Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma
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This Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma will blow your mind! It combines the tender flavorful scrumptiousness of chicken shawarma with the ease and speed of any Instant Pot dish.
A couple years ago I shared with you my oven roasted chicken shawarma recipe and since then it’s become one of my most popular recipes on the blog! That’s because this chicken is just so good, it’s tender and flavorful and is so easy to incorporate into many a dish. The best part of this recipe is that it’s ready in about 8 minutes, all thanks to our trusty Instant Pot.
What Is Chicken Shawarma?
Shawarma is a Middle Eastern method of preparing meat. Have you been into a Donair shop and seen the cuts of meat piled high rotating slowly on a vertical rotisserie? While I don’t exactly have one of those rotisseries lying around (and I’m sure you don’t either) we’re going to use our Instant Pot today to replicate the flavor and juicy cuts achieved more traditionally.
Ingredients
Chicken shawarma
- Olive oil – We want a nice neutral tasting oil to cook our chicken down in.
- Lemon juice – Fresh is best! We’re using the juice from 2 lemons.
- Spices – Smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Onion – White or yellow, something that cooks down well.
- Chicken – I used chicken thighs today, you can always substitute breast instead but I find chicken thighs are so tender and flavorful.
- Parsley – Fresh chopped up nice and fine.
Garlic sauce
- Oil – A nice neutral tasting vegetable oil like canola.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Lemon juice – Fresh as always, we’re using quite a bit of juice for this sauce.
- Egg – Just egg white, if you’d rather not include raw egg I’ve included a section below detailing how to make a yogurt based sauce instead.
- Seasoning – Just salt for this sauce.
Shawarma wraps
- Hummus – Here’s my recipe for regular hummus and lentil hummus.
- Greek salad – Here’s my recipe for a delicious and simple Greek salad to be served in the wrap and alongside it.
- Pita wraps – Any kind will do, although I believe that home made is always best so here’s my recipe for whole wheat pita bread.
- Chicken and garlic sauce – We’re going to incorporate everything we’ve made in the last few steps of our Chicken Shawarma!
How To Make Chicken Shawarma
Chicken Shawarma
- Marinate the chicken: Add the olive oil, lemon juice, paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, garlic, pepper, salt and onions to a ziploc bag, then add the chicken thighs. Seal the bag and shake it well to mix the ingredients. Place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Cook the chicken: Transfer the chicken into your Instant Pot. Mix to ensure even coverage. Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Manual setting and set the timer to 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Remove the chicken: Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot. Remove the chicken using a slotted spoon.
- Brown the chicken shawarma: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet and sear them for about 1 to 2 minutes per side just until they start to brown. You may have to do this in a couple batches. This step is optional if you want to get a crispier chicken.
Garlic sauce
- Combine the sauce: Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Refrigerate leftover sauce.
Chicken Shawarma wraps
- Assemble the wraps: To assemble the chicken shawarma wraps, warm up the pitas for 20 seconds to soften them. Spread a tbsp each of garlic sauce and hummus over the middle of the pita. Top with chicken, greek salad, garnish with parsley, and more sauce if desired.
Egg Free Garlic Sauce
Regarding raw eggs, some fear that they may contain Salmonella which can cause food poisoning. However, the risk of an egg being contaminated is quite low. This used to be a problem over 20 years ago, but since then improvements have been made in the processing of eggs, leading to fewer Salmonella cases.
If you’re looking to make a raw egg free garlic sauce, I’ve got an easy sauce here for you that is just as delicious although less authentic.
- Combine: Lemon juice, plain yogurt (either Greek or regular), garlic, and salt.
You can also just omit the egg white and add your vegetable oil bit by bit to the blender as it blends till it has the consistency of mayonnaise.
Other Cooking Options
Don’t have an Instant Pot? Fear not, there are other ways to make this delectable dish!
Oven
If you’d like to prepare this recipe in the oven I have a beautiful Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma recipe on the blog which I can promise is just as drool worthy as this one. That recipe calls for chicken breast instead of thigh but feel free to use whichever cut you like!
