Lebanese Chicken Shawarma – authentic, juicy & made at home

Name: Lebanese Chicken Shawarma – authentic, juicy & made at home
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: 500 g chicken (preferably thighs), cut into pieces; 350 g full-fat yogurt, 1.5 tbsp pepper paste, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp olive oil; Spices: cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, coriander, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg; Toum: 4 garlic cloves, lemon juice, 100 ml neutral oil, 1 egg white; Optional glaze: olive oil, pepper paste, a little water; Markouk bread + white Arabic bread; Unsweetened pickles (optional harissa/hot sauce)

Lebanese Chicken Shawarma isn't a 'kiosk everything-wrap.' The real thing is simpler—the secret is in the prep. Here's the quiet oven trick and a step-by-step guide to true shawarma flavour.

~3 Std 05 Min (Prep 20 Min, Cook 45 Min) Servings: 3 Cuisine: Lebanese Category: Main course Halal-style

Method

Shawarma marinade: yogurt mixed with spices — Yogurt + spices: the base for Lebanese Chicken Shawarma.

Creamy shawarma yogurt marinade finished

Step 1 – The marinade

Shawarma is not every wrap from a food kiosk filled with hummus, veggies, tahini and everything you can think of. Real authentic shawarma is much simpler—the secret is in how you prepare it. Start with about 500 g chicken, preferably thighs: they stay juicy and carry spice better.

In a large bowl combine: 350 g full-fat yogurt, 1.5 tbsp pepper paste, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp olive oil. Then the spices—seven of them, by intention (or ~1/2 tsp each): cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, coriander, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg. Mix until smooth and richly coloured. Coat the chicken well, cover, and chill: 2 hours minimum, best overnight.

Marinated chicken on a baking tray — Low & slow in the oven: juicy, aromatic, no burnt marinade.

Step 2 – The quiet trick: bake, don't fry

Using an oven instead of frying is the key secret: low & slow avoids burning the marinade and keeps the chicken tender. Spread the chicken on a tray (no crowding). Bake at 175 °C for at least 45 minutes. Turn on fan/convection only in the last 10 minutes for colour.

Starting toum: garlic base in the blender — Toum turns pale, fluffy and intense.

Toum on a spoon – fluffy Arabic garlic sauce

Step 3 – Toum garlic sauce

For toum: blend 4 garlic cloves with 100 ml neutral plant oil on medium (not full power). Slowly add lemon juice until smooth and pale. Add 1 tbsp more oil, then 1 egg white and blend 1 minute. Fluffy, bright, alive—this changes everything.

Warming olive oil in a pan — Gently toast pepper paste in oil, then smooth it out.

Step 4 – Optional glaze (highly recommended)

Optional, but honestly: do it. On low heat, warm good extra virgin olive oil (try Lebanese olive oil), stir in pepper paste, loosen with a splash of water until silky.

Preparing flatbread for chicken shawarma — Markouk, toum, chicken, pickles—keep it simple.

Step 5 – Assembly

For this step you will need markouk bread and white Arabic bread (Arabic/Turkish market). Spread toum generously. Add your baked chicken. Optional hot sauce (traditionally harissa). For pickles, use unsweetened pickles—many go for Shtoura. And stop there: no salad, no tomatoes—not because they are bad, but because they do not belong here.

Spreading paprika sauce in the pan — Toast on glaze: warm, lightly crisp, deep red.

Step 6 – Toast & serve

Heat a flat pan over medium. Spread a thin layer of glaze directly onto the pan. Place the wrap on top and press gently. Toast both sides until warm, slightly crisp, and deep red. Serve with a little extra toum on top.

Why this shawarma works
Yogurt tenderises, spices bloom slowly, and the oven caramelises without burning. Toum brings punch; pickles bring brightness.