Chicken Shawarma Wraps: How to Make this Shortcut Meal

Chicken shawarma is one of the most popular Middle Eastern street food/handhelds that I have seen in almost every city I travelled to throughout the Middle East and into Europe. Usually, it is seasoned meat cut from a rotating spit that has been roasting and marinating for hours on end. Well, nobody got time for that and we need to make it a bit healthier. So today, I present to you my stove top version that is nearly as good and comes together quickly for a no fuss meal.

This recipe makes 2 chicken shawarma wraps, but it is easily doubled or tripled as needed. I am also using breasts today, but you could just as easily use chicken thighs, which is probably a bit more authentic. So if you are craving some Middle Eastern flavors for a simple lunch or dinner. Try this today!

Serves 2

Chicken Shawarma Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts or thighs

2 tablespoons of bharat

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of coriander

1 or 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne if you like it hot

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

2 large loaves of pita or arabic bread

1 tomato, thinly sliced

4 – 6 leaves of iceberg lettuce

About 2 tablespoons of red onion, thinly sliced

A few rings of jalapeno or banana pepper slices if you like a spicy kick

2 tablespoons of minced parsely

Hummus and garlic toum to serve

Instructions:

1. Marinate the chicken in bharat, cumin, paprika, coriander, cayenne, lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper for as long as it takes to prepare the rest of your chicken shawarma ingredients or overnight. Obviously, the longer the better but we don’t got all day here!
2. We are going to keep this super simple and toss those chicken breasts or thighs in all their glory and marinade directly into a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes each side until they are just cooked and very juicy.
3. Chicken shawarma assemble! Take your loaf of Arabic or pita bread and line the iceberg lettuce down the middle. This is very important to make that bread waterproof. Next, make a line of tomatoes, followed by red onion, jalapeno or banana peppers if using, and then the parsley.
4. Slice the chicken and pile it on the bread and vegetables, making sure you have some of those marinade juices flowing. Top with hummus and garlic toum as desired and roll that thing up like a burrito and devour.

If you like this be sure to try my halloumi wrap or my Greek chicken wrap.