Levantine · Lunch & handhelds

Chicken shawarma pita

Name: Chicken shawarma pita
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 5 h
Yield: 6 pitas
Cuisine: Levantine
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch strips; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided; 5 garlic cloves, divided; 2 teaspoons sweet paprika; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided; 1/2 cup neutral oil, chilled; 2 tablespoons ice water; 6 thin Lebanese-style pita breads; 1 cup cucumber pickles, well drained; 2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

Warm-spiced chicken shawarma with charred edges, tucked into thin pita with bracing cucumber pickles and a creamy, eggless Lebanese garlic sauce.

About 5 hrTotal

About 1 hrActive

$$Cost

AdvancedDifficulty

Makes 6 pitas

Equipment

Use another metal-shaft immersion blender and pulse off heat to preserve texture.
Best simple immersion blender
Braun MultiQuick 5 Immersion Hand Blender · MQ505
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Use another metal-shaft immersion blender and pulse off heat to preserve texture.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We matched direct in-pot pureeing, one-hand control, splash protection, metal shaft, stable MQ505 identity, current manufacturer documentation, independent performance review, ownership burden, and the exact Amazon destination. Kwilt has not cooked saag with this blender.
Braun MultiQuick 5 Immersion Hand Blender · MQ505: The stainless PowerBell shaft, splash-control bell, slim grip, and simple two-speed control make it easy to pulse tender greens in place and stop before a textured saag becomes a liquefied sauce. Trade-off: The 350-watt motor and two speeds are modest beside newer premium models, and the whisk and beaker add pieces that may go unused.
Another workable path: Use another sound immersion blender with a metal shaft, removing the pot from active heat and pulsing briefly so the greens retain visible texture.
Sources
Braun MQ505 specifications
RTINGS MultiQuick 5 review
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 6 pitas

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
5 garlic cloves, divided
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 cup neutral oil, chilled
2 tablespoons ice water
6 thin Lebanese-style pita breads
1 cup cucumber pickles, well drained
2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

Instructions

Whisk olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 finely grated garlic cloves, paprika, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Coat chicken and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.
For the garlic sauce, blend the remaining 2 garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a narrow cup until finely puréed. With an running, add chilled neutral oil a teaspoon at a time at first, alternating after the first quarter cup with remaining lemon juice and ice water, until white and thick. Refrigerate.
Heat the broiler with a rack 6 inches from the element. Spread chicken in one layer on a foil-lined sheet and broil, turning once, until browned and 165°F, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to a hot skillet and sear briefly until the edges are crisp.
Warm pitas until pliable. Spread each lightly with garlic sauce and fill with chicken, drained pickles, tomato, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve immediately with extra sauce alongside.

Lebanon and the LevantLevantine household and street cooking

From the table

About this recipe

Chicken shawarma belongs to a broad Levantine spit-roasting tradition; Lebanese home adaptations commonly pair lemon-garlic warm spices with pickles and an eggless garlic emulsion.

Shawarma spans the Levant and varies by city and shop. This chicken version uses the lemon, garlic, cardamom, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon profile common in Lebanese home adaptations, with toum-style garlic sauce and pickles rather than the sumac-onion filling of Turkish döner. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Combine the repeated high-rated Lebanese success pattern into a broiler-and-skillet home method, using a small eggless toum-style emulsion and preserving the characteristic pickle contrast.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe

Keep recipes, plan meals, and build the grocery list in Kwilt.

Use the recipe here. Get Kwilt when you want the rest of dinner to stay together.

Get Kwilt for iPhone

See every recipe

Levantine · Lunch & handhelds

Falafel pita

Herb-packed chickpea falafel, crisp outside and airy green within, fried to order and tucked into pita with chopped salad, pickles, and lemony tahini.

About 14 hr 5 min6 pitas