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Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce

Chicken shawarma with garlic sauce featuring deeply golden, spiced chicken thigh slices and a creamy toum-style garlic sauce. Pan-seared until cooked through, then wrapped in warm pita with tomato, cucumber, and pickled onions.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
marinating 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Calories: 680
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken shawarma
  • 1.5 lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin for shawarma spice marinade
  • 1 tsp coriander for shawarma spice marinade
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika for shawarma spice marinade
  • 0.5 tsp turmeric for shawarma spice marinade
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon for shawarma spice marinade
  • 0.5 tsp cayenne for shawarma spice marinade
  • 3 garlic cloves minced, for marinade
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice for marinade
  • 0.25 salt to taste
  • 0.25 black pepper to taste
Garlic sauce and serving
  • 0.5 cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt choose one
  • 3 garlic cloves minced, for sauce
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice for sauce
  • 0.25 salt for sauce
  • 4 warm pita
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 cucumber
  • 0.5 pickled onions

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Marinate the chicken
  1. In a mixing bowl, combine olive oil with cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne, minced garlic, and lemon juice, then season with salt and black pepper. Coats chicken thighs thoroughly, then refrigerate to marinate for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
Sear and rest
  1. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then add marinated chicken thighs and sear for 6–7 minutes per side until deeply golden and cooked through. Rest chicken for 5 minutes, then slice thinly.
Make the garlic sauce and assemble
  1. Stir mayonnaise or Greek yogurt with minced garlic, lemon juice, and salt, then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve sliced shawarma chicken in warm pitas topped with garlic sauce, tomato, cucumber, and pickled onions.

Notes

For the most tender slices, marinate the chicken overnight if you can—then let the chicken rest 5 minutes before slicing to keep juices in. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days; freeze chicken (sliced or whole) up to 2 months, and thaw in the fridge before reheating. For a lighter option, use plain Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise for the garlic sauce.