Today I’m sharing with you a couple of my favorite recipes put together to show you how I love to eat my salads – because a boring salad will not work for me. Not only is this salad fresh, bright, satisfying, and savory, but it’s also packed full of super foods so it’s amazing for you.
What Is Chicken Shawarma?
Shawarma is a Middle Eastern method of preparing meat. Have you been into a Donair shop and seen the cuts of meat piled high rotating slowly on a vertical rotisserie? While I don’t exactly have one of those rotisseries lying around (and I’m sure you don’t either) we’re going to use our oven today to replicate the flavor and juicy cuts achieved more traditionally.
What Is Tabbouleh?
Tabbouleh is a traditionally vegetarian salad hailing from Lebanon. It’s chock full of super fresh herbs like mint and parsley, tomatoes, bulgur (an ancient grain) and a glug of good olive oil. It’s got everything you need, fresh bright flavors, great texture and chew, as well as super tender and flavorful chicken – in this recipe’s case.
Ingredients
Chicken shawarma
Olive oil – We want a nice neutral tasting oil to cook our chicken down in. Lemon juice – Fresh is best! We’re using the juice from 2 lemons. Spices – Smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes. Garlic – Use as much or little as you like. Seasoning – Salt and pepper. Onion – White or yellow, something that cooks down well. Chicken – I used chicken breasts today, but you can definitely use chicken thighs. Parsley – Fresh chopped up nice and fine.
Tabbouleh salad
Water – To cook down our bulgur. Bulgur – Cooks down similarly to rice, you can use quinoa in its place. Olive oil – A few glugs of the good stuff. Lemon juice – Fresh is always best from 1 or 2 lemons. Veggies – Tomatoes and cucumbers chopped up into bite sized pieces. Herbs – Parsley, mint, and green onion. Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Optional ingredients
Optional but in my opinion, completely mandatory.
Feta – Crumbled up nice and fine. Optional but in my opinion totally mandatory! Olives – Kalamata olives pitted and sliced up. Pita bread – My recipe for some perfect pita can be found here. Hummus – My hummus recipe is the best hands down, although store bought will work in a pinch. Avocado – Sliced up and laid over top.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma Tabbouleh Salad
Shawarma
Tabbouleh salad
Prepare the salad while the chicken bakes away.
Other Cooking Options
Don’t want to make this in the oven? Well lucky for you this chicken shawarma cooks up beautifully in many a cooking vessel, so let’s get down to it.
Instant Pot
Lucky for you I’ve posted an instant pot recipe for Chicken Shawarma to the blog in the past! Refer to this recipe to find out exactly how to make it all happen.
Slow cooker
Create the marinade: Marinate the chicken the same as instructed above and allow to sit for at least 1 hour, although longer is ideal. Cook the chicken: Dump the chicken and marinade in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Remove the chicken and brown in a skillet on the oven. Follow the instructions outlined above for what to do with this chicken once it’s done cooking!
Leftovers
Chicken
The Chicken Shawarma will last in the fridge in an air tight container for 3 – 4 days. If you’d like to freeze this dish I recommend freezing the chicken in the bag with the marinade while still raw, then when it defrosts you can pop it in the Instant Pot from there!
Tabbouleh salad
This salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container. I don’t recommend freezing this salad as all that fresh veg and those carbs will not thaw properly once out of the freezer.
More Delicious Middle Eastern Dishes To Try:
Best Ever Hummus Tabbouleh Salad Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma Moroccan Style Roast Chicken and Potatoes Baba Ghanoush Baklava Moroccan Spice Blend Tzatziki Chicken Salad
