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    Home » Cooking Method » Stovetop » Tender Beef Shawarma (Quick Stovetop Method)

    Tender Beef Shawarma (Quick Stovetop Method)

    5 from 4 votes
    January 10, 2023 by Amina Al-Saigh

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    This tender restaurant-style beef shawarma has the perfect mix of spices and comes together in 10 minutes over the stovetop! I'm sharing all my secrets to making the perfect tender shawarma right at home!

    beef shawarma served in a green bowl with onion slices and chopped parlsey, along with bowls of tomato, tahini sauce, onions, pickles and pita bread
    Table of Contents show
    1 How Beef Shawarma is Traditionally Cooked
    2 Beef Shawarma Spices
    3 Ingredients you'll need for Beef Shawarma
    4 Tips to Replicate Restaurant Style Beef Shawarma At Home
    5 Best Cuts of Beef for Shawarma
    6 How to Make Beef Shawarma: Step by Step
    7 How to Make a Beef Shawarma Sandwich
    8 What to serve with Beef Shawarma
    9 Other Recipes you'll love!
    10 Tender Beef Shawarma (Quick Stovetop Method)

    How Beef Shawarma is Traditionally Cooked

    Shawarma is a classic middle eastern street food that dates back all the way to the Ottoman Empire, in the form of a doner kebab. In today's world, classic middle eastern Shawarma comes from the Levantine, and involves layers of meat stacked on a slowly rotating vertical spit.

    Shawarma can be made with beef, chicken and lamb. The way its cooked is what makes it delicious: as the vertical spit rotates slowly, it cooks the outside of the meat which gets shaved off. You get perfectly juicy meat with a lot of texture and browning on the outside.

    Shawarma is also known for its flavourful warm mix of spices, and it's typically enjoyed in a sandwich as one of the most popular street foods in the middle east! You can find it on the streets of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

    Beef Shawarma Spices

    The secret to making authentic shawarma is all in the spice mix! I prefer to make my own spice mix rather than using store bought. But if you don't keep these specific spices at home, feel free to purchase a store-bought blend.

    Here's what's in my favourite shawarma spice mix, for the quantity in this recipe:

    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon allspice
    • ½ teaspoon clove
    • ½ teaspoon cardamom
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    spices for beef shawarma which are paprika, allspice, black pepper, salt, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and cumin

    Ingredients you'll need for Beef Shawarma

    The main components of beef shawarma are:

    • The beef. I use flank steak but more on what other types of cut to use below
    • The spice blend, using warm middle eastern spices, along with lemon juice and garlic.
    • The tahini sauce. This is a sauce made from tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt and its traditionally drizzled on beef shawarma
    • Vegetables. This is all down to personal preference but I love tomato, cucumber, onions and pickles.
    ingredients for beef shawarma ingredients which are flank steak, vegetables, tahini sauce, onions, garlic, lemon, olive oil, spices

    Tips to Replicate Restaurant Style Beef Shawarma At Home

    Now we all obviously don't have a vertical rotating spit at home. So this recipe is my personal take on the best tasting homemade beef shawarma that mimics the beloved street food.

    Here are my key tips to getting the best beef shawarma:

    • Using the right spice blend. It's important to use a mix of classic warming middle eastern spices to replicate that classic flavour
    • Cutting the beef into thin strips that are just the right size. Ensuring that the beef is cut into strips maximizes the surface area that will be exposed to the marinade, as well as cuts down the cooking time.
    • Marinating the meat for 2 hours. This goes without saying, but marinating the meat will amp up the flavour. For this beef shawarma recipe, since there is lemon in the marinade, don't exceed more than 2 hours of marinating, since the lemon can start to break down the meat.

    Best Cuts of Beef for Shawarma

    You can certainly use expensive cuts of beef like a rib eye and get great juicy and tender shawarma. But these more economical cuts work perfectly and still result in tender shawarma:

    • Flank Steak is a long and thin cut of beef which has excellent flavour and marinates really well. It's perfect for cutting thin and flash frying, just like in a stir fry.
    • Skirt Steak is also long and thin, similar to flank steak. It's also great for marinating and cooking at for short periods of time at high temperatures.
    • Sirloin tip is another economical cut of beef that works really well for this cooking method, especially when marinated for 2 hours.

    TIP: Ensure that you always cut the beef against the grain, which means against the direction the muscle fibers run. This results in a more tender bite!

    How to Make Beef Shawarma: Step by Step

    Beef shawarma is a recipe that only takes 20 minutes to make. A super simple set of steps:

    • Start by mixing together the spices along with the lemon juice and crushed garlic.
    beef shawarma seasoning blend in a small glass bowl
    • Next, cut the beef into thin strips, ensuring that you cut against the grain. Also thinly slice the onions
    • Mix together the beef, onions and the marinade really well
    beef shawarma marinating in a blue bowl with a marinade mixture on top and silver tongs
    beef shawarma marinating with onions slices in a blue bowl with silver tongs
    • Cover and marinate the beef shawarma for 2 hours in the fridge. There's no need to marinate it overnight, 2 hours is plenty.
    • Heat a cast iron skillet (or a non-stick skillet) to medium high
    beef shawarma cooked in a cast iron skillet with onion slices and silver tongs
    • Using the olive oil, sear the beef shawarma, ensuring that you do not crowd the pan and spread the beef out as much as you can. You can add the onions too.
    • Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until you develop caramelization on the beef. Remove and allow it to rest for a few minutes.
    beef shawarma strips served in a green bowl with onion slices and garnished with chopped parsley
    • Serve the beef shawarma right away while hot, alongside pita bread, tahini sauce and sliced vegetables for sandwiches.

