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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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I see a lot of recipes also have cumin in it may I ask your thoughts on that?
Absolutely Love This!!!
Absolutely perfect
I want to thank you so much for this recipe, I have been searching for quite a long time for an authentic recipe and this a really amazing spice for shawarma.
I tried this and it’s so delicious! The only thing I changed is I left out the vinegar because my husband has an aversion to it but it’s lovely with just the spice mix and oil. I’ll probably try it with the vinegar if I’m fixing it for myself. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
To scale this recipe from 21 pounds of meat to 1 pound of meat, divide each ingredient quantity by 21. Here are the adjusted measurements:
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
Is there such a thing as pork shwarma. Now I have a shwarma pan. It’s a round pan with a metal skewer screwed in the centre. So pound out meat and layer on top. Instead of allspice and clove I’ve used mace so not as strong tasting for those that aren’t found of those spices. Can’t wait to make this. I use whole spices when I can and grind them in my coffee grinder. Thanks
Can you marinate chicken overnight with this?
I only have black cardamon will that work for this recipe? Thanks!
Someone higher in the comments said they tried it with black cardamom and they thought it was horrible… They didn’t say why and I’ve never tried black cardamom but perhaps there’s a big difference between the two (?) types.
I just got back from Israel and was hoping to duplicate the seasoning they used there and I don’t think this is it. It just wasn’t the same. It’s quite possible there are different shawarma seasonings depending on what country you’re in so I’ll make sure to look for an Israeli seasoning on my next recipe hunt. To me, this one mimicked something a little more like a garam masala seasoning.
Just gotta ask is this another chicken seasoning
Beautiful recipes build up, thanks so much, am gonna try it today, i remember this recipes was the best ever in those days when i work in lebanese restaurant.