Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Golden Butter Fries and Garlic Sauce.
Bringing you all some summery vibes with this Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Golden Butter Fries and Garlic Sauce. These middle eastern-inspired chicken skewers are the homemade “street food” you need in your life. Spicy marinated grilled chicken skewers, served with homemade golden fries, creamy garlic white sauce, and summer cherry tomatoes. This grilled chicken shawarma is simple to throw together, full of fresh ingredients, colorful, super flavorful, and so delicious. The perfect summer grilling recipe to serve any night of the week…or at your next backyard BBQ.
When it comes to summer recipes I tend to favor the fruity, produce heavy recipes over the meaty grilling recipes. You all know I love a fruit-based dessert, a simple summer pasta…with all the cherry tomatoes, crostini with strawberries, or a dinner full of zucchini.
Over the past almost 8 years of HBH, I haven’t shared very many recipes requiring the grill. But with July 4th this weekend I really wanted to share an easy grilling recipe. Enter this chicken shawarma. Chicken shawarma is a classic middle eastern style street food. Traditionally, it is thinly sliced, stacked on a rotisserie, and roasted. But today we’re making it at home and on the grill, with crispy golden oven fries plus the best garlic sauce.
This isn’t your traditional July 4th cookout recipe, but honestly, nothing about this year’s celebrations are going to be traditional. So, I thought we’d break away from the average ribs and BBQ chicken. Very typical of me, I know, but I like to keep things fresh and never boring. That, and my brother has been sending me a lot of messages hinting that I need to make more recipes for the grill…because it’s summer and “the people” love grilling recipes.
I actually took his advice, which I normally hesitate to do, but it all turned out pretty darn good.
The details on this grilled chicken shawarma.
Start with the chicken. If you’re unfamiliar with Chicken Shawarma, it’s a simple middle eastern dish that can be made using either poultry, beef, or lamb and is served in or on a pita with a savory yogurt sauce. The chicken is marinated in a mix of middle eastern spices…garlic, lots of lemon, and olive oil. It’s traditional to roast the chicken, but I went for skewers on the grill. You can certainly roast the chicken if you prefer not to use the grill, either works. But the grill adds a nice flavor and chars on the outside while staying juicy on the inside.
For marinating, I toss the chicken with smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric, garlic, lemon, and red pepper flakes. I like to let the chicken marinate while I get everything else together. I’m not sure about you guys, but I can never plan ahead enough to cook a recipe requiring a long marinating time.
It almost never happens, so I usually just do a quick “marinade” of fifteen to thirty minutes. It works.
While the chicken marinates, make the fries.
Golden butter with a little garlic and lots of flaky sea salt, so good. In fact, if you make only one thing from this recipe, maybe it should be these fries. They are delicious. If you love golden rice, but you love potatoes even more, than you’re going to LOVE these fries. They’re hard to stop eating.
Yes, you need to turn your oven on to make these fries (or if you have an air fryer you could certainly air fry them). I promise these fries are so worth it.
There are a few tricks you need to know when it comes to these golden fries.
First, one of the keys here is adding just the right amount of turmeric and garlic. You want flavorful, but not overpowering.
My other tip to these for these crisp oven-baked fries is to be sure not to overcrowd the baking sheet. If you have too many potatoes crowding the pan, the fries will steam instead of crisp. So, if you need to…use two baking sheets…do not overcrowd! It’s better to have extra space on the baking sheet than a pan full of soggy fries. Trust me.
And lastly, add a little butter. The butter adds that richness that the deep frier adds. For whatever reason, it really helps to highlight the turmeric on the fries.
So simple…SO GOOD.
Finish it up and put it all together.
And then finally, the garlic sauce. It’s simple, plain Greek yogurt or avocado mayo, lemon, grated garlic, and salt. But here’s another little tip. The garlic used for the golden fries is roasted whole instead of chopped. If you love a roasted garlic flavor, I highly recommend smashing the roasted garlic cloves into a paste and stirring them into the white sauce. The roasted garlic will add a rich, more in-depth flavor that is so delicious.
