The EASIEST Shawarma at Home – No Vertical Spit Necessary!
If you’ve never had shawarma before, you’re in for such a treat!
Traditionally made by layering seasoned chicken, beef, or lamb on a vertical spit, shawarma takes on gloriously charred edges, as the spit rotates, before being carved and served on steamed flatbread or pita with all kinds of sides like hummus, tahini, veggies, and more.
This easy shawarma marinade recipe is the result of a strong desire to recreate the flavors and textures of my favorite restaurant shawarma using only the ingredients and equipment I have at home. While it’s not traditional, it still serves up a big, bold punch of flavor!
It’s one of my all-time favorite recipes we’ve shared and PWWB readers agree. This simple marinade has been saved and loved by over 17 thousand readers and it’s featured in two of the most popular recipes here on PWWB, Easy Shawarma Hummus Bowls and Sheet Pan Veggie Shawarma!
The secret to this homemade marinade lies in using simple ingredients like warm spices, lemon, and honey, for shawarma that is perfectly balanced in flavor – spiced with a kiss of sweetness.
Plus, it only takes 5 minutes to make and is so versatile you can use it on just about anything. I love using it to grill marinated chicken, lamb, beef, veggies or chickpeas for a smoky and caramelized finish right at home (no vertical spit necessary!). Once you give it a try, you’ll be shawarma-ing everything! 😋
Want more marinades for grilling season? We’ve got you covered! Check out PWWB’s 15 Go-To Grilling Marinades.
Key Ingredients
At the heart of the marinade is a homemade shawarma seasoning blend. It packs a huge punch of flavor with earthy, smoky, warm, and spicy notes.
Plus, it’s made with spices that you probably already have on your spice rack!
You will need…
- Cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Oregano
- Turmeric
- Cayenne pepper
Once the shawarma spice blend is mixed up, the marinade comes together with the addition of a few staple ingredients that help balance out the warm, earthy flavor of the spices – lemon juice for brightness, honey (or agave, or pure maple syrup) for subtle sweetness, garlic (because duh *wink!*), and a little bit of olive oil to bring it all together.
How to Make Shawarma Marinade
With the ingredients gathered, prepping this homemade shawarma marinade is really simple – a one bowl, 5-minute operation!
To make this easy shawarma spice marinade, simply add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl, whisk to combine, and add your protein or veggies of choice. That’s it!
Suggested Marinating Time: Marinating time will vary based on the type of protein you use:
- Resilient proteins (e.g. chicken, beef, lamb) should soak in the shawarma marinade for at least 8 hours and no more than 3 days.
- Veggies will last even longer – you can marinate them for up to 5 days.
- Delicate proteins (i.e. seafood – salmon, shrimp, flaky white fish) have a shorter marinade time – aim for at least 2 hours and no more than 12 hours.
A Note on Texture and Consistency
When combined the ingredients in this marinade will have a paste-like consistency, similar to a wet rub. It won’t seem like you have enough to marinate a couple of pounds of meat, but trust me – you do! Because it’s such a concentrated flavor from all of those great spices, a little shawarma paste really goes a long way.
Meal Prep
Despite the suggested marinating times for this shawarma marinade, you can still get ahead on your dinner by prepping the marinade in advance. Prep the marinade and store it in a jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. When you’re ready to start marinating, simply pour the marinade over whatever meat or veggies you’re using it on – easy!
Serving Suggestions
You can use this easy shawarma marinade on pretty much anything – that’s one of the reasons we love it so much! (As Chris would say, it would make a shoe taste good! *wink!*) 😉
I suggest cooking your shawarma marinated goodies on the grill or in a grill pan to create similar smoky, crispy, caramelization of traditional shawarma that’s cooked on a vertical spit.
- For easy chicken shawarma, try boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. You can also grill a whole chicken!
- For beef shawarma, go for tender cuts with nice marbling, like flank steak, sirloin, or ribeye.
