• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Closet Cooking

Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Top Recipes
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • 6 Ingredient Meals
    • Slow Cooker Meals
    • One Pan Meals
    • By Course
      • Main Course
      • Side Dish
      • Dessert
      • Appetizer/Snack
      • More
    • By Diet
      • Gluten-free
      • Low-carb
      • Vegetarian
      • More
    • By Meat
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Lamb
      • Egg
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
      • More
    • By Cuisine
      • Cajun and Creole
      • Chinese
      • Greek
      • Italian
      • Japanese
      • Korean
      • Mexican
      • Thai
      • Vietnamese
      • More
    • By Type
      • Burger
      • Cake
      • Cookie
      • Dip
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Salad
      • Sandwich
      • Soup
      • More
    • By Ingredient
      • Avocado
      • Bacon
      • Cauliflower
      • Mushroom
      • Pumpkin
      • Quinoa
      • Shrimp
      • Strawberry
      • More
  • Cookbooks
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
Never miss a recipe! Subscribe to the email Newsletter!

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

[heart_this] · Sep 27, 2021 · 10 Comments

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Homemade chicken shawarma, oven roasted on a vertical spit, served in gyros!

Shawarma is a dish consisting of thin layers of meat stacked up vertically and it’s slowly roasted as it turns. The meat is then shaved, or sliced off, as needed, and it can be used in a number of ways including by throwing it into a pita, wrap or gyro. Normally when I make shawarma at home I marinate meat in shawarma seasoning and than pan fry or grill it in single servings but there is just something different; all of those layers of meat roasting, with the drippings dripping down from the top layers into the bottom layers infusing it with their flavour and juices; Yum! I do not have the proper gear to make authentic shawarma at home but I can certainly come close!

I like to do a chicken shawarma with chickens thighs and to get a nice sized stack of meat I use 4+ pounds of chicken thighs. The layers of meat should be relatively thin so I use small chicken thighs and if they are on the larger side, I pound them thin. The chicken thighs are marinated in a tasty shawarma marinade over night before being placed onto the vertical spit. In order to make the vertical spit I start with half an onion that is set on the bottom of a roasting pan with the cut side down to form a solid and stable base before sticking a skewer into the top of the onion and layering on the chicken. Because the marinade clings to the chicken it’s in between every layer on the infusing the entire thing with it’s flavours as it roasts! The pan with the stack of meat is placed on the lower shelf of the oven and roasted until it’s cooked though. After roasting, the meat is thinly sliced off to be used in whatever way that you desire, and I like to mix it in with any juices that have collected on the bottom of the pan.

My favourite way to enjoy chicken shawarma is in a pita along with some fresh tzatziki (Greek style cucumber salad/sauce), sliced tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives and feta.

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros
Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Roast Chicken Shawarma Gyros

Prep Time: 20 minutes Marinate Time: 8 hours Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes Servings: 16

Homemade chicken shawarma, oven roasted on a vertical spit, served in gyros!

ingredients
    For the chicken shawarma:
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon, juice and zest
  • 2 tablespoons garlic, minced/grated
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon coriander
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 4 pounds boneless and skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and pounded thin
  • 1/2 large red onion
  • For the gyros:
  • 16 pitas
  • 2 cups tzatziki
  • 2 cups tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup kalamata olives, sliced
  • 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
directions
    For the chicken shawarma:
  1. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes, oregano, coriander, cumin.
  2. Mix the seasoning into the chicken and optionally let marinate in the fridge overnight.
  3. Place the half onion on top of a large baking dish with the cut side down, place a skewer* into the top and start layering the chicken on, alternating as you layer it.
  4. Roast in a preheated 375F/190C oven until the center reaches 165F, about 1-1.5 hours, let cook and slice.
  5. For the gyros:
  6. Assemble the gyros and enjoy!
Note: If your skewer is a thin wooden stick, you may want to use 2-3 of them to create a more solid base.
Option: Use your favourite gyro fillings! (I also like shawarma sauce and/or pickled red onions!)
Note: This recipe makes a lot of meat since you need a lot to make a good vertical spit. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 438, Fat 20g (Saturated 3g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 119mg, Sodium 598mg, Carbs 33g (Fiber 4g, Sugars 4g), Protein 33g

Nutrition by: Nutritional facts powered by Edamam
Similar Recipes:
Grilled Chicken Shawarma
Shawarma Seasoning
Chicken Shawarma Warps
Chicken Shawarma Salad
Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken
Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken
Chicken Souvlaki
Moroccan Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Taco Lime Grilled Chicken
Za’atar Grilled Chicken
Cilantro Lime Skillet Chicken
Honey and Lime Jalapeno Chicken
Caprese Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Greek Grilled Chicken

Chicken, Food, Gluten-free, Greek, Low-carb, Main Course, Mediterranean, Recipe

eCookbook Bundle Cover

Get ALL 16 Closet Cooking eCookbooks in a bundle for 70% off! Enjoy some of the tastiest recipes from Closet Cooking along with exclusive cookbook recipes!

Get the Cookbook Bundle Now!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nikki Moranville says

    September 27, 2021 at 4:42 pm

    This sounds fabulous, Kevin! But I have a question. In step 3 you say to start layering the chicken, alternating as you layer it. Alternating with what? Gonna try this soon!

    Reply
    • kevin says

      October 4, 2021 at 9:53 am

      By alternating I mean changing the angle of the chicken as you skewer it. When you open up the boneless chicken thighs they are generally longer in one direction. You are skewering the chicken in the center with the longer sides hanging down and you want to alternate the longer sides so that they are spread evenly around the skewer. Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Alene says

    September 28, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    Good question, above. How might you reduce the number of servings if the stacking is important? Like 2 pounds instead of 4? It looks like you separated the thighs into pieces too. Thanks. It sounds so yummy!

    Reply
    • kevin says

      October 4, 2021 at 10:02 am

      I would make the full 4 pounds and freeze any extra (after slicing) rather than cut the recipe size down, but you can make a much smaller stack with 2 pounds of chicken.

      Reply
  3. tei says

    September 29, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    We made this tonight. This was an amazing and delicious recipe. A bit of work since here in France we can’t find skinless, boneless chicken thighs, but had to remove the bone and skin from the parts we bought ‘haut de cuisse de poulet’.

    Reply
  4. Sabrina says

    September 30, 2021 at 11:15 pm

    oh wow, what a fun chicken dish, would never have thought to make gyros out of chicken, great idea, love the flavors and not a dish I’ve ever made before, so fun with the gyro cooking techniques

    Reply
  5. tei says

    October 1, 2021 at 3:39 am

    This was absolutely delicious! A little laborious, since we can’t get boneless skinless chicken thighs here, but definitely worth the effort. We also made a big batch so we are going to enjoy the chicken at a couple of more meals.

    Reply
  6. Jo says

    January 8, 2022 at 5:52 am

    Just cooked this and omg it was sooooo good! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe ❤️

    Reply
  7. Jacqueline says

    June 23, 2022 at 6:27 am

    How are there 33 g of carbs in this chicken?

    Reply
    • kevin says

      June 27, 2022 at 10:48 am

      The carbs mostly come from the pitas and other things in the gyros.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to the free Closet Cooking email newsletter and get a FREE copy of the eBook:
The Best of Closet Cooking!

About Me

Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
Read More

The Best of Closet Cooking 2023 – FREE eCookbook

The Best of Closet Cooking Book Cover

eCookbook Bundle

eCookbook Bundle

Top Recipes

Chicken and Avocado Burritos
Ham and Potato Corn Chowder
Mexican Street Corn Nachos
Balsamic Garlic Grilled Mushroom Skewers
Baked Firecracker Chicken
Caprese Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Balsamic Soy Roasted Garlic Mushrooms
Cheesy Beef Enchilada Tortellini Skillet
Parmesan Roasted Carrot Fries
Asiago Roasted Onions
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
About | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Copyright © 2007-2023, Closet Cooking Ltd. All Rights Reserved.