Name: Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs; 3 tablespoon plain yogurt; 2 tablespoon olive oil; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 1 tablespoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper; 4 garlic cloves, minced; Salt and black pepper to taste; 4 pita breads; For the garlic sauce:; ½ cup mayonnaise; 3 garlic cloves, finely minced; 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon olive oil; Salt to taste

How Chicken Shawarma Took Over My Tuesday Nights

Pulled this recipe together the first time because I was craving takeout and my wallet was giving me dirty looks. Plus, my kids declared a personal vendetta against plain roast chicken (can't say I blame them). So chicken shawarma with garlic sauce—messy, garlicky, and honestly? It turned our kitchen into the local kebab joint for a night. My cousin swears this is better than the stuff at that place he visited in London, and who am I to argue? Just a heads up: the second you start making the garlic sauce, everyone within a four-house radius will know. And come knocking.

Here’s Why I Keep Coming Back To This Recipe

I make this when I want dinner to feel a bit special but not like fancy-party special; comfort food special, if that makes sense. My sister begs for the garlic sauce (it’s her downfall), and my youngest sometimes just eats the crispy bits straight from the pan. Oh, and the leftovers are, I think, even better—though admittedly, they rarely survive the night. Mixing the spices is oddly relaxing, too, even though I still end up with turmeric stains on my shirt (seriously, will those ever come out?).

What You Need (Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff)

1kg (about 2.2 lb) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I’ve done this with breast in a pinch, but it’s not as forgiving)
3 tablespoon plain yogurt (Greek, or whatever’s survived the fridge apocalypse)
4 cloves garlic, minced (sometimes more—who’s counting?)
Juice of 1 large lemon (when I’m out, I’ve grabbed a splash of vinegar—works fine)
2 tablespoon olive oil (or melted butter if you’re feeling rich)
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular if that’s what you grabbed)
½ teaspoon turmeric (my grandma always stuck to this brand, I just buy whatever)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt (I just toss it in by eye, honestly)
½ teaspoon black pepper

For the Garlic Sauce (Toum):

5 garlic cloves (or more—live your life)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup neutral oil (sunflower, canola—olive oil if you love the taste but it’s pretty punchy)
1 egg white (not traditional, but it keeps the sauce from breaking—I used to skip it, but then I’d be cursing at curdled sauce)
Juice of half a lemon

Optional bits: Pickles, lettuce, soft flatbread, tomato. Oh! Store-bought pitas if you’re not in the mood to knead anything today (I rarely am).

Let’s Get Cooking (Mess is Part of the Fun)

Marinate: Chuck the chicken, yogurt, spices, garlic, lemon, olive oil into a big bowl. Squish it around with your hands (yes, your hands—it somehow works better). Cover. Let it sit at least 30 min, but the longer the better. I usually just leave it in the fridge while I hunt for missing homework.
Make the Garlic Sauce: Okay, here’s the deal: toss the garlic and salt in a food processor and blitz into a paste. Scrape the bowl, add in the egg white and lemon juice, then—slowly—drizzle in the oil while the machine is running. You’ll get something that looks and tastes like fluffy, punch-you-in-the-face garlic mayo. If it splits, I swear adding another half egg white and blitzing will mostly rescue it. (I learned that after a couple kitchen tantrums.)
Cook the Chicken: Heat a big frying pan (cast iron is best, but a regular one is fine). Medium-high heat. Drizzle in some oil, lay out the chicken pieces (work in batches if you need). Sear until deep golden and a bit crisp at the edges, about 5 min each side, maybe longer if you like it extra caramelized. This is where I usually sneak a bite for “testing.” Slice the cooked chicken thinly—don’t stress if it shreds and falls apart; that’s the good stuff.
Assemble: Grab your flatbread or pita, smear on loads of garlic sauce, pile on the chicken, add pickles, lettuce, whatever you’ve got that feels right. Roll it up. Fail to roll it tightly? Welcome to the club.

Lessons from the Chicken Shawarma Trenches

Once tried marinating with orange juice instead of lemon—would not repeat (too sweet, though my kids didn’t mind much).
Chicken breast dries out super fast, so if you have to use it, keep an eye (and maybe a splash more oil).
Garlic sauce freezes okay, but it gets a bit grainy when thawed. Still tastes wild, though.

Things I’ve Tried (Not All Were Genius)

I went rogue once and used smoked chicken—kind of weird, honestly. Roasted cauliflower instead of chicken: shockingly tasty (even my meat-loving uncle liked it), but you have to amp up the salt and spices. I keep meaning to try with tofu, but never got around to it. You could probably toss the marinade with potatoes and roast them; I will, one day!

Do I Really Need All This Gear?

If you don’t have a food processor for the sauce, just get aggressive with a mortar and pestle or even the back of a spoon in a bowl. I once made garlic sauce in a mason jar with a stick blender, but it took way longer than I’d admit.

Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce Recipe

How To Store It (If Any Survives)

Shove the leftovers into a container and stash in the fridge; the chicken keeps about 2 days, but—honestly—in my house it rarely lasts more than a day. The garlic sauce gets stronger overnight (vampires, beware), but I actually kinda like it that way.

How We Eat It Around Here

Sometimes I skip all the assembly and just throw the chicken and garlic sauce over a big chopped salad (lazy, yes, but so good). My cousin dunks French fries right in the sauce, which I thought was criminal until I tried it. Sometimes we do a shawarma “bar” for family movie night—everyone builds their own (and makes their own mess).

If You Want Pro-Level Results (Or At Least, Avoid Disaster)

One time I rushed the marinade and, no surprise, it wasn’t nearly as juicy. Let it marinate, seriously.
Don’t crowd your chicken in the pan or you’ll miss out on those tasty crispy bits—learned that the hard way.
The garlic sauce really does need the slow drizzle of oil. Pour it too fast, and it’ll break and you’ll be cursing (been there, got the T-shirt).

Questions People Actually Ask Me (Yes, Really!)

Can I make this in the oven instead of the stovetop?
Oh, totally. Crank the oven up to 220°C (428ish°F), lay the chicken on a lined tray, and bake for 20–25 min. Broil for the last couple min to crisp the edges up. Not quite the same as pan-fried, but much less faffing about.

That much garlic? Will it be too strong?
Bit of a loaded question. If you adore garlic, you’ll want to double it. If you’re timid, just dial it down. The sauce mellows after a night in the fridge. Trust me, you won't scare off your neighbors with vampire breath (unless you want to).

Can I freeze the chicken?
For sure! Freeze after cooking and slicing—not before, because the marinade does odd things to raw frozen chicken. Defrost in the fridge, give it a quick fry to revive.

Flatbread or pita—does it matter?
I say go with whichever is available (so long as it’s soft). Store-bought is fine. If you make your own, you deserve a medal, or at least a nap.

Tahini sauce instead of garlic?
If you must! I do it sometimes—especially if I’m low on garlic or my kids are being dramatic. It’s not traditional, but good eats is good eats.

By the way, once I dropped a whole bowl of garlic sauce down the front of my shirt. Don’t recommend that, but I guess that’s what aprons are for (which, naturally, I wasn’t wearing).

Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce Recipe