- Lamb shawarma is typically prepared with leg of lamb, so thinly slice for faster cooking times. You can also use this shawarma marinade on kebabs, with any combination of meat and veggies you like best.
- For plant-loving friends, prep vegan shawarma with hearty vegetables (like cauliflower or sweet potatoes) or chickpeas.
No Grill? Use the Oven!
If you do not have access to a grill, you can create a similar effect by baking in the oven and finishing under the broiler.
I can’t wait for you to try this Shawarma Marinade Recipe. It’s light, bright, spiced, and sweet, and it packs a huge punch of flavor with minimal effort!
If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. We LOVE seeing your PWWB creations!
Print
Easy 5-Minute Shawarma Marinade
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1/2 cup 1x
- Category: Sauces & Condiments
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Lebanese
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
- 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!
Find it online: https://playswellwithbutter.com/shawarma-marinade/
Recipe by Jess Larson, Plays Well With Butter | Photography by Eat Love Eat
Follow along with Plays Well With Butter on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest for more unfussy recipes that pack a big punch of flavor!
This is the best shawarma marinade ever! I’ve made this recipe a dozen times and will continue. It may not be truly authentic, but I just LOVE the addition of the honey or maple syrup to give a slight sweetness. I can do 3-4 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this marinade and then put into my air fryer and the taste and crispy goodness never fails to compel me to make yummy noises when eating them! I used to buy Trader Joes shawarma chicken, but it got expensive to buy it prepared, plus their use of inflamatory seed oil was harming my health. I use avacado or extra virgin olive oil for this Thank you for posting this recipe. 🙂
Hi LynnMarie, we’re so glad to hear you love this marinade!! Thanks so much for the kind review!
I’ve gotta say. I don’t do comments….
But I eye balled most of the proportions on this recipe and grilled it and it was banging. The smoked paprika, oregano combination is something I’ve never done before and being used to making my own Indian grill mix I never thought a shawarma mix was different from it. This is a sure shot combo I’ll be remembering by heart moving forward
Hi Vikram! Thanks so much, we’re so glad to hear that you loved it as much as we do! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, it means so much!
Wow! This marinade is unbelievable. I spent a few hours making shawarma bowls for dinner today and my wife was SO impressed. Thanks for the assist Jess. I marinated for 24 hours and followed recipe exactly. This was better then the local spot!!!
Thanks so much, Matthew! We are thrilled to hear that you & your wife loved the marinade & the shawarma bowls sound perfect – thanks again for sharing!
I was a little worried when I tasted the marinade because I found it sweeter than I would’ve preferred, but once the chicken was cooked, it was delicious! Next time I will probably salt the chicken thighs just a little bit before grilling but this recipe was a hit when I served it to friends for the first time. I made my own hummus and turmeric rice and quick pickled red onions and served everything with cucumbers, mini tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
Hi Michelle – we are so glad to hear that you enjoyed & the rest of your dinner sounds absolutely perfect 😍. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Hi! Awesome recipe. I’m wondering, can I marinate chicken in the sauce and then freeze it? I want to keep 1 lb to cook and freeze 1 lb. But wondering if it’s freezer friendly. Thanks 🙂
Hi Nicole! That should work just fine. While it shouldn’t affect texture or flavor you may want to consider leaving the lemon juice out of the portion you plan to freeze then adding once you are ready to use and the meat has thawed. That way, you can prevent any potential adverse texture from developing. Hope that helps & please let us know how it goes!
I have eaten shawarma but never made it before. This was delicious! I didn’t have lemons on hand so I used orange juice and skipped the honey and it was so yummy! I served it over couscous with dried cranberries and pine nuts! Thank you for this great versatile recipe! Next time I’ll try the lemon!
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks so much for sharing – we are so glad you enjoyed the recipe & love hearing how you served it. Truly sounds so delicious!
Could you add the lemon juice after marinating for chicken and then leave it longer than 6 hours since no lemon would yet be added?
Yes, definitely.
