Nourishing Chicken Shawarma Bowls

These nourishing chicken shawarma bowls are full of warm Middle Eastern flavors, vibrant vegetables and bold herbs. It can easily be made into meal prep for the week or made for dinner.

It feels weird writing this post and making things seem like they are normal. When in fact, nothing is normal these days. I have to address the elephant in the room of COVID-19. Sean and I are taking every precaution we can including distancing ourselves from everyone. I stopped going to the gym a few days ago and basically the only place I go on occasion is the grocery store, which I am trying to minimize.

I'm aware that not everyone will have access to some of the ingredients for the recipes I am posting in the next few weeks. I'll do my best to make substitutions and recommendations for items. Hoping we flatten that curve and this will all be lifted soon <3

Let's move onto this nourishing chicken shawarma bowl, shall we?

For those of you not familiar with chicken shawarma, it's a Middle Eastern spiced wrap or sandwich. It's traditionally made up of thin cuts of meat (lamb, turkey, beef, etc...), but you can just get chicken shawarma with the flavors if you'd like.

I recently got some chicken shawarma seasoning from a family friend who shops at a Middle Eastern market. The flavor combo was out of this world. I knew I had to replicate it, so I came up with this chicken shawarma bowl recipe. You can make the chicken shawarma in the instant pot, which is what I would suggest you do, if you have one. It just makes the whole cooking process easier than baking it in the oven. Plus you only have to clean the instant pot.

How to Make

The spice blend is pretty simple and contains basic spices that you should have in your cabinet. You can also go to a Middle Eastern market and get pre-made chicken shawarma spice blends. Either one will work!

• Start by placing the chicken in the chamber of the instant pot.
• Pour the spice mixture on top of the chicken and gently rub in until most of the chicken is covered with spices. Drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil over the chicken.
• Lock and secure the lid to the instant pot. Make sure the valve is turned to sealing.
• Cook on manual for 12 minutes and release the steam valve to venting.
• Remove chicken from instant pot and let it rest for a few minutes. Place the chicken in the bowl of a standing mixer and gently shred the chicken using the flat beater attachment on the standing mixer.

Building the bowl

• Crispy chickpeas: Check out this post or this post for how to make your crispy roasted chickpeas.
• Quinoa: I love using quinoa in my bowls and salads because it's a grain that doesn't weigh me down. It's also light, fluffy and pretty versatile. I used quinoa as an addition in this Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad too. If you don't have quinoa or don't like quinoa, you can use rice, farro, wheat berries, amaranth or another alternative grain source.
• Veggies: You can use whatever you have on hand. Some of my favorites are cucumber, red onion, cherry tomatoes and beets.
• Feta cheese, lemon and fresh dill: If you don't have fresh dill, don't worry. The shawarma bowl is still good without it!

How to make the Yogurt Tzatziki Sauce

• Combine half a juiced lemon, minced cucumber, fresh dill and ½ cup greek yogurt in a bowl.
• If you don't have fresh dill you can use dried dill, just cut back to about 1 tsp of dried dill.
• Mix it in a small bowl to combine. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

What I love about this recipe...

This chicken shawarma bowl is super easy to make in large batches for the week. Just cook the chicken shawarma in an instant pot on a Sunday and you have the base of your meals done for the whole week.

I love the warm Mediterranean flavors of the chicken shawarma. It's healthy for you too in that you don't have any mystery meat (my pet peeve) that say a restaurant might have.

The fresh vegetables give it a vibrant flavor and crunchy texture. I love the saltiness of the feta in addition to the acidic burst of the tomatoes. Definitely a win-win recipe in this house!

If you love this recipe, here are some similar ones!

• Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad
• Mediterranean Cucumber Yogurt Dip
• Greek Orzo Salad
• Green Goddess Power Salad Bowl

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