Once the fries are close to being ready, and the garlic sauce is made, grill the chicken, and then put it all together. I serve the fries and chicken the classic way they’d do it on the street, with fresh naan/pita, tomatoes, cucumber, and shredded lettuce. I also use homemade naan, but feel free to use your favorite store-bought pita or flatbread.
Last up, add a very generous amount of that garlic sauce…which my oldest brother says is key. He also says to use mayo, never yogurt, in the sauce. Oh, and to crumble on some feta too, because why not?
D.E.L.I.C.O.U.S.
And you know what I love about this recipe?
It’s not just a grilled chicken recipe. Nope, it’s so much more.
It’s an all-in-one meal, there’s even a little salad…if you count the tomatoes and lettuce that I say are “for serving”. It’s all just really good food. The chicken is tender, flavorful, and extra juicy due to the marinating. The fries are pretty much just addicting, and the creamy white sauce really ties it all together.
Just add that naan and the vegetable toppings and you”ll have a complete dinner. I love an all-in-one style recipe that makes getting dinner together simple and easy!
Looking for other summer grilling recipes? Here are some favorites:
Lebanese Chicken with Charred Lemon Cauliflower
California Chicken, Veggie, Avocado and Rice Bowls
Lastly, if you make this grilled chicken shawarma with golden butter fries and garlic sauce, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Golden Butter Fries and Garlic Sauce
Simple to throw together...the perfect summer recipe to serve at your next backyard BBQ!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite size chunks
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 6 cloves garlic, grated
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 4 shallots, halved
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or avocado mayo
- 1/2 cup mixed herbs, such as mint and dill, chopped
Golden Fries
- 4 russet potatoes, cut into ¼-inch-thick matchsticks
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, skin on and smashed
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
-
1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1/4 cup olive oil, the paprika, cumin, turmeric, 4 cloves garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, and a large pinch of salt. Toss to coat. Marinate for 15 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.
2. Meanwhile, make the fries. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the potatoes on a large baking sheet and toss with olive oil, turmeric, cayenne, smashed garlic cloves and a large pinch of salt. Spread the fries in an even layer. Do not overcrowd the pan, if needed, divide the fries between 2 baking sheets. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, then flip and bake for 15 minutes more. Add the butter, toss, and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. You want the potatoes to be tender, yet crispy.
3. To make the garlic sauce, combine the yogurt, 2 cloves grated garlic (see note), and 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice. Season with salt. Taste, adding more of the lemon as desired.
4. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Take skewers and thread the chicken pieces on. Grill the skewers until lightly charred and cooked through, turning them occasionally throughout cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes total. During the same time, grill the shallots for 2-3 minutes per side. Alternately, you can roast the chicken at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
5. In a bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the mixed herbs, and a pinch of salt. Add the shallots, tossing to coat.
6. Serve the chicken topped with garlic sauce and herb oil. Add the fries on the side with naan. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Roasted Garlic Cloves: you can use the roasted garlic cloves from the golden fries in the garlic sauce instead of raw garlic for an added depth of flavor to the sauce.
Naan: I love serving this with my favorite Garlic Butter Naan
Our Favorite Recipes
Nine Favorite Things.
OH my gosh, this had me at shawarma!! Gonna hopefully try these out for Saturday and I love that I can easily make these, being gluten free and all! Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you Jennifer!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
YUMMY!!! KEEP POSTING !!!
Thank you Clare! xTieghan
You need to use boneless thighs…and roast the whole for 30 minutes on a high heat, before grilling them until the skin crisps
Thank you so much Pickle! xTieghan
I made this recipe tonight, and oh my goodness — it is delicious!!! My husband absolutely loved it and all five of our kids asked for more. (high praise in our house) I made it exactly as it was written (except doubled it) and I would not change a thing. I decided to use yogurt (ah-mazing) instead of mayo and also used dill and mint as my herbs. It was absolute perfection on a plate. It has heat, but is not overwhelming, and is balanced so well with the garlic sauce. This dish has so much flavor- I wish we had leftovers! Thank you so much for this recipe!! It will definitely go into our regular rotation.