I took a gamble, we were invited to a Lebanese couple who happen to be our best friends for Bbq dinner last night…I told them that I would prepare the meat and prepared this recipe. Wow!! They were blown away as I was. I made chicken thighs and filet mignon cubes and marinated them in ziplock bags for a few hours The only thing I changed was adding Greek yogurt to the recipe for the chicken. This recipe goes into my “home run” recipes.
Andre, we are SO glad to hear that you & your friends enjoyed! The chicken thighs & filet mignon cubes sound wonderful & it means so much that you included Plays Well With Butter in this special meal with friends!
This was super delicious!! Definitely recommend letting the marinade soak over night for extra flavor.
Absolutely love this recipe. I triple the amount of the dry herb and spice mix and store in an airtight jar. Means I can throw together the marinade in minutes.
Such a good idea, Jo – sounds like the perfect little Mise En Place meal prep! We are so glad to hear that you enjoy!
This is one of my go-to marinades. So yummy. I prefer it with boneless chicken thighs & then serve with hummus bowls. So yummy & flavorful.
Hey Lauren! So glad you enjoyed the Shawarma marinade – it is easily one of our team’s favorites too! If you haven’t already check out our Easy Hummus Bowls with Chicken Shawarma (or Veggie Shawarma!) recipe for more ideas on how to customize your hummus bowls!
Jave become addicted to this recipe!
This shawarma marinade certainly has that affect!😂 So glad you enjoy it as much as we do, Helen!
This recipe is a winner and I will definitely make it again. Perfect balance of flavors. I marinated it overnight on chicken thighs and cooked on the grill. Amazing!
Hey Megan! So so glad you enjoyed this Shawarma marinade! It is a go-to around here too, thank you for sharing!
This Easy Shawarma Marinade was so yummy! I used it to marinate chicken breasts for four hours and then grilled them. They tasted phenomenal! Thanks for pinning the recipe.
Hi Theresa! Thank you so much for sharing, we are so glad you found PWWB & enjoyed this recipe! Can’t go wrong with Grilled Shawarma Chicken!
Loved the marinade, would have cooked the chicken first then cut up
So glad you loved it, Allen! You can definitely grill up the chicken whole first next time, or use it on another protein of choice!
Super delicious and easy to make. I didn’t have turmeric and it only marinaded for 4 hours but it still had a great flavor, I saved a few pieces to try it tomorrow with a longer marinade time. You don’t taste the cinnamon… I was concerned about it since it was my first time cooking with cinnamon. I highly recommend this recipe. Thank you!
Hi Diana! So glad you enjoyed, the Shawarma Marinade is perfect with chicken!
Absolutely love your recipes. Wow making the schwarma chicken tonight. Yummmmm
Thanks, Theresa! Chicken shawarma is one of my FAVES. I hope you loved it!!!
This is such a great recipe. I am lame and don’t have a grill, but I do have an air fryer ! My kids even ate up the chicken. We served with hummus and homemade pita.
Hi Autumn! So great to hear that you were able to successfully use your air fryer with this & that your kids enjoyed!
Hey Autumn! What temperature / timing did you use for the airfryer?
Shouldnt we use mayonnaise??cheese and stuff?
hi harini! i’ve never had shawarma with mayonnaise & cheese, but if that’s how you’re accustomed to it i’d love to learn more!
This marinade was excellent ! We used boneless thighs on the grill , served with pita , hummus , cucumber and tomato salad and cumin and garlic roasted potatoes . Great meal ! Thanks .
yesss! so glad to hear you loved this shawarma marinade, susan. sounds like the perfect dinner! xo
Hey Jess, as I’m a pescatarian how would this marinade go with salmon?
hey den! thanks for the comment. i can’t say with 100% certainty as i’ve not tested the marinade on salmon, but if you love the flavors of salmon + middle eastern spices, i think you’d like it. my general rule of thumb for marinating seafood is to keep the marinade time under the 2-hour mark so the acidity from the lemon juice doesn’t break down the delicate texture of the fish. definitely try & report back; i’d love to hear how it goes! xx