Shawarma spiced chicken is bursting with flavor. Put your spice cabinet to use and say “goodbye” to boring chicken. Trust us, the amount of spices and the time marinating on this one is so worth it.
Choosing your Chicken
Boneless, skinless, chicken thighs are our top pick for this Shawarma Spiced Chicken. Thigh meat is a bit more flavorful, and much more forgiving to cook. Nothing is worse than overcooked chicken! Of course, you could use boneless, skinless breasts should you desire. You could even venture off and use pork loin here.
We tested this recipe a few times in a few different formats. First, we went with full thighs and we marinated a short period of less than an hour. They were delicious. Second, we cut the thighs into bite size pieces and marinated the bite size pieces over night. Prior to cooking, we put them on skewers and grilled up kababs.
How to Serve Your Shawarma Spiced Chicken
This was a fantastic meal that we served for guests. We served it as a spread with romaine lettuce, quinoa, toasted chickpeas, Lemon Garlic Yogurt Dip, and Cucumber Tomato Salad. It was a fantastic meal for entertaining as we were able to do most of the work the night ahead. Plus, anything served on a stick is way more fun to eat, isn’t it? Check out our Pork Souvlaki for another great kebab recipe…
If you wanted to take a more traditional serving style, get some pita. Prepare your chicken in the whole thigh form. Then, after cooking, slice it up nice and thinly. Stuff it into a toasted pita and add in a few thinly sliced red onions, tomato, cucumber, and tahini. Having a side of tabbouleh will make it even better. We are drooling just talking about it.
Shawarma Spiced Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Chicken thighs, boneless & skinless, fat trimmed
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix together all of the ingredients except the chicken.
- Place the marinade and the chicken in a Ziploc bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, up to 24.
- Grill the chicken over high heat until fully cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
I had to tweak the recipe because I had no nutmeg and only had boneless skinless chicken breasts. I cut the chicken breast into more uniform pieces and marinated overnight. Also, cooked it in the air fryer since it was 114 degrees outside! The results – moist, tender and full of flavor. Will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe!
I love it! That’s what cooking is all about, making it your own and using what you have. Thanks for the comment😊
Loved the video & recipe. We can’t wait to give it a go! Keep up the fire!
Thank you so much, Darrell! We hope you and Allie love it, you’ll have to let us know after you make it. We appreciate your support.