Chicken Shawarma
Jew wanna shawarma?? Chicken shawarma is tasty and healthy, served in a pita or lettuce wraps! What are you waiting for?
I have never been one to make January resolutions. For a few years I would pick a word to focus on for the year, but now it feels like everyone does that and it’s become a little cliche and I always forgot the word by mid-January anyway.
I always just focus on the moment, do the best I can, and, maybe most importantly, switch things up if I’m not happy. I have no qualms about changing jobs, cities or routines, and always trust my gut. We have some monetary and other goals for ModernTribe, and projects I am working on and want to work on, but in general I think if you work hard at something you love and put yourself in new experiences, or switch things up when you feel stuck, things will happen beyond what you could have planned for in a fancy designer planner with fancy color pens (though I love those too). I never planned to have this blog or a Judaica store or move to Puerto Rico with the best boyfriend in the world (he is currently figuring out how we can stream The Bachelor here in PR <3), but here I am, happier than I ever dreamed too. You’d be surprised where you end up when you focus on enjoying, being kind to yourself and just living.
So it probably comes to no surprise to you that I never have diet resolutions either. My diet philosophy is to eat what feels good (that’s usually veggies, meat, eggs, yogurt, nuts), never deprive myself of homemade sweets, and mostly, just not to think about it and be in the moment and you’ll probably end up losing weight anyway because you are so busy living instead of trying not to each a chocolate chip cookie.
So whether you are eating a little healthier or just want to eat something delicious, these chicken shawarma lettuce wraps are it. Of course it’s delicious in a pita too!
The chicken is awesome on its own, with tons of spices and a nice char. Paired with tahini cream sauce and Israeli salad and, well, just try not to lick your screen.
Feel free to double the chicken and eat some over salad or in tacos or in these chicken shawarma stuffed peppers!
This chicken has become one of our staples and we eat it probably twice a month! I may just make it again tomorrow.
I usually serve with tahini sauce and schug. Serve with amba sauce for another traditional option!
What are your favorite meal staples? Tell me everything!
Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
- For the chicken:
- 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp. olive oil plus more for frying
- Juice from 1 lemon divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tbsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. sumac
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp. cardamom
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
- For the Israeli salad:
- 1 large English cucumber seeded and diced
- 2 plum tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1/2 small red onion small diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon za’atar
- For the tahini cream sauce:
- 2 tablespoons tahini paste
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise Greek yogurt works too if you aren’t keeping it parve
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Water to thin
- Other stuff:
- 2 medium Chinese eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch slices, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted on a parchment lined sheet pan at 400 until tender (optional, this is good warm or cold)
- 1 head Bibb lettuce
- Amba sauce optional
- Schug optional
Instructions
-
First, combine all the chicken spices together in a small bowl.
-
Place chopped chicken in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and juice from 1/2 lemon. Add in shawarma seasonings and toss to coat. You can use it right away or marinate for up to 1 day for even more flavor.
-
To make the Israeli salad, toss together all the ingredients in a medium bowl except the za’atar. Sprinkle on za’atar right before serving. This is best the day it’s made.
-
To make the creamy tahini sauce, mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl and add enough water to get a thick but runny texture. Feel free to double this and use extra on veggies, salmon, etc.
-
When ready to cook the chicken, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken in batches- careful not to crowd the pan, you want to be able to get the chicken nice and crispy. If you want to cook it ahead of time, you can always cook the chicken up to a day ahead, cool and refrigerate, and then extra crispy it up in more oil before serving! The chicken doesn’t dry out because the thighs have enough fat. We actually prefer it this way!
-
Drizzle cooked chicken with remaining lemon juice and serve immediately in lettuce, with eggplant, Israeli salad, and tahini cream sauce.
13 Comments
The recipe looks good but it is the middle of winter and this recipe is full of summer vegetables. I think you should consider that when you choose recipes to feature. We do not want to continue encouraging the flying/shipping of vegetables from one climate to another at the expense of our atmosphere.
I appreciate your comment, but I live in Puerto Rico and have access to lots of local vegetables all year. You are welcome to make the chicken with other garnishes, or save this recipe for the summer 🙂
I love your CHICKEN SHAWARMA LETTUCE WRAPS. I have made them several times and they are so delish. I have your cookbook and love it. What great recipes.
Aw thank you so much! You made my day. That’s one of my favorite recipes too!
[…] consider it to be a full meal unless meat or fish is involved. And though I never get sick of chicken shawarma or bourbon braised brisket (and we do tons of veggies on the side) sometimes I want something a […]
[…] a staple Israeli condiment that came from Iraqi Jews made from pickled mangos that is delicious on shawarma or sabich or sabich or really anything. I even use it on my […]
[…] time to the recipe but makes it extra special. He made a garlicy toum sauce and I made a simple tahini sauce for dipping. YUM. We were both very impressed with ourselves for this […]
[…] know how to have fun in the Becker household! We keep adding to our favorite recipes like serving shawarma over mixed greens with tahini sauce, cilantro sauce, and this schug! It feels sort of luxurious […]
[…] favorites (with food that is, with people no problem) but I will say the recipe we make the most is Chicken Shawarma Lettuce Wraps! Usually, we do it over lettuce in salad form, but the components remain the same. It’s good […]
[…] boyfriend Andrew and I cook a lot too- but the meals aren’t always blog-worthy. Except for my chicken shawarma lettuce wraps which are totally […]
OMG this was so delicious!! All 3 of my kids ate it which never happens.
Amazing! All 3 kids ate this, which never happens.
I’m so happy to hear that! It’s a favorite in our house too.