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Chicken Shawarma with Garlic Sauce

Chicken shawarma with garlic sauce piled on thick-cut shawarma fries—crisp, spiced, and finished with charred chicken and a fluffy toum drizzle. Grill-seared chicken meets oven or air-fryer fries with bright lemon, garlic, tomatoes, and pickles for a street-food style loaded plate.
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
marinate 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Calories: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken shawarma fries
  • 2 lb boneless chicken thighs Use thighs for best tenderness and char.
  • 2 Shawarma spice blend: cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne Seasoning mix for both chicken and fries.
  • 4 clove garlic cloves, minced For garlic sauce (toum).
  • 1 Juice of 1 lemon Used for chicken marinade and toum balance.
  • 3 tbsp olive oil Helps chicken and supports sauce texture.
  • 1 Garlic sauce (toum): 1 head garlic + 1 cup oil + lemon juice + salt Blend until thick and fluffy.
  • 1 Shawarma fries: thick-cut fries seasoned with shawarma spice + topped with diced tomatoes, pickles, toum, hot sauce Loaded fries finish: tomatoes, pickles, toum, and hot sauce.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Marinate the chicken
  1. Coat boneless chicken thighs with olive oil and lemon juice, then rub in Shawarma spice blend: cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne and minced garlic cloves.
  2. Cover and refrigerate for 2+ hours so the seasoning penetrates the meat, keeping the chicken cold throughout resting.
Char the chicken
  1. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, then sear the marinated chicken until deeply charred on the surface, about 6–8 minutes per side.
  2. Remove the chicken and rest briefly, then slice so it stays juicy for topping the fries.
Make toum
  1. Blend garlic sauce (toum): 1 head garlic with oil and lemon juice until very thick and fluffy, then season with salt to finish.
Cook and season the fries
  1. Bake or air-fry thick-cut fries until crisp, using the appliance’s cook time, then immediately toss with shawarma spice to coat evenly.
Assemble loaded shawarma fries
  1. Pile the hot fries on a plate and top with sliced charred chicken.
  2. Finish with diced tomatoes and pickles, then drizzle with toum and hot sauce for the loaded street-food look.

Notes

For the creamiest toum, keep all ingredients at room temperature and blend steadily until it turns pale, thick, and airy. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat chicken and fries separately for best texture. Freezing is not recommended for toum, but you can freeze cooked chicken and rewarm to assemble. For a lower-fat option, use less oil in toum by reducing the oil amount and whisking/combining more slowly for a thinner sauce.