Make Avengers Shawarma! A simple chicken shawarma recipe with tender, smokey and flavorful chicken and a salty, garlic and lemon yogurt sauce served over crisp veggies and warm pita bread.
Next up for Nerd Month, we’re doing another Captain America–related recipe, Avengers shawarma, AKA Chicken Shawarma With Yogurt Sauce!
The first time I ever heard the word “shawarma,” was while watching The Avengers, and I had exactly the same baffled, curious reaction to it as Tony.
Marvel via Directorstarkk
By the very end of the film, I still had no idea what shawarma was, despite sitting through all of the credits to find out (while the lights came on, every single one of our fellow movie goers left, and the theater staff swept up awkwardly around our feet).
Until recently, I would have said the experience wasn’t worth the trouble.
Then I actually tried shawarma, and I’m going to be honest: shawarma is always worth it. So today we’re going to make it!
Full disclosure: real shawarma is slow-roasted on a cone. This is not technically real shawarma, but it is real good. Tender, smokey and flavorful chicken with a salty, garlic and lemon yogurt sauce over crisp veggies and warm pita bread.
It’s tasty enough that you might be willing to fight an alien invasion or two to get your hands on some.
Luckily, no fighting is required, and it’s actually a really simple dinner to whip up. You just marinate some boneless skinless chicken thighs in olive oil and a mix of fresh garlic and spices and then cook them up on the stove.
The pan gets deglazed with a bit of chicken broth or water and you give some red onions a quick saute in the drippings. Plate it up, add veggies, drizzle on some of that light and tasty yogurt sauce, and you are good to go.
Then, just to make things real authentic, you trash the place, invite some beautiful but filthy and exhausted people over and instant easy shawarma party. Enjoy!
Marvel
Chicken Shawarma With Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic pressed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Pita & Toppings
- 1 small red onion cut into wedges
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
- 4 pita bread loaves
- 4-5 leaves romaine shredded
- 1 cucumber chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
Yogurt Sauce
- 5 to 6 ounces (2/3 cup) plain Greek yogurt*
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
Marinate Meat
- In a small bowl, combine marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a plastic bag and pour marinade over the top. Shake to coat and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
Make Yogurt Sauce
- In a small bowl (or the disposable yogurt cup), combine ingredients and stir until well incorporated.
Cook Meat
- Preheat your oven to the warm setting (or lowest setting).
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken thighs (dispose of the marinade) and cook for 2-4 minutes until first side is seared and darkly golden. Flip and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the thighs reads 160°F. Flip chicken again if necessary and turn down the heat if the chicken seems to be burning.
Transfer chicken to a plate and place a piece of foil over the thighs to keep them warm. Set aside.
Over medium high-heat, deglaze your pan with a little chicken broth or water (about a quarter cup), scraping the burned and blackened pieces off the bottom while the liquid simmers.
- Add onions to your pan.
- Place your pita bread into the warm oven to heat while your onions cook.
- Cook onions until your they reach your desired level of doneness (for me, about 4 minutes for fairly soft onions). Remove from heat.
Assemble
- Slice thighs into strips and serve over warmed pita bread. Top with cooked onions, romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, and yogurt sauce.
Recipe Notes
*5-6 ounces is the standard single-serving size for a package of yogurt.
Nutritional Information
Marinade Adapted From: NYTimes
More dinner recipes you should try.
Make-ahead Instructions: Chicken, onions, and yogurt sauce can be cooked/prepared up to two days in advance. The rest of the vegetables should be cut just before serving.
Recipe For Two Instructions: Half of 1/4 cup of olive oil is 2 tablespoons and half of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice is 1 tablespoon, 1 1/2 teaspoon. The rest of this recipe halves cleanly.
Freezer Instructions: The cooked chicken thighs freeze well. The onions can be frozen, but will have a softer, slightly mushy texture after re-heating. Freeze both in air-tight containers and keep up to 4 months. The fresh veggies are not good candidates for freezing . To store leftover pita bread, wrap in foil, freeze in a freezer bag, and defrost on the counter or in the microwave, sprinkled with a bit of water. Frozen pita should be used as soon as possible because it will dry out the longer it’s kept in the freezer.
