These easy, healthy shawarma bowls are made with quick skillet chicken and a bright Mediterranean arugula salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and a tangy lemon garlic dressing! And you get to mix your own shawarma spices for this chicken shawarma salad.
Read on for tips and watch my video tutorial below for this quick weeknight dinner.
Shawarma!
Traditional shawarma is made from either chicken, beef, veal, lamb, or a mixture of meats. The seasoned meat is alternated with strips of fat on a vertical spit (which is a tall pole the meat sits on, spins, and cooks for a long time.) The spit acts like a rotisserie, making the meat extremely juicy and tender…YUM. The fat and meat pieces melt together, giving the meat its unique flavor and texture.
After some hours, when the meat has finished cooking, it is thinly shaved from the spit with a knife and traditionally paired with pita, fresh toppings, veggies, and sauces like hummus, tahini, or baba ganoush.
If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that Chicken Shawarma is one of my absolute favorite Middle Eastern street foods!
And I've found a couple different ways to make quick and healthy chicken shawarama right at home. We're talking tender, juicy chicken pieces, loaded with the most amazing warm and earthy spices, including: cumin, paprika, turmeric, coriander, and a pinch of cayenne for a spicy kick!
And for an easy weeknight meal, serve it in pita pockets or turn it into shawarma bowls!
Two Ways to Make Homemade Chicken Shawarma
The great thing is, you don't need special equipment to make chicken shawarma at home. There are a couple of easy ways to prepare it:
1. Like I showed you earlier, you can make baked chicken shawarma in a sheet pan and serve it in pita pockets like they do on the streets of the Middle East.
2. Today's skillet-cooked chicken shawarma. And if you're looking for a lower-carb option, swap the pita for peppery arugula and add veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Shawarma salad bowls!
There is something about throwing fresh, delicious, and flavorful ingredients into a bowl that makes the meal feel so comforting and satisfying. Bowls are seriously all the rage lately! Perfect for a tasty dinner and great for meal prep and grab-and-go lunches during the busy work week. Chicken shawarma salads will please your whole family. And if you want those carbs, serve with chewy pita bread!
If this is your first-time cooking chicken shawarma, this is one of the easiest recipes to start off with! Quickly cooked in a skillet instead of an oven, but still juicy and flavorful!
Shawarma Spices: Make Your Own Homemade Mixture
The homemade shawarma spice mixture is key. I use the same spice mixture here that I have used in my baked shawarma recipe.
The flavors are bold, warm, earthy, and it gets a little kick from the cayenne. If you want it spicier, add more cayenne, or if you’re not that into spicy food, you can totally leave it out. Here's the list of all-natural spices to make your very own homemade chicken shawarma spice mixture:
Chicken Shawarma Salad Bowls
For this easy shawarma bowls recipe, there are two simple components: preparing and cooking the chicken and assembling the salad (plus whipping up the shawarma dressing.) Here is how:
Make Chicken Shawarma
Pat your chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Slice into thin bite-sized pieces and place chicken into a large bowl. Sprinkle on the shawarma spice mixture, add 1 thinly sliced onion, olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss to combine. Let sit while you prepare the salad.
Tip – If you have the time, you can marinade the chicken overnight in the fridge for even more intense flavor!
When ready, saute chicken in cast iron skillet with a bit of extra virgin olive oil (1o to 12 minutes or until fully cooked).
Make Salad
Place the arugula in a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers and thinly slice your onions and put them into the bowl. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon, minced garlic clove, Sumac, and salt and pepper to taste. Dress salad and toss well.
Assemble Your Chicken Shawarma Salad!
Divide the dressed salad into serving bowls. Add the delicious and fragrant chicken shawarma pieces.
How to Meal Prep Chicken Shawarma Bowls
- Make the chicken the same way as the regular recipe.
- Make the salad according the recipe instructions, but do NOT add the dressing. Keep dressing on the side in a little container to add right before you eat the salad.
- Divide salad and chicken evenly between airtight containers. The salad is best eaten within 2-4 days after assembled and kept in the fridge.
- You can also put sides (hummus, tzatziki, and baba ganoush) in small containers as well to avoid eating a soggy salad.
What to Serve Along?
Here’s where things get extra fun! Adding a side of hummus, tzatziki, or baba ganoush to the bowl will give you even more flavor, texture, and volume. A creamy little side also gives a shawarma bowl a little more pizzazz.
Do you love crunchy things in your salad? Then you MUST add these super crunchy roasted chickpeas on top!
Leftovers?
Like my Gyro Bowls, this recipe is great for making ahead, but salad that has already been dressed won’t fare as well in the fridge. Hold the dressing in a separate container and dress as needed. If you have leftover chicken shawarma, you can store in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Watch the Video for How to Make these Shawarma Bowls:
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PrintChicken Shawarma Salad Bowls
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
Description
These homemade chicken shawarma bowls made with quick skillet-cooked shawarma-spiced chicken thighs is sure to make it into the weekly rotation. Serve with a bright, vegetable Mediterranean arugula salad.
Ingredients
For the Chicken Shawarma
- ¾ tbsp ground cumin
- ¾ tbsp turmeric powder
- ¾ tbsp ground coriander
- ¾ tbsp garlic powder
- ¾ tbsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper, more if you prefer
- Salt
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large lemon, juice of
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (Private Reserve Greek EVOO)
For the Salad
- 8 oz baby arugula
- 2 to 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Private Reserve or Early Harvest Greek EVOO)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Salt and pepper
- Sumac (about ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon sumac)
To serve (optional)
- A side of hummus, tzatziki, tahini, or baba ganoush
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the cumin, turmeric, coriander, garlic powder, sweet paprika and cloves. Set aside the shawarma spice mix for now.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt on both sides, then thinly slice into small bite-sized pieces.
- Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the shawarma spices and toss to coat. Add the onions, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss to combine. Set aside for now, while you prepare the salad (and if you have time, cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight.)
- Prepare the salad. Place the arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions in one large mixing bowl. In a small bowl make the dressing combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and sumac. Mix well. When ready, pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
- Heat a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium/medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken, cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, then toss and cook another 5 to 6 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked (I like a bit of color on my chicken, so I tend to go a bit longer until chicken is browned and crusted in some parts.)
- When ready, divide the salad into serving bowls. Add chicken shawarma. If you like, add a side of hummus, tzatziki or tahini. Add warm pita wedges if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
- Leftovers? Let leftover cooked chicken shawarma cool fully. Store in tight-lid glass containers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- Visit Our Online shop to browse all-natural and organic spices and quality extra virgin olive oils to make this recipe!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Entree
- Method: Sauteed
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
How much oil should we use for the salad dressing? I'm missing the exact amount in the recipe. I'll figure it out but am wondering how much you used please.
Hi, Camille! I typically start with 1/4 cup here, taste, and add more if needed.
I've made SO many recipes on this website and all of them have been good. That being said to future cooks; if you make this and don't like something, either omit it or add something you like. I don't like cumin personally, so I use garam Masala instead! I promise, the food police won't come knocking lol.
Thanks for the tip, Kristi! We agree :).
I agree, I've made a few recipes from the site and they have all been flavor bombs! Just made this chicken tonight and OMG delicious with tzatziki and fresh cucumbers, kalamata olives and toasted pita. I didn't even have the cloves in my pantry but had everything else and still turned out AH-mazing. Thank you, Suzy!! Delish.
Awww! Thank you so much, Marlene!
Thanks for your suggestion of garam masala as a substitute for cumin. Most of my family doesn't care for cumin. I'm making this recipe as our dinner tonight. Can't wait to taste.
Can you use chicken tenders or chicken breasts instead of thighs with this recipe? Thanks!
PS Love watching your show online.
Sure! Enjoy!
This dish was so flavorful and amazing! So, I do not like to cook but do ok with recipes. THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE. I wanted to cook for my family since my husband is the house chef and has been cooking nonstop since Thanksgiving. I served this was homemade tzatziki and homemade avocado hummus on lavish flatbread. Yum!!
Will chicken breast work well with this recipe? I find very small boneless chicken thighs here in France and I was wondering about how many grams 8 would be. I want to make for guests I'm having for a casual lunch. Thanks 😊
Hi, Dottie. You can definitely use chicken breast here. I'd recommend 1.5 lbs. which is about 680 grams. Enjoy!
My entire family loved this dish! I will definitely make it many times. I noticed you didn't give an amount of oil for the dressing though.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Melissa! Regarding the oil, I typically start with 1/4 cup here, taste, and add more if needed.
Hi Suzy,
Made your chicken shawarma for the first time 2 days ago and it was so flavorful and easy! Loved it! In fact, my husband and I have eaten it for two days as we had leftovers. Today I’m prepping dried chickpeas to try your falafel recipe. Can’t wait to try that too. Thanks for great, easy to follow recipes.
Christine
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Christine!
I’ve made these bowls so many times and never get bored with them. The flavor of the spice mix is just delicious. And I love the crispy bits from the cast iron heat. So good! I always make a few extra batches and with the leftovers I pack myself salad bowls for lunch and put the chicken in pita for my husband’s lunch.
I’ve used chicken breasts and they also come out very good (although I prefer the thighs!)
Thanks for sharing!
I just ordered your cookbook...so excited to try your recipes
Thanks so much for your support! Hope you love the book!!
Delicious, but do you recommend draining the chicken before browning?
Yes, Michelle. I typically do.
How much oil for the dressing? Thank you.
Hi, Sharon. I typically start with 1/4 cup here, taste, and add more if needed.
I made this, and love it. But, how much olive oil is used for the dressing? I don't see it in the recipe, or for some reason, maybe I am just missing it. I just guessed how much, but would like to know if there is a suggested amount. Thank you, Sharon
Hi, Sharon. I typically start with 1/4 cup here, taste, and add more if needed.
I'm excited to try this, but am wondering why it is so high in sodium. I know the recipe calls for some salt, but it doesn't seem like it would be over 600 mg per serving. Thanks!
Hi, Ann. At the moment, we use a very basic nutritional calculator. It really just gives us a best estimate for each recipe's nutritional information based on the general ingredient list.
I made this recipe tonight for dinner. Since it's so hot out, I left the thighs whole and grilled them outside on the BBQ. Once the chicken was done, I cut it up and put it on top of a salad. The meat was so flavorful! This recipe will be made again and again!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Kris!
Dear Suzy,
What is the bone broth recipe with glycine and collagen (liquid gold)?
With regards,
Jane C. Muhonen
Hi, Jane. I don't have a specific recipe for bone broth. Are you referring to the sauce used in the Cilantro Lime Chicken? That one is so yummy, we often refer to it as "liquid gold" :).
I cooked this recipe twice now and both times it was delicious! Your website made me use more spices in my cooking and I love it. Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks, Irina!
Hi Suzy, this is always a hit in our house! The spice mix is just amazing. The chicken is so tender and has a lovely char to it, along with the onions. We added some extras to our salad just because we had them to hand : olives, feta and avocado. We finally got our hands on some tahini and put this to the side as shown in your photo. We are in love! Tahini is so yummy. Thank you for this wonderful recipe 🤗
Thank you for sharing, Lee!!