Hello flavor! This Chicken Shawarma Salad is packed with flavorful ingredients, including grilled shawarma spiced chicken, lemon vinaigrette dressing and fresh vegetables!
This salad is so delicious, but also so healthy! It's low carb, at just 11 net carbs per serving, making it a great recipe for those on a keto diet. It's also gluten free, dairy free and whole30 approved!
You might not have a vertical spit or rotisserie at home, but that doesn't mean you can't make delicious and flavorful chicken shawarma! This chicken shawarma recipe is as close as you'll get to making authentic Middle Eastern shawarma at home.
By following these three easy steps, you'll have tender, delectable chicken shawarma in no-time! First, toss cubes of chicken in flavorful shawarma seasoning and olive oil. By dicing the chicken before you toss it in the seasoning, you're getting maximum seasoning on each piece of chicken.
Next, marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. This will allow the chicken to soak in the shawarma seasoning and will result in more juicy, tender chicken!
Finally, place the cubes of chicken on skewers and grill them over high heat. This will allow the chicken to cook quickly and evenly without overcooking and drying out.
Easy as that, you've got tasty chicken shawarma to top your light and healthy salad! What you put on the salad, is really up to you. Once you toss the greens with the lemon vinaigrette and top the salad with the chicken shawarma, you can make it your own!
I do recommend adding red onion, tomato and cucumber, but you can also add pepperoncinis, olives, feta cheese or garlic tahini sauce! You can even add a small bowl of hummus on the side or sprinkle the salad with sumac for a zesty flavor addition!
No matter how you top it, the chicken shawarma really is the star of this salad and I know you're going to love it!
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Ingredients you'll need
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts - you can also use chicken thighs to make this recipe, just be aware that this will increase the fat and cholesterol in the salad.
- Shawarma Seasoning - you can buy pre-made seasoning online or at the grocery store. Or make your own at home using this homemade shawarma seasoning recipe.
- Olive Oil
- Spring Mix - or the greens of your choice, baby spinach, baby kale or a combination of greens is perfect for the base of this salad.
- Cherry Tomatoes - diced fresh whole tomatoes can also be used for this recipe.
- Red Onion
- Cucumber
Step by step instructions
- Marinate the chicken.
- Place cubes of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and shawarma seasoning, toss to combine.
- Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
- Grill the chicken.
- Preheat a grill to high heat.
- After the chicken has marinated for at least 30 minutes, skewer 4-5 cubes of chicken onto 12 skewers.
- Note: if using wooden skewers, they should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before adding the chicken to the skewers. This will prevent them from catching fire on the grill.
- Once all of the chicken is skewered, place the skewers on the grill over high heat.
- Grill for 3-4 minutes, flip, then grill for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the skewers from the grill and set aside.
- Prepare the salad.
- Toss the spring mix, cherry tomatoes, red onion and cucumber with lemon vinaigrette dressing in a large bowl.
- Use a fork to remove the pieces of chicken from the skewers and place the chicken on top of the salad.
- Serve the salad.
- Divide the salad between four bowls, then add the optional toppings of your choice, like pepperoncinis, olives, feta cheese or ground sumac.
- Optionally drizzle the salad with garlic tahini sauce, roasted garlic cashew cream sauce or lemon tahini dressing.
How to make the salad vegan
- Replace the chicken with cauliflower florets.
- Toss four cups of cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons shawarma seasoning.
- Evenly spread the seasoned cauliflower across a large baking sheet.
- Place the cauliflower in a 425°F preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Quick tip! You can also roast chickpeas with the cauliflower for a boost of plant based protein, like I did in this Cauliflower Shawarma Bowl.
How to meal prep the salad
- For storage:
- Prepare the grilled chicken shawarma according to the recipe instructions.
- Divide the cooked chicken into 4 small zipper bags.
- Separate the spring mix, red onions, tomatoes and cucumber between four large containers.
- Add a bag of the cooked chicken shawarma to each of the containers, along with a small container of the lemon vinaigrette dressing.
- To reheat and eat:
- Remove the chicken from the container, open the zipper bag and microwave the chicken for 90 seconds.
- Note: You can also opt to eat the chicken cold, which is still totally delicious!
- Toss the spring mix, onions, tomatoes and cucumber with the lemon vinaigrette dressing. Top the salad with the chicken and dig in!
- Remove the chicken from the container, open the zipper bag and microwave the chicken for 90 seconds.
How to add protein to the salad
- This salad is already loaded with protein at 51 grams per serving!
- If you omit the chicken to make this recipe vegan, you're eliminating almost all of the protein. If you replace the chicken with cauliflower, you will be getting 4 grams of protein per serving.
- For a plant based protein boost, I recommend adding one tablespoon of hemp seeds to each bowl, which will add 3 grams of protein.
More healthy chicken recipes to try
Check out these other delicious bowls and salads, made with lean, healthy chicken breasts!
- Keto Buffalo Chicken Bowl with Cheesy Zoodles
- Whole30 Grilled BBQ Chicken Bowl
- Chipotle Chicken Bowl with Avocado Salsa
- Tex Mex Egg Roll In A Bowl
- Greek Chicken Quinoa Bowls
Recipe
Chicken Shawarma Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons shawarma seasoning
- 6 cups spring mix
- ½ cup lemon vinaigrette click link for the recipe
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup cucumber diced
Optional Additional Toppings
- pepperoncinis
- olives
- feta cheese crumbles
- hummus
- garlic tahini sauce
- lemon tahini dressing
Instructions
- Place the chicken cubes in a large bowl with the olive oil and shawarma seasoning, toss until the chicken is coated well in the seasoning.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator, for at least 30 minutes, up to 4 hours.
- After the chicken has marinated, remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinating liquid.
- Place 4-5 pieces of chicken on 12 skewers.
- Heat a grill to high heat.
- Grill the chicken shawarma for 3-4 minutes, flip and grill for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Toss the spring mix with the cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and lemon vinaigrette.
- Divide the mixture between four bowls.
- Top with the chicken shawarma.
- Add any additional toppings of your choice, such as pepperoncinis, olives, feta cheese crumbles, hummus or garlic tahini sauce.
Notes
- The nutritional information provided does not include the additional optional toppings.
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