This skillet chicken shawarma with rice is an easy one pan dinner. Just a short marinade in the shawarma seasoning yields big flavors! Ready in about an hour.
Shawarma is one of the most popular street foods in the world for good reason. Tender meat seasoned with incredible spices roasted on a spit all day, what could be better? And can you make that in your own kitchen? With a well-stocked spice cabinet you can!
Well, you can come close, anyway. But no roasting on a spit required. The marinade is bursting with flavor, and it's added to the rice as it cooks, so those beautiful spices can do their job all the way through the dish. (And so they don't get thrown out!)
I love to cook Middle Eastern food, and I hope you'll find this take on chicken shawarma fun to make, and that you'll add it to your repertoire. BONUS: we're going to cook it all in one pan, so you can get dinner on the table in a snap!
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What is chicken shawarma?
Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern dish, made of seasoned meats—anything from lamb to chicken to beef—roasted on a vertical rotisserie. It is often served rolled in a flatbread, or with a side of rice. It's flavorful and aromatic, the seasoning can be any combination of turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, lemon, paprika and more, depending on the region. It can be topped with a variety of sauces including tahini sauce or tzaziki.
Chicken shawarma with rice is a one pot meal that's easy to make and loaded with Middle Eastern flavors!
- The rice and the chicken cook in the same skillet!
- The side dish is built in, just serve with pita bread.
- The chicken is marinated in shawarma seasonings including turmeric, cumin and coriander, and we'll use the marinade to flavor the rice as well.
- Golden raisins add pops of sweetness to the rice using a classic Middle Eastern ingredient.
- Tahini sauce adds richness and mint provides freshness to finish the dish.
Ingredients you'll need
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs: We're making this with thighs because they will stay tender without drying out, and they cook so quickly.
- White basmati rice: This will cook fast and take on the luscious flavors of the shawarma seasoning.
- Yellow onion: I like a yellow onion for its mild flavor and mellow sweetness.
- Lemons: You'll need the juice for the marinade and tahini sauce, and the zest to sprinkle on top for some added freshness. Using citrus zest is one of my favorite cooking tips!
- Garlic: We're just going to smash the garlic cloves into the marinade, no chopping! And we'll leave them in that state to cook with the rice and you'll have luscious, melty garlic all mixed in.
- Paprika, turmeric, cumin, coriander, black pepper: These spices make up our chicken shawarma seasoning. You can play around with the ratios or throw in some additional ones to suit your taste.
- Chicken stock: Stock gives the rice a boost of flavor.
- Golden raisins: I love the look and flavor of golden raisins for this recipe, but you can sub plain old raisins if that is what you have.
- Tahini: We're going to make a very simple tahini sauce to bring it all together. You don't need much, but Trader Joe's has organic tahini at a very reasonable price. It keeps in the fridge for a long time.
- Fresh mint: To scatter on top before serving. I love the flavor and brightness that fresh mint brings to this dish.
- Olive oil and salt: You'll need olive oil for the marinade and to cook the onions. It adds a rich quality and another flavor dimension to the finished rice.
How to make chicken shawarma with rice
Recipe adapted from New York Times Cooking.
Step 1: Make the chicken shawarma marinade
Zest both the lemons, then juice them. Set both aside separately.
Smash the garlic with the side of a wide chef's knife and peel it. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, ยผ cup of the olive oil, all of the spices, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add the chicken thighs and stir to coat. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Chop the onions and make the tahini sauce
Meanwhile, dice the onions finely.
Combine the tahini, lemon juice, water and salt in a small bowl and whisk together. It will look curdled when you first start to stir it, don't worry, just keep going and it will smooth out. It should be the consistency of honey. If it's too thick, add more water.
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Step 3: Cook the chicken thighs
In a large skillet or casserole pan with a lid, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium high. Use tongs to grab the thighs one by one, letting as much marinade drip off as possible, and add to the pan. Reserve the remaining marinade and set aside.
Cook the chicken thighs for about 5-7 minutes on each side until golden brown, then transfer to a plate.
Step 4: Make the rice
After removing the chicken, add the onions to the pan with a pinch of salt, and sweat them for about 5-7 minutes until tender and translucent, scraping up any browned bits of chicken and spice from the bottom of the pan.
Add the rice to the pan and stir to combine with onions, keep moving the rice around the pan for about 1 minute to toast it and coat it with the spices.
