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If you’ve enjoyed Chicken Shawarma in a Middle Eastern restaurant, you’re going to love this flavorful low-carb Chicken Shawarma Wrap! The chicken is marinated in a blend of spices and then pan-fried and served in a low-carb wrap with yogurt-tahini sauce and a tomato-cucumber relish.
PIN Chicken Shawarma Wrap to try it later!
For years I’ve been a huge fan of Shawarma, a popular Middle Eastern dish of spiced and roasted meat that’s often served inside Pita bread. In Salt Lake, the Lamb and Beef Shawarma is my favorite thing to order at Mazza Cafe, which has fabulous Middle Eastern food.
But I also love Chicken Shawarma! And recently when I spotted a new-to-me low-carb tortilla wrap made by La Banderita, I decided to use it to make this recipe for Chicken Shawarma Wrap. I do have years of experience eating Middle Eastern food, but not a huge amount of experience cooking it. So I looked at recipes for Chicken Shawarma in all my cookbooks, and also looked at Chicken Shawarma recipes at various places all around the web.
Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to recreate the traditional method of cooking sliced meat on a vertical spit that’s traditional for Shawarma, but I wanted to try for the same flavors. I created a spice mix (based on my preferences, and also what spices I had on hand), mixed it with olive oil and some lemon juice and marinated the strips of chicken breast overnight.
Then the next day Kara and I made a tomato-cucumber relish, mixed up a yogurt-Tahini sauce, and heated the La Banderita wraps. We cooked the chicken quickly in a hot pan, cut it into cubes, and layered it inside the wrap with the relish and sauce. And we DEVOURED the Chicken Shawarma Wraps!
This is definitely a recipe with a lot of ingredients, but see my tips for making it easier! And I hope you will try it if you love Middle Eastern flavors.
What ingredients are in the Chicken Shawarma Marinade?
(If you don’t want to buy all these spices or bother with combining them, you can also use a few tablespoons of Shawarma Seasoning (affiliate link).
What other ingredients do you need for the Chicken Shawarma Wraps?
- large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- La Banderita Carb Counter 10″ Flour Tortillas (affiliate link), see below for other options
- chopped tomatoes
- diced cucumbers
- thinly-sliced green onion
- olive oil
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- plain Greek yogurt
- Tahini Sauce (affiliate link)
What are some options for wrapping the Chicken Shawarma?
Kara and I loved this chicken wrapped inside the new-to-me La Banderita Carb Counter 10″ Flour Tortillas (affiliate link), and definitely I will probably use these low-carb tortillas for more wraps in the future. But this chicken would also be delicious inside my favorite Low-Carb Pita Bread, and for a gluten-free and Keto option it would be great served as a lettuce wrap.
Tips for making the Chicken Shawarma Wrap quicker and easier to make:
If you don’t want to buy lots of spices or mix them together yourself, make this recipe with Shawarma Seasoning (affiliate link), it will still be delicious. And if you have a favorite Middle Eastern restaurant you can probably buy a variation of yogurt-Tahini sauce or garlic sauce to eat on the Shawarma.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma Wrap:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe with nutritional information.)
- Trim chicken and cut into strips.
- Whisk together garlic powder, onion powder, hot Paprika, ground Cumin, ground Sumac, ground Turmeric, salt, Aleppo Pepper, ground Cardamom, ground Allspice, black pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. You can use Shawarma Seasoning (affiliate link) in place of the spices if you prefer.
- Put chicken and marinade inside Ziploc bag and let chicken marinate in the fridge for 8-12 hours.
- The next photo shows the La Banderita Carb Counter Low-Carb Tortillas (Wrap size) that we used to make the wrap. In Utah I can find them in most stores, but they’re also available at Amazon.
- When you’re ready to make the wraps, drain chicken in a colander. (Not much will drain off.)
- Mix tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, olive oil, and lemon juice to make the relish and season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Mix plain Greek yogurt, Tahini sauce, lemon juice, ground cumin, minced garlic, ground Sumac (optional), and olive oil to make yogurt-Tahini sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Heat a little olive oil in large non-stick frying pan until it’s sizzling, add chicken and cook 4 minutes.
