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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.
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Yes I did and loved it, and your site here is very well done, thanks for all you work you put into it.
Stony
Fantastic recipe!!
I actually use this entire amount on a single package of boneless thighs!
And we’ve used it now 12 x and have adapted it here and there if we’ve run out of certain spices…simply wonderful!
Hi. Can i marinate my chicken/meat, and then freeze them for future use?
I make Shawarma in the slower cooker & use this seasoning all the time I love it. Try the beef recipe that goes with this. It is to die for. I always can’t what till it is done & the garlic mayo that she gives is amazing. I never thought to use this on chicken but now I want to try it. The only reason I tried this was because it was in The Avengers movie. LOL. Loved it ever since I tried it.
Love this recipe, I’ve tried others but nothing can beat this one. Thanks for sharing
Hi. So ow much of the spice mix do you add when marinating? Can’t seem to find that listed with the oil, vinegar and salt. Thanks
I love shawarma and thanks so much for the recipe
Makes restaurant styled shwarma. Loved it!!
This shawarma seasoning is heavenly. I use it for legumes as well as meat.
It’s perfection.
Makes DELICIOUS shawarma! We loved it!
I’m looking forward to making this – I love shawarma. A question for you … what kind of chili powder do you use? Is it the same kind that’s used when making a pot of chili? I know that type sometimes has extra spices in it like salt.
Thank you!
I gathered all my old spices for the shawarma seasoning and made a big batch and put it in its own shaker. It smells really good. For a few hrs, marinate the boneless skinless chicken thighs in the seasoning along with olive oil, white vinegar and a homemade garlic dressing(equal parts mayo and plain yogurt) a few cloves Crushed Garlic and alittle lemon juice and grill the chicken over high heat.
Let it sit for at least 10mins, cut it up, line shredded lettuce, tomato half slices, red onion, on a warm pita bread, arrange cut chicken on top, then top pita with leftover garlic sauce.
I used this recipe just for the shawarma seasoning mix (I made a 1/2 batch) and have to say the flavor was bang-on to any beef shawarma I’ve ordered from a restaurant. I’d made a rather tough round roast the previous evening so sliced the remaining cooked roast into thin strips, tossed in a little olive oil, lemon and vinegar and a few tablespoons of the shawarma seasoning to marinate then sauteed on low heat. My daughter commented multiple times how good the meat tasted. This will be my go-to shawarma seasoning going forward. Delicious!
About to make this seasoning, however all spice is pretty much equal parts cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Why not just add 1/2 of all spice?
Hi Kevin, in this case, allspice is not a spice mix like garam masala. It’s an actual dried brown berry. Hope that helps!
I was just wondering if you double the oil, vinegar and salt if you are doing two pounds of meat?
Hi Ronda! Yes, you’ll need to double it all for a double batch.
My spice mix tastes pretty bitter.. not sure what spice is causing that. Any ideas to cut the bitterness?
Did you make sure you used green cardamom? I didn’t know there were 2 types when I made a previous recipe. I ended up using black cardamom instead and it was absolutely horrible.
I made this today and used it in meatballs and on roasted potatoes. It was delicious! I was out of oregano, so I put in a bit of basil instead. It made a generous amount, so I have some stored in my pantry for next time and have some samples ready to share with friends.
Scrolled through this pretty fast but did not see if how long this would keep in a dry, tight container. I live alone and will make a smaller batch (really trying to eat better and since my doctor suggested the Mediterranean diet I am having fun trying new things) but still would like to know the shelf life. Thanks
Hi Penny! I would say if you used fresh spices the seasoning would be good for about 4-5 months. If you’ve had your spices in the cabinet for a while, I’d say about 2 months. If you’re getting close to the shawarma seasoning “expiring” I suggest just marinating chicken/beef/lamb with the seasoning, salt, and oil and freezing the meat. Add the vinegar right before so the meat doesn’t over tenderize! It’ll be good for another month or two that way!
My wife is allergic to garlic powder (in fact all garlic). Any possible alternate suggestions of just leave it out?
Hi Jeffrey! You can replace the garlic powder with 2 tablespoons onion powder if that’s something she can have. Otherwise you can just omit it from the recipe 🙂
I am so happy I found this, I had been giving Shawarma seasoning from a friend who was shocked I’d never heard of it before and I feel absolutely in love. When I ran out I couldn’t find the seasoning in my grocery store and was super bummed but luckily found your recipe and it is very very close to the premade seasoning! I use yogurt, olive oil, and a pinch of garlic salt to marinate the chicken and it comes out soooo good! I also make a creamy dill sauce to go with this with lime juice, dill, garlic salt, yogurt, and sour cream, I really recommend giving it a try, the two together are fantastic! Thanks so much for this recipe!!
So glad to hear you made the shawarma seasoning, Britt! Love the ingredients you used to make a sauce, gonna have to try that, sounds delish!