Shawarma-Inspired Chicken Bowls

These shawarma-inspired bowls are packed with flavor and super customizable! Most meal components can be prepped ahead of time for an easy dinner.

These Shawarma-Inspired Mediterranean Chicken Bowls are one of my go-to summer dinners. They’re filling, nourishing, and most importantly delicious. They also come together very quickly with just a little bit of planning ahead.

What is Shawarma?

Shawarma is a popular method of preparing meat in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture. Thin slices of meat are stacked in a cone shape and roasted on a spit. I’m guessing you don’t have a spit readily available for slow roasting meat, so we’ll be pan frying the chicken instead. However, these bowls are made with ingredients like tahini, hummus, and pickled veggies that are often served with Shawarma.

Chicken Ingredients

Chicken: I prefer to use chicken breast for this dish, but chicken thighs will work too!

Lemon Juice: Fresh squeezed, always. This will give our chicken marinade some brightness.

Garlic: Lots of it.

Turmeric, Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, and Black Pepper: The Mediterranean-inspired spice blend that our chicken will marinate in. Honestly, this mixture is to die for.

Olive Oil: For pan-frying the chicken. Be sure to use the full two tablespoons so the chicken properly browns.

Shawarma Bowl Ingredients

The ingredients below are simply ideas for how to build your perfect bowl. Take what you want, leave what you don’t.

Cucumber Tomato Salad: This simple salad adds so much flavor to these bowls.

Easy Pickled Onions: To add some brightness. Pickled onions are one of my favorite secret weapons for making everything taste better.

Tahini Sauce: Shawarma is commonly served with tahini, so this one feels like a must.

Arugula or Greens of Choice: I will choose arugula every single time, but feel free to sub in your favorite.

Grain of Choice: Pick your favorite! Freekeh is my top pick, but rice and quinoa work too.

Feta Cheese: Feta elevates everything in my opinion. Use plant-based feta to keep this bowl dairy-free.

Hummus: Honestly, you can’t beat homemade hummus, but we don’t always have time for that. Pick your preferred store-bought hummus!

Naan or Pita Bread: There’s nothing better than scooping up a big bite with warm and toasty pita bread.

Meal Prep Tips & Tricks

The ingredient list may feel daunting, but most of it can easily be made ahead of time! Here are my best tips for making this an easy dinner.

• Make the cucumber tomato salad and grain of choice up to 2-3 days ahead of time and store in the fridge.
• Whip up the tahini sauce and pickle the onions up to a week in advance (they will both last about two weeks in the fridge!).
• Pick and choose your favorite ingredients. You don’t have to do it all! For me, the absolute must-haves are arugula, tahini sauce, pickled onions, and pita bread.

I hope these Shawarma-Inspired Bowls become your new favorite weeknight dinner. Feel free to leave a rating and review, ask a question, or just say hi! It always makes my day to hear from you. You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok.

More Easy Summer Dinners

• Clean Out the Fridge Green Goddess Pasta
• Simple and Incredible Dill Pesto Tuna Melts
• The Very Best Easy Weeknight Turkey Burgers
• Delicious Mango Shrimp Quesadillas

Shawarma-Inspired Mediterranean Chicken Bowls

These shawarma-inspired bowls are packed with flavor and super customizable! Most meal components can be prepped ahead of time for an easy dinner.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Levantine, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Servings 4

Equipment

• large frying pan

Ingredients

  

For the Chicken:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• juice of one lemon
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp olive oil

The Rest of the Bowl:

• Cucumber Tomato Salad
• Easy Pickled Onions
• The Only Tahini Sauce You'll Ever Need
• 5 oz container baby arugula or greens of choice
• 1 cup cooked grain of choice (rice, quinoa, farro, freekeh, etc.)
• crumbled dairy or plant-based feta cheese
• your favorite hummus
• naan or pita bread

Instructions

 

• Marinate your chicken! Add chicken, lemon juice, garlic, turmeric, cumin, sea salt, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to a Ziplock or Stasher bag. Give everything a shake so it's well-combined. You can marinate for as little as 5 minute or up to a couple hours.
• Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add marinated chicken and sear for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown before flipping over and cooking for another 5-10 minutes or until completely cooked through. You can use a meat thermometer to be sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165° F.
• While your chicken is cooking, you can make your tahini sauce and cucumber tomato salad if you haven't done so ahead of time.
• Assemble! Add arugula, cucumber tomato salad, and tahini sauce to a bowl and top with chicken and any other toppings you desire (feta and pita bread are a must for me). Enjoy!

Notes

Storage: Chicken and cucumber tomato salad should be stored separately and will keep refrigerated in an airtight containers for up to 5 days. Tahini sauce and pickled onions should be stored separately and will keep refrigerated in airtight containers for up to 2 weeks.

Meal Prep: To make this recipe super simple, you can make the tahini sauce, cucumber tomato salad, and pickled onions a couple days a head of time so they’re ready to go!

Keyword arugula, chicken, cucumber tomato salad, dairy-free, feta cheese, gluten free, hummus, mediterranean, mediterranean bowls, nut-free, pickled onions, pita, shawarma, tahini

Photography by Hope Agresti