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 is served with yellow rice for make-ahead lunches for work.
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Chicken shawarma bowl recipe
- Usually, chicken shawarma is made on is rotating spit. You can achieve amazing flavorful and charred chicken at home on a grill or in the oven.
- Chicken is juicy and packs big flavors from lemon juice and a wonderful mix of spices.
- Use chicken shawarma in shawarma wrap with pita bread/flatbread or turn it into a bowl with loads of your favorite veggies and grains like rice or quinoa.
- This is a fantastic make-ahead lunch for work or school. Great for meal preps.
- Busy weekday dinner is only 40 minutes away with this amazing chicken shawarma bowl
Ingredients needed
For chicken shawarma-
For shawarma bowl toppings-
All the ingredients exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below.
Ingredients additions & substitutions
- Substitute fresh garlic with garlic powder.
- Add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder to the marinade for bright color.
- 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.
- Use any grain of your choice for the bowl. Yellow rice, lentils, and quinoa are some of the best choices for grains.
- Feel free to add crumbled or cubed feta cheese and sliced almonds for enhanced taste and texture.
How to make
Making flavorful and vibrant yellow rice is easy. Just follow this fail-proof recipe.
Once yellow rice is ready, cover rice with lid and set it aside until use.
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.
Step 9: Drizzle with hummus dressing cilantro yogurt sauce tahini dressing or tzatziki. Serve immediately.
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 for making chicken shawarma bowl
- For juicy flavorful chicken use chicken thighs or use a mix of both chicken breasts and thighs.
- The longer chicken is marinated; chicken will absorb bags of flavors resulting in more flavorful chicken shawarma.
- 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.
- Undercooked or overcooked chicken is bad! To ensure the chicken is cooked use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken.
- 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!
FAQS
Yes, chicken shawarma is great for meal prep. Cook chicken, prep veggies, cook yellow rice, and cool completely. Then store everything separately in containers refrigerated.
When ready to serve assemble a chicken shawarma bowl or make chicken shawarma wrap using warm pita bread (not pita pocket).
Cooked chicken will stay good for 3 to 5 days refrigerated. Store all ingredients separately so they don’t turn soggy.
When ready to serve, simply assemble the bowl or make a wrap with all ingredients and enjoy.
Yes, you can.
You can either freeze the marinated chicken in freezer containers for up to 3 months.
Or you can cook marinated chicken on a grill or oven, let it cool then store it in freezer-safe zip-lock bags. Cooked chicken can be frozen and used for 3 months.
Frozen marinated chicken can be reheated in the microwave or oven or on a skillet. Thaw chicken overnight in the refrigerator, then cook chicken in the oven, skillet, or on a grill.
To reheat cooked chicken shawarma, thaw to defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on a skillet until warmed.
After cooking chicken shawarma, you can use it to make a wrap with pita bread. Lightly warm pita bread on a skillet, place sliced chicken, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce leaves (and or any other vegetables of your choice), and drizzle with hummus dressing tahini dressing, or cilantro yogurt dressing. Fold the wrap and serve.
To make chicken shawarma bowls – 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 cilantro yogurt sauce tahini dressing or tzatziki. Enjoy immediately.
TRY THESE CHICKEN DINNER RECIPES:
- Teriyaki sheet pan chicken
- Instant pot butter chicken
- Brown sugar bacon wrapped chicken
- Baked salsa chicken
- Chinese lemon chicken
- Instant pot chicken marsala
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📋Chicken Shawarma Bowl
Ingredients
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
- For juicy flavorful chicken use chicken thighs or use a mix of both chicken breasts and thighs.
- The longer the chicken is marinated; the chicken will absorb bags of flavors resulting in more flavorful chicken shawarma.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Comments & Reviews
Amber says
Great recipe! Husband and I loved the yellow rice and marinade for the chicken. Thank you! We will make it again.
Jyothi Rajesh says
So glad to hear you loved the recipe Amber. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Shawna says
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing! Authentic cuisine flavors!
Jyothi Rajesh says
So glad you loved the recipe, Shawna. Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Sam says
THE BEST! My family can’t wait for me to make this again.
Jyothi Rajesh says
Yay, I’m so glad to hear your family loved it Sam. Thank you very much for sharing your feedback! Happy cooking!