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Make a big batch of homemade shawarma seasoning and use it to season all sorts of stuff like chicken, beef, and roasted chickpeas! It tastes just like the store-bought shawarma seasoning but way better! We always have a jar of this stuff on hand!
Shawarma seasoning that will make your heart sing.
Shawarma has got to be one of the most popular middle eastern dishes out there!
This one has been a long time coming. Not only are the two of us big shawarma fans, we’re also picky shawarma eaters. That means just any old thing won’t do. It has to be the best. So it took some tinkering on my part when I set out to make the best homemade shawarma seasoning. And friends, it’s here! This is seriously amazing stuff.
What I love most about homemade seasonings is that you’re in the driver’s seat. You have full control. And that control comes into play most when it comes to the amount of sodium in your seasonings. Stating the obvious here but store-bought seasonings are loaded with salt and/or sugar. But not our homemade version. I’ve modeled this shawarma seasoning off of one that we absolutely love and I have to say, it’s pretty close to perfect!
Shawarma has got to be one of the most popular middle eastern dishes out there! Essentially, shawarma seasoning mixture is a dry rub used to marinade chicken, lamb or beef in homemade spices. Load your grilled chicken or beef into warm pitas top with pickles, shredded lettuce, garlic sauce, tahini, slice tomatoes, and sometimes, we’ll even pop in a few french fries right in there with the meat!
Just came here to say that this will be my third time in three weeks making chicken shawarma with this incredible spice recipe! It’s absolutely delicious, and I’ve taken to making big batches of chicken with it so that I have leftovers for a few days.
Simply wonderful, thank you so much for the shawarma goodness!
Ingredients in shawarma spice blend:
- Black Pepper
- All Spice
- Garlic Powder
- Ground Clove
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Ground Cardamom
- Chili Powder
- Dried Oregano
- Kosher Salt
How to make homemade shawarma seasoning blend:
Making homemade shawarma seasoning in large batches isn’t difficult. I know that some of these are a unique ingredient you may or may not have used before. If it’s a spice you don’t find your self using often, consider shopping the bulk spice section of your grocery store to avoid buying full-sized jars of shawarma spices.
With this recipe, you’ll make enough seasoning for 21-23 lbs. of meat.
Now, if you’re wondering if you can use cayenne pepper, rosemary, cumin, or coriander as these are ingredients that are sometimes used in other shawarma recipes, the answer is yes! Remember this is your blend so if there’s an ingredient that your favorite shawarma seasoning usually contains, you can use it. Start in the 2-3 teaspoon range and work your way up. The spices I used are what my favorite Middle Eastern grocery store uses in their spice blend and we love it this way.
Why you need to make a batch of this seasoning
When it’s 5 o’clock and you need a quick and easy dinner recipe, start with a pound of thinly sliced chicken. Toss it in this seasoning mix that contains plenty of unique spices and sear it up in a skillet.
Serving suggestions:
- pita bread
- shredded lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes
- homemade toum
- French fries
- fluffy vermicelli rice
- serve along side a fattoush or Shirazi salad
Watch how quickly the family comes running to the table!
Using this shawarma seasoning blend
When you want to prep the shawarma meat, combine 1 tablespoon of seasoning with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Add a little salt, and a pound of meat or poultry. Let the chicken marinate for 10-20 minutes. For beef shawarmas like this bowl, let marinate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours. The flavors just really absorb right into the steak and it’s melt-in-your-mouth good.
I’ve even used this homemade spice blends to season roasted vegetables with! Serve it up with tahini sauce – it’s so good!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pitas (Arayes)
- Spicy Lebanese Potatoes (Batata Harra)
- Homemade Vermicelli Rice
- Lebanese Meat Pies (Sfeehas)
- Beef Shawarma Bowls
Most Delicious Homemade Shawarma Seasoning
Ingredients
- ¼ cup ground black pepper
- ¼ cup ground allspice
- ¼ cup garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
- To marinate the shawarma meat: you'll need 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon white vinegar + ½ teaspoon salt. Allow chicken to marinate for 10-20 minutes and 1 hour to 24 hours for beef. Here's a recipe for my beef shawarma bowls and beef shawarma wraps.
Notes
- This makes enough to season about 21 pounds of meat. Use about 1 tablespoon of seasoning per pound of chicken or beef. The batch can even be made larger by simply doubling or tripling the recipe. You can also halve the recipe for a smaller batch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
AMAAAZING!!! My first time making home made shawarma. This seasoning was key. Thank you so much.
So happy to hear you gave it a go, Catherine! Appreciate you circling back to leave a review 🙂
This was exactly like a restaurant’s shawarma! My husband actually said it was better! This was such a huge hit. Only thing was the beef ended up slightly chewy but I didn’t sear it as long so that might have been the issue. But still absolutely amazing. The flavor was spot on.
I’m so happy to hear it was enjoyed, Farah! Did you make the meat in the instant pot, or did you use a cut that just needed to be seared on the grill? If you just seared it, did you cut it against the grain? If not, that could be why it was chewy. If it was in the IP, perhaps it just needed a few additional minutes of cooking time 🙂
Thanks for the tip! I seared it and then let it go in the instant pot. Just tried it again and it was perfect. I could seriously eat this every week.
