Chicken Shawarma Bowls

It’s just like a chicken shawarma pita – but deconstructed! These Chicken Shawarma Bowls are made with a farro base, then topped with incredibly flavorful marinated chicken, shredded romaine, shaved red onion, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, cubes of feta, fresh mint, and a super quick tzatziki sauce!

These bowls are 1000% something I could eat every single day of my life. The flavor in the shawarma chicken is out-of-this-world delicious, and all of the components come together to create this amazing explosion of flavors and textures. It’s the bowl I’m obsessing over at the moment, and if you know me, I eat 90% of my meals in bowl form. So that’s saying something! IT’S SO GOOD.

We’ve got the shawarma chicken (if you make any part of this recipe MAKE THE CHICKEN), a super quick tzatziki sauce, cubes of salty feta, cherry tomatoes, super thinly sliced red onion, fresh mint, cucumber, shredded romaine, and chewy farro as the base!

I personally love farro and the texture it adds to my salads and bowls, but you could use quinoa, brown rice, white rice, cauliflower rice, or even turn this into salad! Which I do all the time!

Truly the best part of this bowl is the chicken.

It’s really really flavorful because there are loads of spices in the marinade. I’m talking lots of garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, smoked paprika, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil. The longer you marinate it, the better! I marinated mine for a good 24 hours, but overnight is great! Or even shorter if you don’t have that kind of time.

If you just marinate it at night before you go to bed, and make it when you come home from work the next day, it will be absolutely perfect!

Chicken has to be made really really well and it has to be REALLY flavorful for me to love it. I can’t get behind eating a chicken breast just pan seared with salt and pepper. No can do – it kind of grosses me out to be honest.

If it’s marinated in amazing spices and herbs and citrusy things, and grilled to perfection, OR if it’s SHAWARMA, or, if it’s straight up fried – I’m ok with it. I love it, in fact.

I feel like chicken is one of those things that it just so easy to burn out on and be really turned off by.

This chicken fixes everything! I promise.

This tzatziki is SO quick and it’s my favorite for when I’m short on time, and feta tzatziki is another winner and would be delicious here if you wanna go an extra step!

For this quick version, all we need is Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, red wine vinegar, diced cucumber, dill, salt, and pepper. It’s so good!

These bowls are super ideal for meal prep if you’re into that!

All of the ingredients keep really well for 3-4 days and would be great to pack for work lunches! To mix it up even more, you could make a couple different grains to alternate between! Or, you could make a salad out of it to switch things up!

My high maintenance self when it comes to dressings/sauces has also made a lemon herb vinaigrette to go on top of this. If the tzatziki and a squeeze of lemon/drizzle of olive oil isn’t enough for you, go for it. It’s totally unnecessary but I love making homemade dressings, and sometimes I like to add it! I’m such a sauce lover.

Kind of like if you’ve ever been to Cava – literally every combination you can get there is SO good because of all the toppings, dressings, and sauces. It’s kind of like a big bowl of a delicious mess of sorts.

That is exactly what this bowl is!

Exactly what I want for dinner tonight!

5 from 1 vote

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Chicken Shawarma Bowls

It's just like a chicken shawarma pita - but deconstructed! These Chicken Shawarma Bowls are made with a farro base, then topped with incredibly flavorful marinated chicken, shredded romaine, shaved red onion, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cubes of feta, fresh mint, and a super quick tzatziki sauce!

Course Bowl, Dinner, Lunch, Main, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Meal Prep, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Keyword chicken shawarama marinade, chicken shawarma bowls, chicken shawarma salad, easy chicken shawarma, easy tzatziki sauce, healthy chicken shawarma, healthy shawarma bowls, healthy tzatziki sauce, meal prep chicken shawarma, meal prep mediterranean

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 3 -4

Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

For the chicken shawarma

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

For the quick tzatziki sauce

• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup finely diced seedless cucumber
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the bowls

• cooked farro, quinoa, rice, cauliflower rice, or whatever base you prefer!
• shredded romaine
• halved cherry tomatoes
• sliced cucumber
• very thinly sliced red onion
• cubed or crumbled feta
• chopped fresh mint
• lemon wedges
• a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Start by marinating the chicken. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, smoked paprika, cardamom, salt, cinnamon, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil. Whisk to combine. Add the chicken and mix together until completely coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6-12 hours. The longer the better!

2. Once chicken is finished marinating, let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to take the chill off of it (this allows it to cook more evenly!). Heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add a little drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove from pan and let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before chopping into bite sized pieces. 

3. While the chicken is cooking, make the tzatziki. In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, red wine vinegar, cucumber, dill, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired.

4. To build your bowl, start with your base (farro, quinoa, rice, etc.), and top it with the chicken. Add a handful of romaine, a few spoonfuls of the tzatziki sauce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta, mint, a squeeze of lemon, and a little drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper if desired. Serve!