Slow cooker
- Create the marinade: Marinate the chicken the same as instructed above and allow to sit for at least 1 hour, although longer is ideal.
- Cook the chicken: Dump the chicken and marinade in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Remove the chicken and brown in a skillet on the oven. Follow the instructions outlined above for what to do with this chicken once it’s done cooking!
Some Tips
- The longer you let the chicken marinate for, the better it gets! It will become so intensely flavorful if given some extra time so feel free to prep the chicken the night before.
- When I initially made this recipe I forgot to add onions to the marinade so I decided to caramelize some onions in the left over liquid in the Instant Pot once my chicken was finished cooking. It was so delicious so feel free to get creative with happy accidents!
- While it’s totally optional I really recommend searing the meat so it gets nice and crispy once it’s done in the Instant Pot. This will get it as close as possible to the chicken you get from the vertical rotisserie at Donair shops.
- You can serve this chicken right over rice with a nice salad on the side if you’d like a meal that feels a bit more complete – it’s delicious either way!
Leftovers
Chicken
The Chicken Shawarma will last in the fridge in an air tight container for 3 – 4 days. If you’d like to freeze this dish I recommend freezing the chicken in the bag with the marinade while still raw, then when it defrosts it will marinate and you can pop it in the Instant Pot from there!
Garlic sauce
You can store this home made garlic sauce for up to 2 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. I don’t recommend freezing this sauce as it is similar to a home made mayo which separates and becomes unusable after thawing.
Craving More Middle Eastern Dishes? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Best Ever Hummus
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma
- Moroccan Style Roast Chicken and Potatoes
- Baba Ghanoush
- Baklava
- Greek Lemon Potatoes
- Chicken Doner Kebab
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Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma
Video
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon tumeric
- 2 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large onion (sliced)
- 4 pounds chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
- 2 tablespoon parsley (fresh, for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Garlic Sauce
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1 egg white (*)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Chicken Shawarma Wraps
- hummus
- greek salad
- garlic sauce
- chicken
- pita wraps
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Chicken Shawarma
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice, paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, garlic, pepper, salt and onions to a ziploc bag, then add the chicken thighs. Seal the bag and shake it well to mix the ingredients. Place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 1 hour. The flavours develop better the longer you leave them.
- Transfer the chicken into your Instant Pot. Mix to ensure even coverage. Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Manual setting and set the timer to 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot. Remove the chicken using a slotted spoon.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet and sear them for about 1 to 2 minutes per side just until they start to brown. You may have to do this in a couple batches. This step is optional if you want to get a crispier chicken.
Garlic Sauce
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Refrigerate leftover sauce.
Chicken Shawarma Wraps
- To assemble the chicken shawarma wraps, warm up the pitas for 20 seconds to soften them. Spread a tbsp each of garlic sauce and hummus over the middle of the pita. Top with chicken, greek salad, garnish with parsley, and more sauce if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Note: In the video I forgot to add the onion to the marinade, so we ended up caramelizing some onion in some of the liquid left in the instant pot after the chicken was done.
- Chicken breast can also be used instead of the thighs with the same cooking time.
- * If you are unsure whether or not you want to consume raw egg white because of risk of Salmonella in raw eggs which can cause food poisoning, make a different type of sauce with just yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and salt. However, the risk of an egg being contaminated from raw egg is quite low. This used to be a problem over 20 years ago, but since then improvements have been made in the processing of eggs, leading to fewer Salmonella cases.
- You can also omit the raw egg white, just add the oil little by little to the blender until it thickens and should have the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Total time includes time required to marinate the chicken and the time required for the Instant pot to start and release pressure.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This is a wonderful recipe. I’ve made it a few times, and it’s always delicious. I made it on Monday for a dinner party of six. EVERYONE went back for seconds! I was pleased that they loved it, but sad to not have any leftovers However, as soon as it had finished cooking, and I had fished the chicken out in order to brown it in a frying pan, I had immediately refrigerated the sauce. The following day I found myself wondering…. I called a friend who is a very experienced cook, and told her I had a cooking question. Before asking it, I said, “To be honest, I’m going to do this no matter what you say. But I want to know what you think.” She agreed that my plan was a good one. So that night I marinated a new 4 pounds of chicken thighs in the same marinade (which I’d skimmed the fat off the top of), and the following day I cooked it as usual. It turned out just as flavorful, and lazy me is very happy.
