turkish çevirme, “turning”. In the Levant the technique met local marinades and sauces, and over the 20th century shawarma became one of the best-loved street foods of the Middle East, later travelling with emigrants to Europe, the Americas and beyond.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →