Have you tried chicken shawarma yet? If not then you have been missing a treat – chicken drenched in a deliciously easy marinade, full of gorgeous Middle Eastern spices, then roasted in the oven for 20 minutes – so simple, but unbelievably good!
If you are a regular reader of Easy Peasy Foodie then will know I am utterly addicted to Middle Eastern flavours – and for good reason! The majority of Middle Eastern dishes are packed full of amazing flavours, yet are surprisingly simple to make – and if they are not normally easy to make, you can bet your bottom dollar I will work out a way to simplify it!! (Speaking of which, have you checked out my easy peasy version of Persian Jewelled Rice yet?)
This easy peasy Chicken Schawarma is one such dish – just a few simple spices, some garlic, oil, lemon and seasoning…leave to marinate for an hour or two (or don’t if you are in a hurry) and then pop on an oven tray and roast in a hot oven for 20 minutes – virtually zero effort and the result is AMAZING!!
This lovely recipe, like so many of mine, is a real dress up/dress down kind of recipe too. For a quick midweek supper, keep things really easy and serve in pittas or flatbreads with a simple salad. At the weekend, when you have more time, go all out and serve with hummus, tabbouleh, flatbreads, garlic sauce, Persian Jewelled Rice and all of your other Middle Eastern favourites. When I made this for the photographs, I served it with my homemade hummus, tabbouleh and flatbreads.
The great thing about almost all these dishes is they can be made in advance, and of course the chicken can be marinated in advance…making this perfect food for a dinner party. With everything prepped ahead of time, all you need to do is cook the chicken and get everything else out of the fridge – simples!!
This recipe is also super adaptable – I’ve used chicken mini fillets (AKA chicken tenders) to make this recipe super quick and easy, but it would work well with chicken breast fillets (cook for 30 minutes), chicken thighs or legs (cook for 40 minutes) or even as a whole chicken shawarma style! Now that would be a lovely thing, wouldn’t it? (Cook a 2kg chicken for 1h30 at 200C – follow this recipe) And don’t limit yourself to chicken – this marinade would work brilliantly with steak, turkey, salmon or halloumi and roast vegetables too!
This would also make a great barbecue recipe – simply marinate the chicken in the shawarma marinade and cook on the barbecue as you normally would. (If you are worried about food poisoning you could part cook in the oven and finish off on the barbecue). I’m thinking this would work particularly well as chicken shawarma kebabs, threaded on skewers with red peppers, aubergine and halloumi…oooh now you’ve got me thinking…**rushes to kitchen to test this out**.
And don’t forget to make the awesome yogurt and garlic sauce!! It is super simple and takes just a couple of minutes to make, but it will be well worth it drizzled all over the chicken – om nom!!
Oven Baked Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Oven baked Chicken Shawarma
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 500 g chicken mini fillets / tenders
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander / cilantro for garnish
Garlic Sauce for Chicken Shawarma
- 150 g Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 garlic clove crushed or grated
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- 1 sprig mint (optional)
Instructions
Oven baked Chicken Shawarma
- In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients for the Chicken Shawarma, except the chicken fillets and the fresh coriander.
- Place the chicken in the marinade and turn to coat evenly – cover the bowl with clingfilm and marinate in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours, if you have the time (if not then just carry on with the next step)
- When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F and place the chicken on a baking tray, taking care to spread it out in a single layer.
- When the oven is hot, place the chicken in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through and starting to brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and shred the chicken, using 2 forks. Turn the shredded chicken in the pan juices then place on a serving plate. Drizzle over any remaining pan juices and then garnish with fresh coriander.
Garlic Sauce for Chicken Shawarma
- You can either make this sauce ahead of time, or make it about 5 minutes before the chicken is due to come out of the oven.
- Simply mix together all the ingredients and serve! Garnish with mint, if you like.
Notes
Love chicken? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Chicken Recipes…
Want more Middle Eastern Inspired Recipes? Find more here…
Pin Oven Baked Chicken Shawarma for later
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Heidi Brown says
This sounds just up my street – Easy and delicious. With two kiddies I love finding recipies that don’t take up too much time and I love these types of dishes. I had a nose at your persian Jewelled Rice too – OMG, looks just as devine!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks for your lovely comments Heidi – easy and delicious is what I am all about! You will find plenty more like this on Easy Peasy Foodie!! The Persian rice is one of my favourite recipes I’ve ever created – I can assure you it tastes even better than it looks!! 😀 Eb x
Mandy says
This sounds lovely – definitely one I’ll have to try with roasted veggies and halloumi. Love middle eastern flavours here too x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Mandy – I reckon this would work amazingly well with roast veggies and halloumi, or maybe feta and chickpeas – either way I think there could be a very easily adapted to make a veggie version…hmmm need to get working on one for the blog, I think!! Eb x
Jo Allison - Jo's Kitchen Larder says
I’ve had Chicken Shawarma few times before when eating out and loved it. You sold it to me yet again Eb with your beautiful photos and enticing description! 🙂 Brilliant family feast and all the wonderful spices in the marinade… Yum! I’ve pinned it and will be testing it on my hungry lot soon. x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks so much for your kind comments Jo! Would love to know how you get on if you try it…and how it compares to the ones you’ve had before! 😀 Eb x
Corina says
Another amazing recipe Eb! My kids love any type of marinated chicken like this. Even though they are picky they love a few spices. I love the sound of your marinade and it’s got a great colour too – looks so appetising! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Corina 😀 It’s such a delicious marinade and so quick and easy to make! Eb x
Honest Mum says
Drooling, you are one of my fave food bloggers-stunning pics and amazing recipes x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, bless you Vicki – you are so lovely! Means a lot coming from you – you are one of my favourite bloggers full stop 😀 Eb x
Michelle Rolfe says
Eb this looks absolutely delicious! Definitely need to give them one a try, and i love the sound of it with halloumi too. Beautiful photos too!:-)
Cheers
Michelle
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Michelle! I love the idea of doing a veggie version of this with halloumi, maybe some aubergine, red peppers and squash or sweet potato – aargh now I’m hungry and it’s only 9.45 in the morning!! 😀 Eb x
Lesley @lostinfood says
I made this for dinner tonight – wow it was fabulous, seriously tasty and so quick to prepare. My family sat in silence devouring it. I served it with spiced couscous and pomegranate and it was delicious. Pinned to my Pinterest page as it’s something I’ll be making again.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Lesley – so pleased you liked it!! Silence is always a good sign 😀 Spiced couscous and pomegranate sounds like a great accompaniment – YUM! Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
The chicken sounds delicious on its own but with the garlic sauce it is a truly sensational dish! And so quick to make too:)
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Monika – yep the garlic sauce really does make it! And yes this is so, so quick and easy – such a doddle to make, perfect for an easy peasy midweek meal or a stress-free dinner party! Eb x
Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook says
Eb, this looks exceptional! Wow!!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jhuls – it does taste pretty wonderful 🙂 Eb x
Shell says
Tried this yesterday Eb with the garlic sauce and your flat breads.. it all went down an absolute treat in my house. Love your recipes
Shell 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Yay! So pleased you liked this… and my other recipes too! Thanks so much for letting me know! Eb 🙂
Janice says
What a fantastic recipe! It’s just spicy enough and so full of flavour. The garlic sauce is also wonderful although, not one to eat if you are meeting with anyone who hasn’t shared your meal! I served it with the Persian Jewelled Rice, an ideal combination, and a carrot salad. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Janice. So delighted that you enjoyed this recipe so much! I have to say it’s a real favourite in this house too 😀 Eb x
Nadia Jaber says
My go to super delicious shawarma recipe. Neighbours (4 male adults) cut down a tree which was blocking out sunshine. They’re use to having a bacon and egg butty but this time they were gob smacked how amazingly yummy their new lunch time surprise was 4 pieces of shawarma chicken with salad in a wrap. Unfortunately, there were no seconds!! Just the perfect amount of spice and yet so moist.
Nutritionally healthy and filling !
Would like to say thank you for providing this recipe ????????
Eb Gargano says
Aw, yay! I am so happy to hear this. Sounds like a wonderful way to reward hard work. So pleased you all liked it so much! Eb 🙂
Karen says
The whole family really enjoyed this. I made it with chicken thighs I’m not a fan of breast & it was delicious. I made extras thinking I could have it as as left overs but there wasn’t any left! We had it with wraps & salad totally delicious.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear this. Thanks for leaving this lovely review and thanks especially for the 5 stars 😀
Nadia Jaber says
This is absolutely yummy. My go to recipe for speed, right amount of spice and very filling.
I’ve had with flat bread, basmati cumin peas rice and as a topping for pizza.
Such a versatile recipe.
Thank you for posting this. Highly recommended.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, yay! I am so pleased to hear that 😀 Thanks for taking the time to leave such a lovely review! Eb 🙂