    How to Make a Beef Shawarma Sandwich

    There are key components to include in a beef shawarma sandwich. This starts with the tahini sauce. It's a classic sauce served drizzled over the beef shawarma, and it's just not the same without it.

    To make the tahini sauce, just combine 1 cup tahini, juice of 2-3 lemons per preference, 1 crushed garlic clove, and salt to taste. It's so easy to whip up!

    I love to also include the following vegetables in the beef shawarma sandwich:

    • Pickles (the pink turnips or regular dill pickles)
    • Diced tomatoes and cucumber
    • Diced onions
    • Parsley
    tahini salad served in a yellow shallow bowl with a spoon inside
    creamy tahini sauce in a blue and white bowl, the squeezed lemon in the foreground

    To wrap the pita, you can use Lebanese pita breads that are generally thinner. Wrap the pita bread around and enjoy!

    You can also use the thicker Greek style pitas to create a pita pocket and enjoy the shawarma inside.

    beef shawarma wrap in pita bread with cucumbers, pink pickles, tahini sauce and parsley

    What to serve with Beef Shawarma

    The best sides for beef shawarma are salads, potatoes or rice! Personally, I love it with Batata Harra or a classic crispy potatoes.

    I also often serve it with either fattoush salad or tabbouli, along with hummus or baba ghanoush as side dips. This makes for a delicious middle eastern spread!

    Other Recipes you'll love!

    • 50+ Iftar Recipes for Ramadan (Middle Eastern)
    • Easy Moroccan Harira Soup
    • 5-Minute Fluffy Toum (No Food Processor!)
    • Fragrant Lamb Kabsa (10 min prep time!)

    If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page - I'd love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!

    beef shawarma strips served in a green bowl with onion slices and garnished with chopped parsley

    Tender Beef Shawarma (Quick Stovetop Method)

    Homemade tender beef shawarma is perfect in wraps with tahini sauce, and it only needs a few ingredients to make!
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner, lunch
    Cuisine: middle eastern
    Keyword: beef shawarma, chicken shawarma
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 6 Servings
    Calories: 227kcal
    Author: Amina Al-Saigh

    Ingredients

    For the Shawarma:

    • 1.5 lbs flank steak or skirt steak
    • 1 small onion
    • 3 garlic cloves crushed
    • 1 juice of lemon
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil

    For the Spice Blend:

    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
    • ½ teaspoon allspice, ground
    • ½ teaspoon clove, ground
    • ½ teaspoon cardamom, ground
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

    To Serve for the Sandwiches:

    • Tahini Sauce (tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt)
    • Pita breads for wraps
    • Sliced tomatoes
    • Sliced cucumbers
    • Parsley
    • Pickles

    Instructions

    • Start by mixing together all the spices, along with the lemon juice and crushed garlic cloves.
      beef shawarma seasoning blend in a small glass bowl
    • Cut the flank steak to thin strips, ensuring you cut against the grain.
    • Thinly slice the onions.
    • Place the flank steak in a bowl and pour the marinade on top, along with the onions. Cover tightly and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.
      beef shawarma marinating in a blue bowl with a marinade mixture on top and silver tongs
    • Remove the shawarma from the fridge 1 hour before cooking.
      beef shawarma marinating with onions slices in a blue bowl with silver tongs
    • Prepare the tahini sauce (see notes) and the sliced vegetables for serving with sandwiches.
    • Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Working in batches, and using tongs, add a few pieces of the shawarma on the hot pan, spreading them as much as you can. You can add the onions too.
      beef shawarma cooked in a cast iron skillet with onion slices and silver tongs
    • Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until a sear and caramelization is achieved on each side. Remove from the pan and rest for a few minutes.
      beef shawarma strips served in a green bowl with onion slices and garnished with chopped parsley
    • Serve the beef shawarma in sandwiches, drizzled with the tahini sauce and along with your vegetables.

    Video

    https://www.hungrypaprikas.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Beef-Shawarma-video.mp4

    Notes

    • To make tahini sauce, which is the classic sauce for beef shawarma, just mix together 1 cup tahini, juice of 2-3 lemons, a minced garlic clove and salt to taste. Stir or whisk well with a fork (it will seize up but keep mixing) until its smooth. Drizzle it onto the beef shawarma
    • Make sure you marinate for 2 hours to get the best flavour
    • You can also serve beef shawarma over rice or a salad

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 449mg | Potassium: 424mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 66IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @HungryPaprikas or tag #HungryPaprikas!
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      Comments

    1. Sarah says

      January 27, 2023 at 1:31 am

      5 stars
      Fantastic flavours on this beef shawarma meat! Love the instructions - they’re so clear!

      Reply
    2. Khalida says

      January 24, 2023 at 3:50 pm

      5 stars
      Very delicious

      Reply
    3. Khalida says

      January 18, 2023 at 4:55 am

      5 stars
      Delicious, thank you

      Reply

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    ABOUT ME

    Hi friend! I'm Amina, a wife and busy mother of two. And I know you're super busy too. I'm here to help you figure out dinner for your family with my easy, quick, and Middle Eastern inspired recipes. Hope you enjoy your stay - and please - have a look around and get in touch!

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