Chicken Shawarma Bowl

Chicken shawarma bowl is a Middle Eastern-inspired chicken shawarma recipe that is easy to make at home and packs big flavors. It can be used in shawarma wraps or shawarma bowls that are served with yellow rice for make-ahead lunches for work.

Chicken shawarma bowl recipe

1. Usually, chicken shawarma is made on a rotating spit. However, you can achieve amazing flavorful, charred chicken at home on a grill or in the oven.
2. Chicken is juicy and packs big flavors from lemon juice and a wonderful mix of spices.
3. You can wrap chicken shawarma in pita bread or flatbread or serve it in a bowl with loads of your favorite veggies and grains.
4. This is a fantastic make-ahead lunch for work or school. Great for meal preps.
5. Busy weekday dinner is only 40 minutes away with this amazing chicken shawarma bowl

Ingredients

For shawarma bowl toppings-

All the ingredients exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below.

Ingredients additions & substitutions

1. Substitute fresh garlic with garlic powder.
2. Add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder to the marinade for bright color.
3. Use any vegetables raw or roasted to assemble the shawarma bowl.
   • Raw vegetables like cucumber, tomato, onion, and lettuce can be used.
   • Add roasted vegetables – bell peppers, zucchini, and cauliflower (seasoned with salt, pepper, and curry powder mix) in a sheet pan in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Use roasted veggies to assemble shawarma bowls.
4. Use any grain of your choice for the bowl. Can be served with steamed rice or quinoa are some of the best options for grains.
5. Feel free to add crumbled or cubed feta cheese and sliced almonds for enhanced taste and texture.

How to make

Prep turmeric yellow rice (recipe on the blog) and set aside.

Prep toppings/vegetables-

Slice cucumbers, half cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion. Toss vegetables in 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Keep aside.

Adding lemon juice and zest is optional. You can use vegetables as it is.

Step 1: In a bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cardamom, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

Step 2: Add chicken to the bowl.

For best results use a mix of both chicken breasts and boneless chicken thighs. Score chicken breasts and thighs with a pairing knife before marinating.

Step 3: Rub chicken thoroughly to spread the marinade all over evenly.

Step 4: Cover and marinate the chicken for a minimum of 1 hour or a maximum overnight in the refrigerator.

Step 5: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange marinated chicken in a single layer on the sheet. Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Step 6: Transfer chicken to a wooden board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice the chicken thin.

Step 7: Layer the bowl with yellow rice or quinoa, chicken shawarma.

Step 8: Add vegetables like cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, sliced red onions, and iceberg lettuce.

Cook on grill-

If using the grill, heat the grill to 375 to 425 degrees F.

Grease the grill with olive oil. Place marinated chicken on a hot grill. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through (the internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165 degrees F).

Tips

1. For juicy flavorful chicken use chicken thighs or use a mix of both chicken breasts and thighs.
2. The longer chicken is marinated; chicken will absorb bags of flavors resulting in more flavorful chicken shawarma.
3. Customize the chicken shawarma bowl according to your preference. Add or swap any ingredient topping. Use raw vegetables(cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onions, iceberg lettuce, or Romaine lettuce) or roasted vegetables (bell peppers, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, zucchini), mushrooms) or a mix of both.
4. Undercooked or overcooked chicken is bad! To ensure the chicken is cooked, use a meat thermometer to check its internal temperature.
5. After the chicken is cooked, rest it on a wooden board for 5 minutes before slicing. Resting is essential for the chicken to absorb all the moisture. If sliced immediately after cooking, you’ll lose all the moisture, turning the chicken dry!

Recipe FAQs

5 from 5 votes

📋Chicken Shawarma Bowl

Jyothi Rajesh

Chicken shawarma bowl is Middle Eastern inspired chicken shawarma recipe which is super easy to make at home that packs big flavors. It can be used in shawarma wraps or shawarma bowls for make-ahead lunches for work.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Servings 5 servings

Calories 605

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For chicken shawarma-

• ▢ 2 pounds boneless chicken use mix of chicken breast and thighs
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 teaspoon garlic minced (can use garlic powder)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili flakes optional
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ▢ Salt & pepper to taste

For shawarma bowl toppings-

• ▢ 2 cups yellow rice
• ▢ ½ cup cucumber sliced
• ▢ ½ cup cherry tomatoes sliced into halves
• ▢ ½ red onion sliced thin
• ▢ 10-15 olive pitted
• ▢ Any salad greens like iceberg lettuce or Romaine lettuce
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cilantro & mint leaves
• ▢ Juice and zest of 1 lemon

For dressing-

• ▢ Use any of the following dressing
• ▢ Hummus dressing
• ▢ Tahini sauce
• ▢ Cilantro yogurt sauce
• ▢ Tzatziki sauce

Instructions

 

• Making flavorful and vibrant yellow rice is easy.
• Once yellow rice is ready, cover the rice with a lid and set it aside until use.
• Slice cucumbers, half cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion. Toss vegetables in 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Keep aside.

  Adding lemon juice and zest is optional. You can use vegetables as it is.
• Chicken shawarma-

  For best results use a mix of both chicken breasts and boneless chicken thighs. Score chicken breast and thighs with a pairing knife on both sides.
• In a wide bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cardamom, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.
• Add chicken to the bowl. Rub chicken thoroughly to spread the marinade all over evenly.
• Cover and marinade chicken for a minimum of 1 hour or a maximum overnight in the refrigerator.
• Cook on grill-

  If using grill, heat the grill to 375 to 425 degrees F.
• Grease the grill with olive oil. Place marinated chicken on a hot grill. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through (the internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165 degrees F).
• Cook in the oven-

  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Arrange marinated chicken in a single layer on the sheet.
• Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
• Transfer chicken to a wooden board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
• Slice chicken thin.
• Assemble chicken shawarma bowl-

  Layer the bowl with yellow rice or quinoa, chicken shawarma, vegetables like cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, sliced red onions, and iceberg lettuce.
• Drizzle with hummus dressing or cilantro yogurt sauce tahini dressing or tzatziki.
• Enjoy immediately.

Video

Notes

1. For juicy flavorful chicken use chicken thighs or use a mix of both chicken breasts and thighs.
2. The longer the chicken is marinated; the chicken will absorb bags of flavors resulting in more flavorful chicken shawarma.
3. Customize the chicken shawarma bowl according to your preference. Add or swap any ingredient topping. Use raw vegetables(cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onions, iceberg lettuce, or Romaine lettuce) or roasted vegetables (bell peppers, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, zucchini), mushrooms) or a mix of both.
4. Undercooked or overcooked chicken is not okay! To ensure the chicken is cooked use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken.
5. After the chicken is cooked, rest it on a wooden board for 5 minutes before slicing. Resting is essential for chicken to absorb all the moisture in it. You’ll lose all the moisture from the chicken if sliced immediately after cooking, hence turning the chicken dry!

 

Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 605kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 45gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 350mgPotassium: 886mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 669IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe?Follow @CurryTrail and tag #CurryTrail to share your creation!