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you and it helps keep the lights on around here/pay my student loans. 😉
That looks so good, Tracy! Even if it’s not roasted on a cone, this looks fantastic. I would totally love this for lunch right about now! Actually, maybe two (one for each hand, lol). And that creamy yogurt sauce? Right up my alley. Glad you saw the movie and got the inspiration to make this 🙂
Thanks, Dawn. One for each hand is a brilliant idea, and I like the way you think! 😉
I eat chicken shawarma almost every time I eat out at a Middle Eastern restaurant. Will definitely be trying your homemade recipe soon. This looks delicious
Thanks, Rahul!
I love shawarma but I’ve always thought it would be so tricky to make at home! This looks simple and delicious – I’ll have to give it a try soon 🙂
Thanks, Grace! You totally should. It’s so easy, even I was surprised!
They look great. The yogurt sauce sounds awesome, thanks a lot
Thank you, Keith!
Hahaha this post is amazing! Well done! LOL!!!
Thanks, Erin!! 🙂
I made this last night and we all loved it!! Thanks so much for the recipe! We’ve been wanting to try it, too, simply because of these scenes in “The Avengers” hahaha!
Thanks so much for letting me know, Jaime! I’m glad you all enjoyed it!!
I made this tonight—I was craving shawarma after visiting my sister in Israel last month. I used breasts instead of thighs which extended the cooking time by a lot (they were pretty thick) but NOM NOM NOM this is the best chicken I’ve ever tasted. I served the chicken sliced with the yogurt sauce with a side of chopped Israeli salad, hummus, olives and pita and a glass of rosé. Best meal I’ve had in ages 🙂
Elise!! I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks for reporting back, and I love the spin you put on it. Making it with chicken breasts sounds fab. 🙂
These were a hit! My kids ate seconds and kept saying how yummy they were! I will definitely be making these again! Thanks!
Oh yay! I’m so glad they enjoyed them. Thanks for letting me know!!
Hi! This sounds delish and looks good as well. What would you add toitif you wanted to spice it up a bit? Some spicy curry powder to the suce or the chicken? I love spicy food!!!
Thanks!
Denise Fairley
Hi Denise, you could definitely try your favorite spicy curry powder on the chicken. I would also add some red pepper flakes to the sauce. That should bring up the heat. Let me know how it turns out!
Tried it. So tasty!!
Yay!
My mom just asked me what shawarma is, and as I tried to describe it I mentioned that I had never heard of it until… I watched the Avengers! Your recipe sounds sounds so good, this is the one I am forwarding to mom, and pinning too.
We should petition Marvel to have a unique food mentioned in all the Avengers universe movies!
Hehe, thanks, Nancy!! And I agree, I would totally love it if Marvel did that!
Just found your site and oh my gosh I think I’ve found a new favorite site for recipes! I can’t wait to try this specific recipe!
Going to make this with mini chocolate sheet cakes tonight.
Aw, thanks, Rachel! Hope you enjoy them both!
Great
Its Easy to made through this
Hi, I was just wondering… I have an already cooked rotisserie chicken in the fridge.. could I “post marinade” the chicken and heat through and get the same flavorful results?
Hi, Jodie, rather than try to marinate the cooked meat, I would just add a little sprinkle of the spices (don’t add the full amount) and a squeeze of lemon juice over the cut up meat, stir, reheat and then serve with the yogurt sauce and pita. It won’t be quite the same as cooking it fully marinated, but should still be pretty tasty.
what is a good side dish to go along with this dish?
It sounds weird, but fries are really good with shawarma–when you buy it on the street, it’s often served with fries. And the yogurt sauce makes a pretty good dip, even better if you stir in a little mayonnaise. If you want something healthier, a tabbouleh salad like this: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-mint-and-tabbouleh-salad-106302 would be a good choice.