Thank you so much! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Sarah! xTieghan
sounds delicious
Thank you Ruth! xTieghan
Greatly Recipe
Thank you so much Shawon! xTieghan
Loved the recipe; but I baked in the oven since I don’t have a grill. I did burn the fries using the temperature that you suggested; so i lowered to 370 and they came out perfectly!
Thanks 🙂
Amazing!! Thank you for trying this Maya! xTieghan
Made this last night and it was Delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe. Excited to try some of your other recipes 😊
Love that!! Thank you so much Wendy! xTieghan
My local grocery store didn’t have shallots…can I substitute regular onion? If so, which type would be best and how much? Thanks!!
Hi Emily,
I would do white onions, about 1/4 cup. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Tieghan –
Could you provide steps for cooking the fries in the air fryer? We just got one the week so I’m not too familiar. Thanks!
Hi Ellen,
Sorry I do not own an air fryer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Another amazing recipe! I have always wanted to try shawarma and this did not disappoint! My family gave it an 11 out of 10. Thank you!
Thank you Shelby!! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I just made the skewers tonight. I found it difficult to make sure the inside of the chicken cooked (the part closest to the skewer) without over cooking the outside. When it was almost done, I took them off the stick and cooked the other two sides a little longer. It was fine for eating and I don’t really need to make a presentation for my meals, but doesn’t that defeat the purpose of using the skewers from the beginning? Any suggestions? I cooked on 7 heat level (out of 10) on my stove top.
Hi Rebecca,
So sorry you were having issues with the chicken. As long as you follow the recipe and cooking times as is you shouldn’t have any issues with the chicken being raw. Please let me know if you have any other questions. xTieghan
This was delicious! The whole family loved it ❤️
Thanks for creating such great recipes!!
Thank you so much Barbara! xTieghan
This was amazing!! Made it tonight, everyone loved it!!
Thank you so much Tiffany!! I am really glad you loved this one! xTieghan
Hi,
I am planning to make these this weekend but I have a question. I hope it’s not a dumb question…
When you roast the shallots, do you skewer them? Or roast them whole on the grill?
I tried to watch the video on your IG stories but am too late.
Thank you in advance!
Caroline
Hey Caroline!
I just roasted the shallots on the grill. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this tonight…my picky husband devoured it and my 2-year-old had seconds! So delicious. I subbed the roasted garlic everywhere the recipe calls for garlic and chopped up some chives for the garlic (yogurt) sauce to brighten it up. Since I just made oven fries last night I made rice instead and used the sauce from the garlic fries over the rice and it was perfect! Highly recommend this delicious summer meal!
Thank you so much Bethany!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Just wondering if the Shallots are a topping or do they go in the sauce? Looks divine and I will be making this tomorrow!
Hi Pat,
I use them in the sauce! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this almost exactly as written and it was delicious. I cut back the cumin quantity since I’m not a big fan and i was out of shallots. I only had a little fresh parsley and some fresh mint for fresh herbs, added alittle dry dill for the sauce but it worked, and I used the roasted garlic from the fries as suggested in the notes. We will make this again.
Thank you so much Vicki! That is really amazing to hear! I hope you continue to love my recipes! xTieghan
This was delicious! I added some cucumbers and tomatoes into the olive oil sauce and it made a great addition.
Amazing! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Delicious! Made it tonight, so many flavors.
Thank you Marjorie! xTieghan
Came out really good
Thank you Meghna! xTieghan
Made this for dinner the other night, blew me away. I’ve never made my own fries except for your salad recipe with the sweet potato fries. The fries had such an amazing different flavor and barely needed salt. All plates were clean after dinner. Yum! Thank you!
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this one, Kristen! xTieghan
so good!
Thank you so much Amelia! xTieghan
What an awesome meal!! Made it tonight!!! Thanks so much!!!
Thank you for trying this! I am glad it turned out so well for you, Stephen! xTieghan
This meal was DELICIOUS. The fries were even good leftover (I’m not even sure how we had any left though). One issue though…the list of ingredients only listed one lemon for the marinade and didn’t include the lemon for the yogurt sauce, so our sauce was basically just mayo. Otherwise, will definitely be making again! Thanks for another great dinner!
Thank you so much for trying this one, Lauren! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made this last night to a very happy household. I had some mint and parsley in our garden and used that for the herb oil. Don’t leave this out! It really made a difference and set off the meal. We grilled some naan bread at the end and served it all with roasted broccoli. Last note- pay attention to the fries. I was very close to overcooking them because I kept adding time to make sure they were crispy. But they ended up just right (and this was even after I forgot the butter at the end!). I sprinkled some chopped green onion from the garden over the fries before serving and they were fantastic. I am typically too lazy to write reviews but this recipe was a hit
I am so happy you decided to write a review on this one! Thank you so much Amber! xTieghan
My husband and I loved this recipe. We never make this type of cuisine so it was a nice deviation. Super easy, great flavour. I make the chicken in a cast iron skilltet which worked fine. Beware of turmeric lol we never cook with it and are now googling how to remove it from various surfaces and items haha
Oh no!! I hope it comes out for you! I am really glad this recipe was delicious though, Chelle! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
My 9 year old said multiple times, “this is the best dinner we have ever had!” That is coming from a fairly picky eater. I served it with the naan recipe and it was the bomb. Thanks!!!
Thank you so much Andrea!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was CRAZY good! Lots of complements from the family! I really wanted the fries, but decided to go with rice instead. I toasted garlic and onion with the rice, added some of the shawarma seasoning, and let it go. We added fresh hummus to the plate with your chicken shawarma, and ALL OF THE YESES! You are brilliant; my dinner was delicious, the leftovers at lunch were yum, too! Thank you!
Wow that is so great to hear, Ingrid! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
So easy and delicious!!
Thank you Lily! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made this last night. SO delicious! On to your Greek Salmon tonight and Carne Asada tacos tomorrow!
Thank you so much Rebecca! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
loved by everyone in our family!
Love to hear that!! Thank you! xTieghan
I really want to make this recipe but don’t have a grill. I see there’s an option to make in the oven. If you are doing this option do you still skewer the chicken? Or do you just do it whole? Or do both options work?
Hey Lucy,
Either option will work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
OMG! That chicken. Those fries 👅 question for you. I’m on a nutrition plan limiting fat intake. If you couldn’t use fat such as oils, butter, yogurt to marinade chicken and meat, how would you do it? What would you use instead? I love every one of your recipes btw!
Hey Glenda,
I would just coat with the seasonings, but without a fat it won’t necessarily be a marinade. Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love the recipe. Thank you! xTieghan
I made this recipe last night and it was so delicious, flavorful and filling! The chicken was cooked perfectly in the oven and the golden butter fries were gone from our dinner table within minutes. Thank you as always for another delicious recipe! xo
Thank you Hilary! I am so happy this one turned out so well for you! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
I loved it!! I’ve made this twice so far, once I followed directions and marinated and used on the grill – the other time I just used rotisserie chicken and used the ingredients for the marinade to cook it with straight on the skillet – and it turned out great! The FRIES are amazing, and the combination and the dill and shallots are just perfect.
Thank you Mitra! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Do you think this recipe would work well with sweet potato fries? Trying to use up what we have in the pantry!
Hey Meg,
Yes, I think that would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I have made about 35-40 HBH recipes in the last 3 months. This is one of my favourites! We made it tonight for the second time!
Those fries are killer! You can’t stop eating them!
Hey Melissa,
Thanks so much for making the recipe, I am so excited that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
This recipe was amazing!!! And these fries I’m obsessed😍 2nd time tonight and I made them in air fryer for 30 minutes at 400 degrees they came out so crispy and delicious!
Hey Irene,
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Followed the recipe exactly,but used the roasted garlic suggested in the notes….so yummy! I had it over greens with cucumber to lighten it up.
Hey Brittany,
I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hi! Chances of you seeing this and responding in the next 30 minutes is probably slim, but it’s worth a shot! I am making this for dinner tonight, and I am confused about the shallots. The recipe says to grill them, and then toss with the herbs and oil. Do you chop them up after you grill them and add to oil and herbs make a sauce like topping? Leave them whole like in your photo? Regardless, I’m sure this is going to turn out delicious. Thank you!!
Hey Jordan,
You can go ahead and chop the shallots, sorry for the confusion! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan