Description
This 5-minute Shawarma Marinade recipe has been loved by thousands of readers! It starts with a homemade shawarma spice blend of aromatic warm spices like cumin, paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, and more combined, in a single bowl, with a little bit of lemon and honey. The resulting marinade is a thick paste with concentrated bright, sweet, and spiced flavor – perfect for coating meat or veggies.
Use it for easy chicken shawarma hummus bowls, or to marinate lamb, beef, veggies, and more!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 pounds meat or veggies of choice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tablespoons honey (or pure maple syrup or agave, if vegan)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
- optional: up to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Mix the shawarma marinade: Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, honey, cumin, smoked paprika, cinnamon, ginger, oregano, turmeric, and cayenne to a bowl or jar. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Whisk or shake to combine.
- Marinate: Pour the shawarma marinade over your meat or veggies of choice. Marinate for at least 6 hours or for up to 2 days.
- Grill as desired. Enjoy!
Equipment
DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Buy Now →Notes
- Suggested marinade time: Marinating time will vary based on the type of protein you’d like to use. Because of the amount of lemon juice used in the marinade, it’s important not to marinate for too long, as it will really negatively affect the texture of meat. Having tested this shawarma marinade on a variety of different proteins with a variety of different marinating times, here’s what we suggest:
- Seafood – at least 20 minutes and no more than 1 hour.
- Chicken and pork – at least 4 hours and up to 6 hours for maximum flavor.
- Beef and lamb – at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours for maximum flavor.
- Veggies – at least 20 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- 10-Minute Meal Prep: If you’d like to marinate something later in the week, I suggest making the marinade in advance, whenever you’re meal prepping for the week. Store it in a jar or an airtight container for up to 5 days – the flavors meld together even more as the marinade sits. At least 4 hours before you’re ready to hit the grill, simply pour the marinade over whatever meat or veggies you’re using it on – easy peasy!
- Not sure how to serve shawarma? Make a hummus bowl! This is one of the most popular recipes here on PWWB, for good reason!