- Turn chicken over, turn down heat, and cook about 5 minutes more, or until chicken reaches 165F/74C on an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link).
- When chicken is done, cut into small cubes.
- While chicken cooks, heat La Banderita wraps in a large dry frying pan.
- To assemble, first make a row of chicken cubes down the center of the tortilla wrap.
- Top chicken with yogurt-Tahini sauce.
- Top that with tomato-cucumber relish.
- Fold the one end of the of tortilla wrap in, then fold the sides over. (Use a toothpick to keep it together if needed.)
- Serve hot, with extra relish and yogurt-Tahini sauce on the side.
More Middle Eastern Flavors:
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. sharp or hot paprika
- 1 tsp. + 1 tsp. ground Cumin
- 1 tsp. + 2 tsp. ground Sumac (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp. ground Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp. salt (plus more for seasoning tomato-cucumber relish)
- 1/4 tsp. Aleppo Pepper (see notes)
- 1/4 tsp. ground Cardamom
- 1/4 tsp. ground Allspice
- 1/4 tsp. coarse-ground black pepper (plus more for seasoning tomato-cucumber relish)
- 1/4 cup + 2 T + 2 T olive oil
- 2 T + 3 T + 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (more or less to taste)
- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 La Banderita Carb Counter Wraps (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 3/4 cups diced cucumbers
- 1/3 cup thinly-sliced green onion
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 T Tahini Sauce
Instructions
- Trim chicken breasts and cut into lengthwise strips.
- Whisk together garlic powder, onion powder, hot Paprika, 1 tsp. ground Cumin, 1 tsp.ground Sumac, ground Turmeric, salt, Aleppo Pepper, ground Cardamom, ground Allspice, black pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil, and lemon juice to make the marinade.
- Put chicken strips and marinade inside a large Ziploc bag and let chicken marinate in the fridge for 8-12 hours.
- When you’re ready to cook chicken and make the wraps, drain chicken into a colander placed in the sink. (Not much will drain off.)
- Mix diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, sliced green onions, 2 T olive oil, and 2 T lemon juice to make the relish and season it with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Mix plain Greek yogurt, Tahini sauce, 3 T lemon juice, 1 tsp. ground cumin, minced garlic, 2 tsp. ground Sumac (optional), and olive oil to make the yogurt-Tahini sauce. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.
- Heat about 1 tsp. olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat until it’s sizzling, add the chicken strips and cook 4 minutes.
- Turn chicken over, turn down heat to medium, and cook about 5 minutes more, or until chicken reaches 165F/74C on an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link).
- When chicken is done, move it to a cutting board and cut into small cubes.
- While chicken cooks, heat each of the La Banderita wraps in a large dry frying pan.
- To assemble the wrap, first place a row of chicken cubes down the center of the tortilla wrap.
- Top the chicken with a generous drizzle of yogurt-Tahini sauce.
- Top that with a generous amount of the tomato-cucumber relish.
- Fold the one end of the of the tortilla wrap in, then fold the sides over. (Use a toothpick to keep it together if needed.)
- Serve hot, with extra relish and yogurt-Tahini sauce on the side.
Notes
If you don’t have ground Sumac, just leave it out. If you don’t have Aleppo Pepper, use a few pinches of Cayenne pepper.
The chicken breasts we used were a total weight of 2 1/4 lbs.
If you don’t find the La Banderita Carb Counter Wraps or don’t want to buy them, you can wrap the Chicken Shawarma in Low-Carb Pita Bread or lettuce leaves.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 486Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 3.7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20.3gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 863mgCarbohydrates: 30.9gFiber: 20.2gSugar: 3.3gProtein: 30g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This is a good dish for any low-carb diet, as long as you make it with the La Banderita Carb Counter Wraps or another low-carb option given in this recipe. (With the La Banderita wraps, the Chicken Shawarma Wrap has only about 10.7 net carbs.) The La Banderita Wraps are probably not technically approved for the original South Beach Diet, but you could certainly make this into a lettuce wrap for Phase One of South Beach or use a whole grain tortilla for Phase Two or Three.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Lettuce Wraps to find more wraps like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
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