Shawarma Wrap (Lebanese Spiced Chicken Wrap)

About This Recipe

Shawarma is one of the Levant's most recognizable street foods -- thin layers of marinated meat traditionally stacked on a vertical rotisserie and shaved off as it cooks, though this home version replicates the flavor by marinating chicken thigh strips in a warm spice blend and searing them hot and fast to mimic that charred, crispy-edged texture. The marinade -- a mix of garlic, lemon, and warm spices like cumin, coriander, and cinnamon -- is what defines shawarma's signature savory-warm flavor profile. The technique that matters most for a home version is high, direct heat: since there's no rotisserie to slowly render and crisp the meat's edges, cooking the marinated chicken in a very hot skillet or under a broiler achieves a similar char and crispness in a fraction of the time. Toum, Lebanon's intensely garlicky whipped sauce (or a simpler garlic yogurt sauce as an easier substitute), is essential to an authentic shawarma wrap, providing the creamy, pungent counterpoint to the spiced meat. Wrapped in warm pita or laffa with pickles, tomato, and a drizzle of tahini or toum, shawarma is fast, deeply satisfying street food found on nearly every corner across Lebanon and the broader Levant.

Ingredients

Serves 3

• 500 gboneless chicken thighs(sliced into strips)
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 2 tbsplemon juice
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1.5 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 0.5 tspcinnamon
• 0.5 tsppaprika
• 1 tspsalt
• 3 piecespita or laffa bread
• 0.5 cuptoum (garlic sauce) or garlic yogurt sauce
• 1tomato(sliced)
• 0.5 cuppickled turnips or cucumbers(sliced)

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, and salt. Toss chicken strips in the marinade and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

2. 2

   Sear the chicken

   Heat a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Cook chicken in a single layer, without crowding, 3-4 minutes per side until charred at the edges and cooked through.

3. 3

   Warm the bread

   Warm pita or laffa in a dry pan or briefly over an open flame until soft and pliable.

4. 4

   Assemble

   Spread toum or garlic yogurt sauce generously on the bread.

5. 5

   Add fillings

   Layer the seared chicken, tomato slices, and pickles on top.

6. 6

   Wrap and serve

   Roll tightly into a wrap and serve immediately while the chicken is still hot.

Variations

• •

  Use beef or lamb strips instead of chicken for a different traditional shawarma flavor.

• •

  Add french fries inside the wrap, a very popular Lebanese street food addition.

• •

  Use tahini sauce instead of toum for a nuttier, less pungent finish.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked chicken separately from the bread up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot pan for 2-3 minutes before assembling a fresh wrap; pre-assembled wraps turn soggy quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions