Shawarma Chicken Garlic Sauce (Printable)
Tender spiced chicken with creamy garlic toum, ideal for warm flatbreads, rice bowls, or crisp salads.
# What You'll Need:
→ Chicken and Marinade
01 - 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
02 - 3 tablespoons plain yogurt or non-dairy yogurt
03 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
04 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
05 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
07 - 1 teaspoon ground coriander
08 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
09 - 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
10 - 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11 - 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
12 - 1 teaspoon salt
13 - 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
→ Garlic Sauce (Toum)
14 - 5 large garlic cloves
15 - 0.5 teaspoon salt
16 - 1 cup neutral oil such as canola or sunflower
17 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
18 - 1–2 tablespoons ice water, as needed
→ To Serve
19 - 4 pita breads or flatbreads
20 - Sliced tomato
21 - Sliced cucumber
22 - Sliced red onion
23 - Fresh parsley or cilantro
# How To Make It:
01 - In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and all dry spices. Add chicken thighs and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
02 - Place garlic cloves and salt in a food processor or blender and blend until finely minced. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in neutral oil in a thin stream, alternating with lemon juice to form a thick emulsion. Add ice water by the tablespoon if needed until sauce is smooth and fluffy. Adjust seasoning to taste.
03 - Preheat a grill, grill pan, or skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Grill or sear chicken for 5 to 7 minutes per side until fully cooked and charred in spots. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
04 - Slice the cooked chicken and serve inside warm pita or flatbread. Top with garlic sauce, sliced tomato, cucumber, red onion, and fresh parsley or cilantro as desired.
# Tips from dashanddishes:
01 -
- The way the garlic sauce hugs the spiced chicken will make you forget every bland meal you've tolerated.
- It’s endlessly customizable: tuck it into a pita, pile it atop a salad, or just spoon that sauce on everything in reach.
02 -
- If the garlic sauce splits or gets oily, it’s usually because I poured in the oil too quickly or skipped chilling the garlic—it’s fixable with more patience and a drip of ice water.
- Using chicken breast turns out drier unless you watch them like a hawk, so thighs are always my pick for tenderness.
03 -
- Start the garlic sauce with super-cold garlic and go slow—a splash of patience is more important than gear.
- Grill the chicken over high heat so the outsides char but the insides stay moist—it’s the secret to that street-food flavor.