Description
This Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Yoghurt Sauce recipe offers a deliciously spiced Middle Eastern-inspired wrap, featuring tender marinated chicken thighs cooked to perfection with a flavorful blend of cumin, cardamom, smoked paprika, and garlic. Paired with crispy fries, fresh tomatoes, red onion, mint, and a creamy garlic yoghurt sauce, it makes an easy, satisfying, and customizable weeknight dinner that is sure to please the whole family.
Ingredients
Scale
Fries and Vegetables
- 400 g (14 oz) frozen French fries
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)
Breads and Seasoning
- 4 Lebanese flatbreads, pita breads, wraps, or naan breads
- ½ tsp sumac (optional)
Garlic Yoghurt Sauce
- 1 cup (250 g) Greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp toum or Middle Eastern garlic dip or sauce (or substitute with ½ tsp freshly minced garlic and ½ tsp salt)
Chicken Marinade
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (can be substituted with chicken breast)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated puree)
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp freshly minced garlic
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
Instructions
- Cook Fries: Preheat your oven or air fryer according to the package instructions and cook the frozen French fries until crispy and golden. While the fries cook, wash and slice the tomatoes, finely slice the red onion, and roughly chop the fresh mint if using.
- Prepare Garlic Yoghurt Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the Greek yoghurt with the toum or Middle Eastern garlic dip. If you don’t have these garlic sauces, mix ½ tsp freshly minced garlic and ½ tsp salt into the yoghurt. Set this sauce aside to allow the flavors to meld.
- Marinate the Chicken: Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl. Add tomato paste, Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, freshly minced garlic, ground cumin, ground cardamom, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, sea salt flakes, freshly cracked black pepper, and olive oil. Use tongs to thoroughly toss the chicken, ensuring each piece is evenly coated with the marinade. You can cook the chicken immediately or refrigerate it covered for up to 24 hours for deeper flavor infusion.
- Cook the Chicken: Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat. Once hot, place the marinated chicken pieces in the pan and cook for 5–6 minutes on each side until fully cooked through and slightly charred. In the last 3 minutes of cooking, add ¼ cup (60 ml) water to the pan to deglaze and loosen all the flavorful crispy bits stuck to the pan. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest a few minutes before slicing thinly. Drizzle with the pan juices for extra flavor.
- Assemble the Shawarma Wraps: Lay your choice of flatbread on a plate. Spread a generous amount of the garlic yoghurt sauce in the center of each bread. Top with sliced chicken, crispy French fries, sliced tomatoes, red onions, shredded mint leaves, and a sprinkle of sumac if you’re using it. Fold the sides of the flatbread upwards to form a taco shape, wrapping everything tightly inside.
- Serve: Serve the chicken shawarma wraps immediately while warm, with extra garlic yoghurt sauce on the side for dipping as desired.
Notes
- This Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Yoghurt Sauce is the ultimate easy and satisfying weeknight dinner with family-friendly, customizable toppings that everyone will enjoy.
- You can substitute chicken thighs with chicken breasts if preferred, but thighs tend to remain juicier and more flavorful.
- For an authentic smoky flavor, the chicken can also be cooked on a barbecue grill instead of a frying pan.
- If you don’t have toum or Middle Eastern garlic dip, using minced garlic and salt in the yoghurt is a perfect and simple alternative.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 wrap
- Calories: 819
- Sugar: 23.3 g
- Sodium: 1461.8 mg
- Fat: 37.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 28.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 93.8 g
- Fiber: 10.6 g
- Protein: 40.9 g
- Cholesterol: 127.9 mg