Add the remaining marinade, the golden raisins and the chicken stock to the pan. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil, continuing to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Finish cooking the chicken and rice, top with tahini sauce and herbs
Add the chicken thighs and their juices back into the pan, cover and cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked, all of the chicken stock absorbed and the chicken is warmed through. Drizzle with the tahini sauce, top with fresh mint leaves and lemon zest, and serve.
Tips for chicken shawarma with rice
- Don't marinate the chicken much longer than 30 minutes. This is just enough time for the lemon juice to tenderize the chicken without starting to 'cook' it, which can can change the texture.
- Rice cooking time may vary slightly, depending on how much lemon juice is in your marinade. If your lemons are a bit bigger, it might just take a couple extra minutes.
- If you like a crispy crust of rice on the bottom of the pan, continue to cook for another 10 minutes or more until you've reached your desired level of crispiness!
- You can add more spices if you like, such as cinnamon, cardamom or cayenne. Adjust to your personal taste.
- Try a dollop of Greek yogurt on top in addition to the tahini sauce.
Substitutions
- If you'd rather use 'regular' raisins instead of golden raisins, that is fine.
- You can substitute brown rice for the white rice, adjust the cooking time accordingly, and add the chicken for the last 10 minutes, instead of the last 5 since it will need a bit more time to heat up.
- If you don't like mint, you can use parsley to sprinkle on top.
More Middle Eastern-inspired recipes
- If you love Middle Eastern spices, try this Ottolenghi Green Bean Salad.
- This easy Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Onion, Tahini and Za'atar also gets a beautiful drizzle of tahini sauce flavored with smashed garlic.
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Recipe
Skillet Chicken Shawarma with Tahini Sauce
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Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma and Rice
- 2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs about 7-8
- 2 lemons juiced and zested
- ⅓ cup olive oil divided
- 2 ½ teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 ¼ cups basmati rice
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- fresh mint to sprinkle on top
Tahini Sauce
- 3 ½ tablespoon tahini
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon water
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Chicken Shawarma and Rice
- Zest both the lemons, then juice them. Set both aside separately.
- Smash the garlic with the side of a wide chef's knife and peel it. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, ¼ cup of the olive oil, all of the spices, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add the chicken thighs and stir to coat. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the chicken thighs are marinating, dice the onions finely, then make the tahini sauce (see instructions below.)
- In a large skillet or casserole pan with a lid, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium high. Use tongs to grab the thighs one by one, letting as much marinade drip off as possible, and add to the pan. Reserve the remaining marinade and set aside.
- Cook the chicken thighs for about 5-7 minutes on each side until golden brown, then transfer to a plate.
- After removing the chicken, add the onions to the pan with a pinch of salt, and sweat them for about 5-7 minutes until tender and translucent, scraping up any browned bits of chicken and spice from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the rice to the pan and stir to combine with onions, keep moving the rice around the pan for about 1 minute to toast it and coat it with the spices.
- Add the reserved marinade, the golden raisins and the chicken stock to the pan. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil, continuing to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the chicken thighs and their juices back into the pan, cover and cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked, all of the chicken stock absorbed and the chicken is warmed through.
- Drizzle with the tahini sauce, top with fresh mint leaves and the reserved lemon zest, and serve.
Tahini Sauce
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. It will look curdled when you first start to stir it, don't worry, just keep going and it will smooth out. It should be the consistency of honey. If it's too thick, add more water and/or lemon juice according to your taste.
Notes
- Don't marinate the chicken much longer than 30 minutes. This is just enough time for the lemon juice to tenderize the chicken without starting to 'cook' it, which can can change the texture.
- If you'd rather use 'regular' raisins instead of golden raisins, that is fine I just like the look and flavor of the golden ones for this recipe.
- You can substitute brown rice for the white rice, just adjust the cooking time accordingly, and add the chicken for the last 10 minutes, instead of the last 5.
- If you don't like mint, you can use parsley to sprinkle on top.
- Be sure to read the post above for tips about ingredients and more!
Michael
Can you marinate overnight if you don't use lemon juice
Debra
Hi Michael!
Yes, you could definitely marinate it in the spices and olive oil overnight, then add the lemon juice when you're ready to start cooking.
Thanks for reading and trying my recipes,
Debra