Thank you. I mage it and it was great.
Any chance you could make a recipe for a smaller amount? It sounds amazing!
I’m excited to try this recipe! How strong is the clove flavor? My husband isn’t the hugest fan of it and I normally leave it out of recipes (but I love the complexity it adds!).
I didn’t think it was too strong but we like clove so that could be why! You’re welcome to cut back on the ground cloves by half or even less (or just leave it out) if you feel he wouldn’t like it!
Just came here to say that this will be my third time in three weeks making chicken shawarma with this incredible spice recipe! It’s absolutely delicious, and I’ve taken to making big batches of chicken with it so that I have leftovers for a few days.
Simply wonderful, thank you so much for the shawarma goodness!
How would this work to marinate a beef tritip roast?
I think it would work well! I’d marinate it for at least 4 hours and up to 12.
Thanks! for the lovely authentic Shawarma spice recipe which I’ve been trying to make. Unfortunately, it didn’t come out the way that it tasted when you get it from the food stall outside. I followed your recipe and made the Shawarma last night. It was delicious!! Instead of vinegar I added lemon juice and a little bit more chili powder to make it spicer. Hmmm!! Yummy!
Thinking of using yogurt the next time to marinate the meat and a lot more olive oil.
thanks for the recipe, loved th e flavour, most shawarma recipes add cumin and i dont like cumin ,also i make a chicken and herb rice with tumeric added could i add a half tsp of the shawarma spice to it ?
Glad you like the shawarma seasoning, Donna! You can certainly add some of the shawarma seasoning to your herb rice, which by the way, sounds delish! 🙂
This sounds like a very delicious spice blend, aromatic and full of perfume, and probably just the one I like. So why have I got into my head, that everything middle eastern needs a nice pinch of cumin.
Hi , I am just wondering what’s best to use for ground cardamom? Green or the black.one? ??? coz I recently called an indian store and asked if they have ground cardamom and asked me what do I prefer? Black or green. I was like , what? So what do you think should I buy? Green or black? ?? thanks and I really love to try your recipe.
You’ll need the green kind for this recipe!
I tried this today and I’m very pleased with the results, many thanks for the recipe.
I’m curious why you add salt when marinating it as well as putting it in the spice mix. Any reason to not just add another 3 1/2 tablespoons of salt to the spice mix?
Hey there! You can up the salt in your seasoning mix if you’d like, it shouldn’t be a problem. I prefer to add just a hint to the seasoning mix as it allows me more control when I’m using the seasoning in a recipe that may have other sources of sodium.
Just recently discovered your blog. This shawarma seasoning mix was absolutely delicious. I used it with chicken and served with pita. My entire family, even my very picky 4 year old grandchildren, loved this. Hooray! Finally got them to eat something with a little seasoning. The allspice gives this a wonderfully warm flavor that my grandchildren really liked. I have used a variety of seasoning mixes (harissa, baharat, blackened spice mix, etc) but they liked this the best. Thanks so much for sharing. This is a keeper. Next time will try with beef.
Would this be a good seasoning for burger patties ?
It sure would!
I made your Shawarma seasoning and marinated a chicken breast as you suggested and it was perfect! I substituted the chili pepper for half a tbs of cayenne pepper and it worked to perfection. Thank you very much for sharing your recipe, you have other great recipes that I will be trying but this one is fantastic.
Hi, is the chili powder the recipe calls for the same chili powder we use in Mexican cooking? Or does it refer to a different type of chili? Thank you!
Hi Nadia, any mild chili powder will work for this recipe. Generally, shawarma seasoning isn’t very spicy so a mild Mexican chili powder would work just fine. If you prefer spicier foods, feel free to add a spicier type of chili powder or even cayenne pepper! Hope you enjoy the seasoning! 🙂
Curious… no rosemary in the recipe… Is it unnecessary?
We just finished our shawarma seasoning bag straight from Isreal (in law went on a trip, I’m not that fortunate lol) & the bag had dried rosemary bits in it. It was AMAZING. I’m looking for a recipe & found yours! Would love your thoughts on whether it’s needed… luckily, we have plenty rosemary plants. Cant wait to try this out!
Hi Sarah! I think there’s no right or wrong answer with the rosemary. Each middle eastern country has their own take on shawarma seasoning and with each country, I’m sure you’ll find a little something added to the mix. My local grocery store that makes shawarma seasoning in-house doesn’t use it in their blend (I modeled my homemade version after theirs) but you can certainly add in some if you’d like! Or you can make the entire batch, divide out half and add rosemary to half and see which batch you prefer 🙂
How do I make the All spice? What specific type of all spice is thus?
In this case, allspice is a single spice (or ingredient) sometimes also referred to as Jamaican Pepper. It’s not a combination of spices like garam masala. Here’s a link to the product if you’re having trouble finding it in your area.
How important is the cardamon? Just wondering in case I can’t find it.
Cardamom adds that perfect flavor profile to shawarma seasoning, you can omit it if you’d like but I do think you’d miss out on some of that ‘authentic’ flavor. It’s easily available on Amazon if you’d like to order it online 🙂