My Cookbook: Souk to Table 
Shawarma Rice with White Sauce (in one pot)
This one pot shawarma rice recipe is my top go-to quick meal to make for busy weekdays. What’s not to love about fragrant yellow basmati rice that cooks with shawarma seasoned chicken, all in one pot? Serve with a simple salad and drizzle generously with my quick white sauce. This meal will be on the table in under 40 minutes from start to finish!
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We’re always craving shawarma, and I usually resort to my sheet pan chicken shawarma recipe if I plan to make them into wraps. But if I want to enjoy it with rice, this is the easiest way to do it.
This recipe was inspired by the halal cart chicken and rice (another recipe I love), but I thought – why not make it all in one pot and skip some steps? As it turns it – that was a great idea.
Let’s Make It
Grab all the ingredients. I prefer to use boneless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces, which lends to quicker cooking.
This recipe will take about 10 minutes of active cooking time, and then you’re just waiting for everything to cook. It’s incredibly easy. Here’s how it goes:
- Marinate your chicken thighs with the chicken spices, ideally the night before.
- Dice the onions, crush the garlic and wash and drain the rice.
- In a pan with raised sides (or a small pot), sear the chicken pieces until they’re golden. Remove them from the pan.
- Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened. Then add the garlic and the spices and continue cooking a further few minutes
- Add the washed rice, stir, then add the chicken back on top. Add water, cover and cook for 20 minutes on low heat.
The sauce comes together by whisking all the ingredients. I’ve made it with and without tahini. I personally prefer it with tahini, but you can omit it if it’s not to your taste.
How I Serve Mine
I love to pair this shawarma rice with some greens. I usually make a simple salad with whatever I have in the fridge like cucumber, tomato, lettuce, onion.
The easiest dressing is a lemon and olive oil dressing to keep the flavours simple. I then drizzle the salad with the white sauce as well. You can also serve it with my kale tahini salad or some Fattoush, both of which are an excellent side.
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Shawarma Rice with White Sauce (in one pot!)
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 450 g chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
For the rice:
- 2 small onions, roughly 1 cup diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 3 cups water
For the white sauce:
- 1 cup full fat plain yogurt
- 1.5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, more per preference
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, you can use fresh too, adjust amount to your liking
- 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice, per preference
- 2 tablespoons tahini, optional – you can leave it out if you don’t have it
Instructions
- Start by marinating the chicken with all the spices, either overnight (best results) or just before you start preparing the other ingredients
- In a large pan with high sides, add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil for the chicken, and sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side on high heat, until golden brown. Remove and set aside
- Add the rest of the oil (2 tablespoons) and the diced onion with the salt (amount under “for the rice”) and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until softened
- Add the crushed garlic and all the spices, and cook for a further 2 minutes
- Add the washed and drained rice and stir for a few minutes. Add the chicken back into the pan and then the water
- It should start to bubble right away or within a few minutes. Once it bubbles, cover and turn the heat to low. Allow it to cook undisturbed for 20 minutes
- Meanwhile prepare the sauce by whisking together all the ingredients, and adjust the salt, pepper and lemon per preference
- After 20 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the sauce and a side salad
Notes
- You can use chicken breast instead of thighs, just ensure you don’t overcook it during the searing process
- The tahini in the white sauce is optional if you can’t find it. If you do have it, I highly recommend it!
- You can also add vegetables like peas, carrots, mushrooms, or spinach. Cook the vegetables with the onion before moving to the next step. You may need to add a bit more salt/spices to adjust for additional vegetables
Genuinely make this recipe once a month, and it is incredible.
Add a little shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and diced jalapeños and it’s as good as getting takeout.
That’s wonderful Jess! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
This meal was delicious! Even my 2 and 4 year old asked for seconds, which happens so so rarely!
That is always a win! Love it! 🙂
I made this last night and it was amazing! So simple and so many layers of flavor. I messed up the rice a little by adding the salt twice, but I balanced out the salt by leaving most of it out of the sauce. I really thought my mistake would mess it up, but it was still delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again!
I’m so glad to hear you were able to recover the recipe!
Amazing! Used brown rice and cooked it in the pressure cooker and came out so yummy! Another amazing recipe 🙂
Oh that’s a great substitution!
Excellent & tasty!
I’m glad to hear!
Loved this! Amina, your one-pot rice dishes always turn out amazing! Will definitely be making again and trying other recipes 🙂
That’s so wonderful to hear Emily, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Wow…once we eat the food I’ve made, I want to make this! That white sauce sounds lovely to use with wraps too. I will try it with vegan chicken and I am sure it will be amazing!! All of your recipes are always a hit! We just finished our favorite, Fasolia Yabsa, without the lamb. It is such a simple, but incredibly tasty dish!!
Thanks so much LindaLee! The sauce will definitely be something you’ll love 🙂
Delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Simple + packed with flavor = the perfect recipe. All of your recipes, including this one, have the best myriad of middle eastern flavors without being complicated or difficult. I regularly check your blog now for recipes to try and I’m really enjoying it. Thanks for sharing Amina!
Thanks so much Sana – your feedback means so much!
I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s always a hit! I recently took a different take on this recipe and it was amazing! I cooked the chicken with shawarma spices and added it to homemade pizza and made the yogurt sauce as a dip – it was delicious!
Such a great twist!! Thanks for sharing Juweria! 🙂
Super delicious and super easy too! It easily fed four of us with leftovers. I was told to make this one of our regular meals. Thank you!
Tasty tasty tasty! And quick & easy. The sauce really takes the dish to a whole new level. Loved it! Thank you!
Made this yesterday for a small dinner party. Everyone loved it! I look forward to making more of your recipes in the future!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Noel! Happy to hear that 🙂
Will this recipe work with white rice or brown rice?
Also i’ve made it with chicken thigh and breast and it definitely works better with thigh as you’ve written it!
Okay this was SUCH a hit!!! My kids and I loved each and every component and this is sure to be a staple in my house!
This came out great and was pretty easy! I made it in my instant pot. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome – so glad to hear! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Loved this recipe so much! I made it in the instant pot and it turned out wonderful! It was so easy to prepare and tasted so good! Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much for the feedback Masuma! Love that you used the Instant Pot – I should try it next time. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. Cooked this while fasting and was a bit uncomfortable since couldn’t do any taste testing. But needn’t have worried at all! The spices were exactly on point and the taste was amazing!
My husband said it tasted like a shawarma plate from a restaurant. But my favourite part was definitely my toddler finshing her plate without complaints – which is her way of giving 15 stars to the food.
I’m probably going to double the quantity next time so we can enjoy the leftovers for longer, lol.
Wow – LOVE that Fatima! So glad both your husband and daughter enjoyed the dish! And yes I completely support the decision to double it, haha! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Made this last night and it was a hit! Very easy to make and tastes so good, I was hesitant to use the cinnamon but now I think it was the secret ingredient! The yogurt came out perfect too!! We enjoyed it with some tabouli too! Will def make again!
That makes me so happy Mariam! Cinnamon is definitely part of the secret 😉 We use it a lot in middle eastern dishes. So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback!