20-Minute Authentic Arabic Chicken Shawarma

This authentic Chicken Shawarma recipe is bursting with bold Middle Eastern flavors and is incredibly easy to make at home! Juicy, tender chicken is marinated in a warm blend of traditional shawarma spices, then cooked to perfection—whether you choose to bake it in the oven, air fry, or use a cast iron skillet on the stovetop. This recipe delivers the street-style flavor you love, with step-by-step instructions to make it a stress-free weeknight favorite.

Replicating Street-Style Shawarma At Home

I’ve tested my shawarma recipe a countless number of times until I was finally happy with it. I was mainly optimizing for the best shawarma marinade as well as trying out different cooking methods.

I’ve had to think through why shawarma that is traditionally cooked on a rotating spit is juicy and tender. It’s because the meat slowly cooks as it rotates and is sliced off when the outer layer is cooked and develops char on the meat. The meat is also layered with pieces of fat that melt and keep the meat juicy and flavourful.

That’s why I make my shawarma on a pre-heated sheet pan that’s been slicked with oil. That way – as soon as the chicken hits the pan, it starts to sear and char. I also only use dark meat and sometimes keep the extra fat on there to mimic the fat layered on a shawarma spit.

My chicken shawarma is versatile and can be served as a wrap or as a shawarma plate, alongside yellow rice. I’ve even made a one pot shawarma rice recipe that is loved by my readers!

The Best Chicken Shawarma Marinade

The chicken shawarma marinade is what makes the dish! I have tested this marinade many times, tweaking elements as I go, and it’s finally perfected. It has a blend of warm spices, along with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and sliced onions.

The best flavour comes from marinating the chicken overnight if you can spare the time, but I’ve often thrown it together just an hour before cooking and it also comes out great.

Let’s Make My Chicken Shawarma!

Gather your ingredients! And if you have some toum around (which is sort of required when serving), you can substitute that for the crushed garlic in the marinade.

Step 1: Make the shawarma marinade.

Mix together the ground spices, olive oil and lemon juice and mix well to create a paste.

TIP: Creating a paste first with the seasoning ensures that they are mixed well when coating the chicken, and avoids uneven seasoning.

Step 2: Cut the chicken into strips and marinate with the spice paste and the onions.

When testing this recipe, I found that cutting the chicken thighs into strips is much better than marinating and cooking them whole. The chicken strips optimizes the amount of surface area that is in contact with the marinade. It also is much faster to cook and achieve browning.

Marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Marinating overnight is highly recommended and enhances the flavour so much.

Step 3: Cook the chicken shawarma.

In the next section, I discuss three different cooking methods that I have tested and recommend. My go-to method is usually on a sheet pan in the oven, because I can make a large quantity.

TIP: Make sure you take the chicken out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking, to ensure it comes to room temperature.

For the sheet pan method:

To get more charring on the chicken, you can broil it for a few minutes once its cooked and before removing from the oven.

Plate the chicken shawarma and serve it either as wraps or as a shawarma plate with rice and other sides.

Other Cooking Methods I Recommend:

The sheet pan method is the one I recommend for this recipe if you are making a large quantity and if you want to avoid a mess on your stove.

The stove-top method is excellent if you are looking for a quicker recipe that does not require pre-heating the oven. It will also work if you want are making a smaller quantity.

I recommend using a cast iron skillet and heating it with oil until hot, then add the chicken and make sure they’re spaced apart. This ensures they sear and don’t steam.

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet (I recommend this one by the way – inexpensive and amazing quality), then you can use a regular skillet as well. Follow the same exact instructions!

Using the air fryer is also a great way to make this shawarma recipe. However, depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to work in batches. Pre-heat your air fryer to 400F. Place the chicken in a single layer and air fry for 8-10 minutes. Work in batches if you have a large quantity.

Serve Shawarma Like an Arab

I don’t mean to be a control freak, but as an Arab, shawarma is close to my heart. Therefore, I sort of want to control how you serve it (if you’ll allow me).

As a wrap, shawarma is rolled up in either pita bread, markouk bread or lavash bread. You can use any thin flatbread.

Traditional chicken shawarma wrap fillings include: a generous amount of toum, pickles and fries. Yes, fries! The shawarma wrap is also typically pressed on a grill at the end until crispy.

Often times when at middle eastern shawarma restaurants, you can choose either a wrap or a plate. For the plate, it typically comes served over yellow rice with a fresh salad like tabouli or fattoush on the side, as well as some dips like hummus or baba ghanoush. I also love using any leftovers to make chicken shawarma salad!

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!