This Chicken Shawarma Bowl is a flavor-packed feast, perfect for meal prep or a satisfying dinner. Juicy, spiced chicken—marinated in warm, aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, and paprika—is roasted to perfection and served over fluffy rice.
I brought this recipe in to be made at work and it's one of our most loved and highly praised dishes over the last few years. Restaurant quality dish in the comfort of your home. If you love this, you'll love Chicken Shawarma Pita!
Bowls are a really fun way to serve meals or meal prep because after you set up the base, everyone can customize to their heart's content!
If you love making meals ahead, or at least portions of them, try out more bowls like a sushi-inspired Tuna Poke Bowl.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Using dark meat is perfect for meal prep because it will retain more moisture.
- Shawarma Spices: We are adding a ton of flavor to the chicken to truly make it the star of the show! I like to make a big batch of this then use it as I please for a chicken shawarma bowl recipe or chicken shawarma pitas.
- Crushed Red Pepper: Crushed red chili flake or Aleppo Pepper can be used.
- Garlic Cloves: Minced fresh garlic cloves are ideal for this recipe, not pre-minced from the jar.
- Tahini: Fluff up store-bought tahini paste to make a creamy tahini sauce.
- Schug: This Middle Eastern staple condiment is made from parsley and cilantro and hot peppers, along with spices. It is brightened up with lemon juice. Perfect on these chicken shawarma bowls and tons of other dishes! I use it on smoked brisket a lot.
- Arabic Pickles: Use store bought or make your own Arabic Pickles.
- Tahini Paste: Find this ground sesame seed paste at your local grocer. And essential ingredient in Harissa Hummus.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can certainly use chicken breast if you prefer a slightly leaner protein for your Chicken Shawarma bowl, but I prefer thighs.
- Try some homemade hummus instead of just tahini sauce.
- The included list of veggies is just a starting point. Feel free to add in or remove any that you like.
- Add some tzatziki sauce in place of the tahini sauce if you like!
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Chicken Shawarma Bowls
Step 1: Toss the chicken in the shawarma seasoning.
Step 2: Cook chicken and allow to crisp up.
Step 3: Cook basmati rice according to directions, using chicken broth as your liquid and adding turmeric.
Step 4: Blend tahini to make a thin, fluffy sauce.
Step 5: Make schug in a food processor, leaving some chunks.
Step 6: Dice veggies and toss to coat.
Step 8: Assemble Chicken Shawarma bowls in layers as desired!
Expert Cooking Tips
- Cook the chicken at 425°F to get crispy edges for the best flavor!
- Make the schug and tahini up to 5 days in advance for the ultimate meal prep. This is what I do for my Falafel Pita recipe.
Recipe FAQs
You can really easily make most of this Chicken Shawarma Bowl recipe in advance. The schug and tahini can be made up to 5 days in advance and store in jars in the fridge. Even the chicken and rice could be made a day in advance. Don't assemble what you won't eat as leftovers will store best if each part of the meal is separate.
Simply add turmeric to the liquid to achieve a gorgeous color and flavor to the entire pot of rice. I recommend basmati rice for a traditional taste, and it's very easy to find at most stores. I always cook my rice in chicken stock to add more flavor than using just water.
Because they are boneless and skinless, they don't take too long to cook, especially when we are using a higher oven temperature. Always use a thermometer when cooking chicken to ensure it is cooked through. Check for 160°F in the thickest parts, the chicken thighs will carry over cook to 165°F.
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📖Recipe
Chicken Shawarma Bowl
Equipment
- 1 food processor or high powered blender
Ingredients
Shawarma
- 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper coarse ground
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 4 6oz boneless skinless chicken thighs 24oz total
Rice
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1¾ cup chicken stock I use Knorr liquid concentrate mixed with water
- ½ teaspoon turmeric ground
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
Tahini Sauce
- ½ cup tahini paste
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- ¼ cup ice water
Schug Sauce
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds toasted
- 1½ cups cilantro rough chop
- 1 cup parsley rough chop
- 4 fresh jalapenos stemmed, rough chop
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- ¾ cup olive oil
Veggies
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup Persian cucumbers small dice
- ¼ cup red onion small dice
- 1 cup romaine chopped
- ½ cup parsley rough chop
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 cup Arabic pickles store bought or homemade
Instructions
Making Chicken
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Add all spices, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil to a bowl and mix. Add chicken thighs and toss to coat
- Place chicken on a parchment lined sheet tray then roast for 20 minutes until chicken reaches internal temperature of 160°F
Making Rice
- Cook rice according to package directions, using chicken stock, turmeric and salt.
Making Tahini Sauce
- Add all tahini sauce ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until smooth and fluffy. If too thick add a couple more tablespoons of ice water and blend again
Schug Sauce
- Add all schug sauce ingredients to the food processor and blend until partially smooth with small chunks
Veggies
- Add all veggies, lemon juice, sumac and salt together in a bowl then toss to coat
Building Bowls
- Layer bowls starting with rice then chicken, veggies, tahini sauce and schug sauce. Top with store bought or homemade Arabic pickles and serve
Sheila
Most flavorful chicken I’ve had. It was to die for! Will make again
Krista Stechman
Glad to hear that!
Krista
Love, love, love this recipe! Packed with flavor. I’m obsessed with both sauces. I could put them on anything!