Wow, that’s a fantastic review! 🌟 I’m thrilled the recipe was such a hit at your dinner party—though I get the sadness about no leftovers. 😅 Enjoy more delicious chicken shawarma! 🍗🌯
Great recipe! Chicken, sauce, always turns out delicious. Seems like a lot of steps but very easy
For those concerned about getting a burn notice on their IP, rest assured you will be ok. I have an 8qt IP and was quite concerned.
I can’t speak to the taste of the recipe, as I am writing this as soon at the 8 minute cook time was finished. However, I’ve tried many of Jo’s recipes and have never been disappointed. They are solid and consistently delicious.
The spice mix is spot on. I halved the recipe and had no issues in the IP without adding extra liquid. I made wraps with grilled tomato, peppers and onions, and found Toom brand garlic sauce at Whole Foods. Really good!
Made this a few weeks ago and making it again this evening because it was INCREDIBLE!! We managed to find the garlic sauce premade at our grocer but will eventually attempt the recipe that accompanies this shawarma recipe. My husband was deployed to Qatar twice, and once I went to visit him. This shawarma is as close to what they served over there a anything we’ve found stateside. Thank you for a wonderful new family favorite!
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
I made this recipe two night ago, and it was so satisfying! It was very quick to put together, but the flavors were intense and delicious! I served it with rice, rather than pita (b/c that is what I had), hummus, and a large, bright arugula salad, and omitted the egg white in the garlic sauce, so that the sauce could double as a salad dressing later in the week. (It does make a good deal of garlic sauce.) I definitely plan to put this recipe into rotation, even – perhaps especially – for when we have guests.
I’m so glad you like it!
I’ve made this recipe several times and it is amazing! A family favourite here!
This meal has been added to our regular rotation. I do bone-in chicken thighs, and I also double the spices because I like a lot of flavor. It has been a hit with my family as well as with guests. The flavors pair very nicely together. Thank you for a great go-to recipe.
Can I do bone-in chicken thighs? I am too lazy to de-bone and cut up the thigh meat.
How long should the cooking time be for bone-in thighs?
Thank you.
Yes, you can. 10 minutes should do it.
This was easy and delicious! I used chicken breast because that is what my family prefers and just released the pressure at 12 – 13 minutes.
I’m about to make this recipe and it doesn’t look like it calls for any liquid. Will the liquid from the marinade be sufficient? I’m worried it will burn in the IP. Thank you
There’s enough liquid in the marinade, plus the chicken will release some as it cooks.
I just finished this recipe and the chicken is delicious!! Thank you 😀
This is a go to in my house and has been for a few years! Kids just love it and it’s so easy. I use chicken thighs and marinate it for 24 hours! For those who don’t make the garlic sauce because of the raw egg white, you are missing out. Thanks for another great recipe Joanna !
My pleasure! So glad you enjoy it!
I’ve made this countless times and it’s a family favorite. Super flavorful and so easy. The last step (searing the chicken in oil) gives it a perfect crispy-ness that is so delicious. Not a fan of raw egg so I haven’t tried the sauce. I just whip up my own tahini dressing or eat with hummus, etc.
So glad you like this! Yeah a tahini sauce would be good with this too!
This is the best thing I have ever cooked!! I didn’t have ingredients for sauce so I deglazed pan with left over broth from instapot and then added some cream, and ate it over mashed cauliflower! Seasoning was delish. My picky 15 year old loved it!
I love hearing this!!
Flavors just pop. I just needed a thicker pita. I’d make this again and use grilled eggplant salad.
I’ve made this recipe at least 5 times now and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made! So quick and easy too! I don’t sear the chicken afterwards and I always forget to marinate it so I just dump it all in my Ninja Foodi and it tastes incredible.
So glad you like it! 🙂