Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps
Fire up the grill! These Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps are a backyard version of the classic street food…and they’re delicious!
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Chicken Shawarma is a classic street-food in Egypt and the Middle East. Typically, shawarma is slow-roasted on a vertical rotisserie. When an order is placed, thin slices of meat – which can be lamb, mutton, chicken, beef, etc – are sliced off and served as a sandwich or a wrap.
I have seen some homemade set-ups for creating a vertical rotisserie. Some are sold commercially while others are rigged using grills or smokers. I haven’t gone down that road yet, but trust me – it’s on my list to figure out! For the meantime, we’re using all of the classic shawarma flavors…just on the grill instead.
What is Shawarma?
As noted above, shawarma is a popular street-food in Middle Eastern countries. Heavily seasoned meat is stacked on a vertical skewer and then slow-roasted next to a direct flame. Thin slices of the meat are then shaved off to create sandwiches or wraps.
The ingredient list for these Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps is long. However, most of the ingredients are spices. Shawarma meat is both marinated and heavily seasoned, and that’s where the flavor comes from in this recipe. If you’ve got a decent spice cabinet, then chances are you have all of the spices that you’ll need for this recipe. Trust me – the flavor is worth it!
Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps
As I haven’t created that vertical rotisserie at home (yet), I opted for grilling boneless, skinless chicken breasts for these Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps. (Boneless, skinless chicken thighs is another option.) The key is marinating the chicken overnight in a heavily seasoned marinade. Then just add the flavor from the grill, and you’re well on your way to delicious wraps!
The shining star of these wraps is the seasoned chicken, of course. However, we can’t omit the hummus and the yogurt sauce. Add in some tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions and feta cheese, and you’ve got one heck of a delicious dinner. We love serving these in wrap form, but I could see this grilled chicken being served next to rice or even grilled veggies.
These Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps are a great option for summer dinner with family and friends. These wraps are packed with Middle Eastern flavor, and this recipe is always a hit when we make it around here. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Did you make these Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps
Ingredients
For the Chicken Shawarma
- ½ Tbsp ground coriander
- ½ Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
For the Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- ½ Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the Wraps
- 4-6 flatbreads wraps or naan
- 8 oz. hummus
- 4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
- 2 cucumbers thinly sliced
- 3 Roma tomatoes. sliced
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
For the Chicken Shawarma
- Using a large ziptop bag, add all of the ingredients; turn several times to ensure chicken is well coated.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Preheat grill to medium-high (~375°F) heat.
- Remove chicken from marinade; discard excess marinade.
- Grill chicken for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally, or until fully cooked.
- Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
For the Yogurt Sauce
- Using a medium bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until needed. (Tip: This yogurt sauce will taste better if you make it a day ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight!)
For the Wraps
- Assemble the wraps by spreading several tablespoons of hummus on top of each flatbread.
- Top with lettuce and sliced grilled chicken.
- Add cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and feta cheese. Drizzle top with yogurt sauce.
- Roll up flatbreads and serve immediately.
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cant wait to make this soon for me for the shawarma can i use mushrooms / sauce can i use coconut yogurt and wraps an i use vegan feta and skip romaine lettuce as i dont like lettuce can i airfried this as i dont have a grill at home i never had grilled chicken shawarma wraps before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
sorry i miss out can instead of an btw cant wait to make this soon for me
You can certainly make any substitutions you’d like, Ramya! I wouldn’t recommend marinating the mushrooms overnight – just toss them in the seasoning mix right before you cook them. It won’t be quite the same, but I bet it’ll still be delicious!
What a great recipe with so many delicious flavours — my cousin got super into shawarma over the summer, so we’ll have to make this for her!!
Yes! Until we can figure out how to create a roasting spit at home for traditional shawarma, we’ll have to go this way. But it’s a great way – the flavor is amazing, Michelle!!
deeeeelicious david! all those great flavours …
So many good flavors here, Sherry! We gobbled these up…and they made fantastic leftovers, too!
Bread and salad, what could be better in summer? (Who am I kidding? All year round.) These Shawarma Wraps look terrific and must taste fantastic. Now I am thinking that these wraps can be turned into a grilled flatbreads, with a few little tweaks. Thanks for the inspiration!
You said it, Ben – bread and salad is the basis for something delicious no matter the time of the year! I’m thinking panzanella, too – delicious! These shawarma wraps are truly packed with flavor, and you should definitely give them a try. You do have a grill now – a little bird told me so!
Lamb Shawarma is a favorite in our house, so I know we’d love this version with chicken! Love that the chicken is grilled for that extra flavor depth!
Oooo…I wonder if you could do this with lamb!? It’s not the same as slicing it off a roasting spit, but the flavors are all there. (And it further inspires me to figure out how to make a roasting spit at home…how cool would that be!?) Thanks, Marissa!
We love to eat this way and with Summer just around the corner, I am saving this recipe for then. I always have hummus in the frig just waiting for a perfect meal like this one. Thanks for the inspiration David.
Ah yes! Summer is winding down here, and my thoughts are (slowly) beginning to shift over to soups, stews and cold weather comfort food. You’re the opposite as you’re gearing up for grilling season! Do put this one on the radar, Pauline. It’s packed with delicious flavor!!
This is perfect for these hot summer days. It will make a great dinner. And you’re right, that’s a long list of herbs and spices but I do have all of them in my cupboard!!!
This chicken shawarma does indeed make for a great dinner! It’s not quite the same as slicing meat off a roasting spit, but the flavors are all there. We loved this meal – give it a shot before soup season rolls around! 🙂
I love shawarma! Man, what a list of spices! No wonder I love it! That’s some expert grilling, David!
It is indeed a long list of spices, Jeff – but for the most part you probably have them all. It’s worth the time spent opening all of those little jars…trust me! 🙂
I love the combination of spices for the chicken. Such fabulous flavors. and then the yogurt sauce… love it! Great photos.
Thanks so much, Mimi! These shawarma wraps really do pack in the flavor…just the way we like it! 🙂
A lot of my recipes have a long ingredient list of spices to make the particular flavours needed for the recipe. That doesn’t bother me at all. It’s all about getting exactly the right flavours and it looks like you’ve completely nailed this chicken shawarma David! Amazing flavours!
I hear ya, Neil – it takes a bit of time to build up a good spice cabinet, but those spices play a key role! You should pull out your grill before the end of the summer to make this chicken shawarma – I feel like you guys would really love it!!
Yum! What a great recipe, David … and I know these would be a hit in our home too! Love all the fresh ingredients, flavourful chicken and that cumin spiced yogurt sauce. Talk about delicious! Wishing I had one of these for lunch today paired with a big cup of coffee. 🙂
Thanks, Dawn – the flavor of this chicken alone is amazing, but then you add in everything else like the hummus and yogurt sauce? So. Much. Flavor! I’m not sure how they’d pair with coffee, but give it a try and let me know what you think – haha! 🙂
Talk about delicious. These Grilled Chicken Shawarma Wraps look amazing David! I love all the spices you’ve got in the marinade. So much flavor! With the yogurt sauce and all those veggies, this is the sort of summer meal I’d make over and over. 😋
There is so much flavor going on in these wraps, Shannon! I’m not sure, but I bet you could come up with a way to use tofu instead of chicken here. This is definitely one of those summer meals that could be added to the regular rotation! 🙂
Nothing beats a really good shawarma! And that recipe is exceptional
Thanks so much, Raymund!! I couldn’t agree more!