Oven Baked Chicken Shawarma

Super juicy oven baked chicken shawarma is our favorite middle eastern dinner recipe!

When i want to cook my family a healthy, filling meal i turn to this one over and over again…ill even make extra for lunch.

While you can buy a lamb or veal shawarma hot off the spit at pretty much any gas station stop here in Israel, sometimes you want a homecooked(and less fatty!!) version, but with all the yummy flavors!

For a quicker, Israeli inspired dinner try 20 minute chicken and ptitim.

This chicken is so so juicy(thanks to the lemon juice!) and flavoured with warm middle eastern spices like cumin, paprika, and of course, shawarma spice.

We serve this chicken with Mejadra and sautéed onions for a Well balanced meal.

Spices for shawarma

You only need a few spices to get all the flavors of the middle east, but each one is important! The lemon tenderizes the chicken, the garlic adds bite, and the ready made shawarma spice brings it all together.

what you need:

• one whole lemon, juiced

• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped

• olive oil

• cumin

• paprika a sweet paprika or spicy if you want a kick

• oregano i always use a good quality greek oregano which is the variety i find has the most flavour!

• brown sugar a little sugar helps the chicken caramelise and contrasts with the spices

Mejadra

Mejadra is a spiced middle eastern rice and lentil dish that is as healthy as it is flavorful. It’s the perfect filling side for this shawarma chicken! Use jasmine, basmati, or Persian rice and black lentils, which take less time to cook then the traditional green lentil.

Mejadra is topped with fried onions but were making them sautéed today because its healthier and I personally think- much easier to make when I’m prepping a multi faceted dinner!

Enjoy this recipe!

Oven Baked Chicken Shawarma

Estee

Juicy homemade chicken shawarma baked in the oven in 20 minutes.

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Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

For the shawarma:

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast
• One lemon juiced
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbs shawarma spice
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• ½ Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp oregano

for the Mejadra

• 1 cup black lentils
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice

for the onions

• 2 onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to grill setting.
• Add chicken and all seasonings to a ziplock bag or bowl and toss to coat well.
• Slice each piece of chicken into three using a knife or kitchen shears.
• Thread each piece of chicken thigh onto two skewers held parallel. See photo.
• Place on a baking sheet.
• Grill for 20 minutes. If chicken is extra thick grill and extra 3-5 minutes.

  at this point start the mejadra and onions.
• Slice the chicken by Holding the two ends of the skewers facing away from you with the knife parallel to the sticks. Slice into thin strips.
• Serve with mejadra and top with caramlised onions.

for the mejadra

• Add lentils to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes. Drain.

  Add olive oil to a pot with rice and spices and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add drained lentils and the 2 cups water.

  Place a lid on and cook 35 minutes. Shut off heat and let sit 5-10 minutes before removing the lid.

for the onions

• while the mejadra is cooking, saute the onions in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until caramelised. set aside.