Traditional shawarma is spit-roasted and shaved into thin slices. I don’t have a way to spit roast anything, and I’m guessing you don’t either. My version of chicken shawarma has all the shawarma flavors you love in sheet pan form! No spit roasting needed.
These chicken shawarma bowls went into a lot of faces, and I got nothing but raves. Raves from my kids are always my favorite because feeding kids relatively healthy things is always a struggle.
Note: Next time I’ll use different vegetables because most of my kids didn’t like these. But I used them because they cooked quickly. And they’re pretty together. (Ok, mostly because they were pretty.)
You’ll love this Chicken Shawarma Recipe
This is one of those recipes I super puffy heart love because it’s easy to prep, super tasty, and also works well as a meal prep for lunches during the week!
You can customize this recipe quite a bit, too! I’ll give you some ideas on alternative vegetables, different things to serve with the chicken and vegetables and a few topping ideas.
What is Chicken Shawarma?
Chicken shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish with heavily spiced chicken roasted on spits and shaved into thin slices. Usually served in a flatbread/wrap type of thing.
Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma Ingredients
- Chicken breasts or thighs
- Quick-roasting vegetables: I used cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced zucchini, and some red onion. You can also use asparagus, thinly sliced yellow squash, small broccoli florets, shredded cabbage, or shredded Brussels sprouts.
- Lemon
- Shawarma Seasoning: Use my Homemade Shawarma Seasoning or find some Shawarma Seasoning online! (It’s kind of hard to find locally, but chances are you have most of the ingredients already in your cupboard.)
- Oil, Salt, & Pepper
- Feta cheese (optional)
This is the basic recipe and you can serve it over a few different things and with a few different toppings. I’ll give you more details below.
How to make Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma
- Spread the chopped veg onto a couple of sheet pans. Toss with oil and some salt.
- Toss the shawarma seasoning and oil with the chicken, then add it to the sheet pans.
- Broil, rotating pans halfway through roasting.
- Serve any way you like!
How to serve this Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma
If you’re wanting this to be ultra minimalist, you could just eat it as is right off the pan! Here are my top three ways of serving this:
In a grain bowl: Use freshly steamed rice or quinoa.
On a salad: Put it over a bowl of salad greens.
In a wrap: Build some flatbread wraps.
What to serve with Chicken Shawarma
Sauces and dips really bring dishes together! You’ll want to add one of these options no matter how you serve your chicken shawarma:
Tahini Yogurt Dressing: You may be able to find this in a grocery store, but I included a basic recipe in the recipe card below!
Tzatziki: Again, available in grocery stores, but I’ve got a recipe within this post: Homemade Tzatziki
Hummus: Mmm. Love this and you can find it just about anywhere.
You could also just drizzle your bowl/flatbread with extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. And add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt if you’re in a hurry.
Storing Shawarma Chicken
Store any leftovers in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
If you’re meal prepping, divide the chicken and vegetables into containers with rice and store toppings and salad greens separately.
Easy Shawarma Chicken Recipe FAQs
The seasoning! Make sure to use shawarma seasoning to get the right flavors in this recipe.
Gyros have more of an herb-based seasoning and shawarma uses more spices. Gyros are also traditionally made with pork and shawarma can be made with chicken, turkey, beef, or lamb. The directly of the roasting spit is different, too. Gyro spits are vertical and shawarma spits are horizontal.
If you liked this recipe, try another one of my easy sheet pan meals!
More Delicious Sheet Pan Meals on Perry’s Plate
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Easy Chicken Shawarma Recipe
Traditional shawarma is spit-roasted and shaved into thin slices. I don't have a way to spit roast anything, and I'm guessing you don't either. My version of chicken shawarma has all the shawarma flavors you love in sheet pan form! No spit roasting needed.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1/2 red onion
- 3 Tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds chicken breast or thighs
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Shawarma Seasoning
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
- Rice, flatbread, or salad greens, for serving
For the tahini dressing:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons tahini
- 2 Tablespoons warm water
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, grated or Microplaned
Instructions
- Place one of your oven racks high in the oven and preheat your oven broiler to high.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or spray with nonstick spray.
- Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/2 inch pieces. Peel and cut the onion into small wedges. Divide the vegetables evenly on the two sheet pans.
- Drizzle the vegetables with 2 tablespoons of the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and then spread them evenly on the pans.
- Place your chicken strips in a bowl. Add the remaining Tablespoons of oil, the shawarma seasoning, and the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Toss to coat.
- Divide the chicken evenly on the pans with the vegetables. The pans shouldn't be overcrowded (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan in spots).
- Place one pan on the very high rack and one on the bottom. Broil for 8-10 minutes until dark spots begin to form on the vegetables on the top pan. Rotate the pans and cook for another 8-10 minutes until the other pan looks the same. Cook until the chicken is just barely cooked through or else it will dry out.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all of the ingredients for the tahini dressing.
- Serve the chicken shawarma and veggies with rice, flat bread, or salad greens. Add a squeeze of the remaining 1/2 lemon, a drizzle of tahini sauce, and some feta crumbles.
Notes
- If tahini isn't your thing, you can serve these with hummus or tzatziki. If you need a recipe for tzatziki you can use mine: Homemade Tzatziki (see recipe card within that post)
- If you don't want to make Homemade Shawarma Seasoning, you can find some online. (I had a hard time finding it locally, but World Market carries it.)
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1/6thAmount Per Serving Calories 535Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 170mgSodium 478mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 2gSugar 4gProtein 61g
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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