We’re always looking for new dishes to try and new foods to enjoy both in restaurants and out. Something we’ve come to love within the last few years is food from the Middle East. I’ve heard about Shawarma for so long but was never really sure what it was. Once I finally tried it, I absolutely loved it. The simplicity of it made it even more appealing as the it was the spices and cooking method that made it unique. And if you are nerdy like me, you loved the scene where Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Mask almost died but woke up asking if anyone had tried Shawarma before and that he really wanted to go get some. Instead of ordering more take out, which has been happening a lot lately with living in a half put together house, we found an easy way to make it quicker for us and in a healthier way.
So what is chicken shawarma? Or what is just regular shawarma? Shawarma is an Arab dish originally from Lebanon consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit. It was originally made with lamb and chicken, but now can be made beef, veal and turkey. Many wonder what the difference is between that and a gyro. True that a gyro is cooked the same way and is generally served in a pita or type of wrap bread. But gyro’s are topped with fresh lettuce and tomatoes. Shawarma is traditionally topped with pickled vegetables.
Do I have a roasting spit hanging out in the kitchen? No. I just got a dishwasher. I’m happy with that for now. I do have a rotisserie in my Power XL Air Fryer, but that isn’t going to work for what we are doing. All that needs to happen is some legit marinating and some slow roasting in our air fryer. You can do this with chicken breasts, which would be a little bit better fat wise, and lower in WW points if you are counting them. But we did ours with chicken thighs for a more authentic experience and a little bit more flavor. I will do a WW point count for both variations during the recipe breakdown.
First up, I prefer boneless chicken thighs when I use thighs, so get those trimmed up. Then make a paste using the following spices: onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, ground ginger, paprika, dried rosemary and two teaspoons of olive oil. Aleppo pepper or roasted red pepper flakes are optional. Slather the chicken thighs thoroughly, place in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 24.
When you are ready to cook them, pull them out and place them on a sprayed rack of your air fryer. Or place them in the barrel, depending on what kind of air fryer you have. Start roasting them at 325 degrees and continue until they are crispy and golden brown with an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
While the chicken is cooking, make up your tzatziki sauce. Sure you can buy this from the store, but why not make your own and know exactly what’s going into it? This way as well, you can use yogurt and fresh ingredients as well to customize it to your wants and needs.
I have lowfat plain greek yogurt in my house all the time as that’s an everyday breakfast staple for me. Combine that with lemon juice, minced red onions, fresh dill, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and some small diced english cucumbers. Not only is it easy, but the longer you let it sit in the fridge, the more flavor it will get. This can be made up to a day ahead of time and be kept in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
In a shallow bowl, place your lettuce down as your bowl base. Obviously if you choose to use rice as a base, the points will go up. I opted for baby arugula and baby romaine as they were a little more gentle. I love using arugula in savory based salads as it adds an awesome level of pepper to any dish it’s in.
Once your chicken is out and finished, cut it into chunks or strips. Place on 1/3 of your bowl. Now add some other veggies like fresh baby tomatoes and cucumbers. Now, I took some sliced red onion and caramelized it quickly in a pan for another level of flavor. I found that the cooked red onions versus raw red onions, muted the strong red onion flavor and instead added a nice sweetness to the dish as well.
Now add in your onions, caramelized or not and your tzatziki. All that’s left to do is enjoy!
Hope this recipe can be an easy dinner for you, a great prep ahead lunch for weekly meal prep or whatever you want it to be. I love creating recipes that can be translated over for multiple purposes while being easy to make and open you up to other cuisines and cultures.
Air Fried Chicken Shawarma Salad Bowls
Makes 4 Servings
3 WW Blue Points Per Serving/ 1 WW Blue Point per Serving if you substitute Chicken Breasts for Chicken Thighs
- 4-5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (1 pound of chicken)
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 2tsp cumin
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp Aleppo pepper or hot pepper flakes (optional)
- 8 cups of baby arugula or spring mix
- 8 cups of baby romaine or regular romaine, cut down
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 english cucumber, sliced and cut in quarters
- 2 cups of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 1/2 cup Greek Non Fat Plain Yogurt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Red Onion, minced
- 1/2 cup English Cucumber, diced small
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
Trim chicken thighs by removing extra fat. In a small bowl, combine oil and spices to form a paste. Place paste and chicken thighs into a large ziplock bag. Seal and ensure that all chicken is coated in spice mixture. Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for a minimum of two hours and a maximum of 24 hours.
Create Tzatziki sauce by mixing yogurt, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, fresh dill, red onion, english cucumber, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and place in refrigerator to marry flavors for at least an hour.
When ready, preheat air fryer oven for five minutes at 325 degrees. Carefully lay marinated chicken thighs on air fryer rack or in air fryer barrel. Cook for 25 minutes, flipping half way through, until golden brown and crispy and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
In a small frying pan, spray pan with a light coating of pan spray. Cook sliced red onion until slightly caramelized and softened.
When ready to assemble bowls, slice chicken and set aside. Place lettuce into bottom of bowls. Place chicken on 1/3 of the bowl, sitting on top of the bowl. Next add in sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced onions and 1 tablespoon of tzatziki sauce. Mix together if you’d like and enjoy!