Oven Baked Chicken Shawarma Skewers Recipe
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Jump to RecipeThese oven baked chicken shawarma skewers are a delicious, flavorful, and easy recipe to make for dinner! Serve in a pita, as a wrap, or as a shawarma bowl with a drizzle of delicious garlic sesame sauce.
No need to get takeout, you can easily make chicken shawarma at home in your oven! Start by marinating chicken, piling it on skewers, and baking until tender and juicy. Add to pita bread and wrap it all up with hummus and fresh vegetables for a wonderful weeknight dinner.
Want more modern chicken recipes? Try our our baked chicken with cilantro crema. creamy dairy-free chicken and dumplings, and our favorite chicken pastina soup!
We absolutely LOVE chicken shawarma, and I wanted to find an easy way to make it at home. We recently had a delicious meal at our #1 favorite place JJ’s Shawarma in Kemptville Ontario on a recent trip to Canada, and as always it was perfection. I wanted to make some oven chicken shawarma at home with delicious Lebanese spices and bake it in the oven.
Traditional shawarma is layers of chicken breasts that are seasoned, stacked and roasted on a large spit/vertical rotisserie spinner. The chicken is shaved off to make each shawarma pita pockets or platter. Since I don’t have a large vertical spit, I wanted to try a similar flavor but layer smaller pieces of chicken on a skewer. The result? Perfect shawarma flavor in each bite, we can’t wait to make this again.
Why This Shawarma Chicken Recipe Works
- It’s an easy chicken shawarma recipe you can make in your oven!
- Each bite has tender and juicy chicken breast.
- Wonderful Middle Eastern flavors from the chicken marinade.
- With our step-by-step photos below, anyone can successfully make this dish.
- A great way to make shawarma at home, no carry-out needed!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken breasts – or use
- Garlic powder
- Warm spices: paprika, cumin, sea salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom
- Lemon Juice
- Fresh Parsley
Additions and Substitutions
- For a spicier shawarma, add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
- Use smoked paprika instead of regular for a deeper, smoker rich flavor.
- This easy chicken recipe can be made with sumac or tahini as well.
How To Bake Chicken Shawarma Skewers
Step 1: Chop your chicken breasts into roughly 1-inch cubes (so they can fit on a skewer). Make them as consistent as possible so they bake evenly.
Step 2: Place the cubed chicken in a bowl or airtight bag, and add in the marinade ingredients: garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and lemon juice.
Step 3: Mix all ingredients together until the chicken is well coated in the lemon and shawarma seasoning. Marinate for 20 minutes (or up to 8 hours).
Step 4: When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep you skewers: if you are using metal skewers get them ready, if you are using wooden skewers then soak them in water for 20 minutes before adding the chicken. Soaking them prevents them from burning in the oven.
Step 5: Place the chicken into a large bowl. Take each skewer and tightly stack the chicken until the skewer is full. Repeat until all the chicken is done (I had 12 skewers for 2 lbs of chicken).
Step 6: Place the chicken skewers on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, flipping the skewers halfway during cooking.
Step 7: After 20 minutes, broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes until the chicken turns to a golden brown. Remove chicken from the oven, the chicken will be fully cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can substitute chicken thighs for chicken breasts – just make sure they are boneless and skinless.
Mixing the chicken and spices together is great to get some wonderful flavor in the chicken at first – but you can add even more flavor by marinading the chicken for up to 2 hours.
I love serving these in a warm pita bread with my favorite shawarma toppings: garlic sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickled turnip, tahini sauce, roasted red peppers, and hummus.
Expert Tips
- Serve these delicious skewers with fresh veggies, yogurt sauce, hot sauce, white rice, a creamy garlicky sauce, or fattoush salad.
- Want a low carb version? Skip the pita and serve over a bed of fresh greens instead.
- While this isn’t an authentic chicken shawarma recipe, it is an easy version you can make at home without a vertical spit.
More Chicken Dinner Ideas
- Orange Chicken with Marmalade
- Chicken Paprikash Soup
- Chicken Dopiaza Recipe, Indian Curry With Onions
- Creamy Jerk Chicken Pasta Recipe (Bahama Breeze Copycat)
- Chicken and Kale Casserole Recipe
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Oven Baked Chicken Shawarma Skewers
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Airtight Plastic Bag
- Skewers
- Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley optional for garnish
Instructions
- Chop your chicken breasts into roughly 1-inch cubes (so they can fit on a skewer). Make them as consistent as possible so they bake evenly.
- Place the cubed chicken in a bowl or airtight bag, and add in the marinade ingredients: garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and lemon juice.
- Mix all ingredients together until the chicken is well coated in the lemon and shawarma seasoning. Marinate for 20 minutes (or up to 8 hours).
- When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep you skewers: if you are using metal skewers get them ready, if you are using wooden skewers then soak them in water for 20 minutes before adding the chicken. Soaking them prevents them from burning in the oven.
- Place the chicken into a large bowl. Take each skewer and tightly stack the chicken until the skewer is full. Repeat until all the chicken is done (I had 12 skewers for 2 lbs of chicken).
- Place the chicken skewers on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, flipping the skewers halfway during cooking.
- After 20 minutes, broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes until the chicken turns to a golden brown. Remove chicken from the oven, the chicken will be fully cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy.
Notes
- Serve these delicious skewers with fresh veggies, yogurt sauce, hot sauce, white rice, a creamy garlicky sauce, or fattoush salad.
- Want a low carb version? Skip the pita and serve over a bed of fresh greens instead.
- While this isn’t an authentic chicken shawarma recipe, it is an easy version you can make at home without a vertical spit.
Nutrition
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I loved developing this chicken shawarma kabobs recipe for you – If you make it, please leave a rating and review and let us know how it went!
Great version of using chicken, my most frequently used source of protein