Yes, you read that right! Chicken shawarma on a salad, with the lettuce subbing for the flatbread. This recipe comes from Flavor/Flavour by Sabrina Ghayour, published in 2024. Being a salad lover, this jumped off of the page to me.

From the author, “We go through a lot of shawarma in my house, mainly because everyone loves kebabs. But when I’m feeling like I need a lighter meal, I make this salad. It has all of the components of a classic shawarma. I also now bake the chicken in the oven so that it’s even easier to make. It is a wonderfully fresh, crunchy and satisfying salad, and should you have a bigger appetite, then yes of course, you can serve it with some wraps or flatbread on the side.”

One ingredient I had to buy (thank you again Amazon) was pickled cucumbers. They’re good!

It’s certainly a lighter option to have chicken shawarma on a salad than in a wrap, so this really appealed to me. And it’s delicious! I’ll be making it again.

Chicken Shawarma Salad

For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used chicken tenders)
4 tablespoons Greek style yogurt, plus extra to serve
2 teaspoons garlic granules
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:
1 head of Romaine lettuce, sliced
4 large tomatoes, halved and sliced (I used cherry tomatoes)
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4-6 large pickled cucumbers, sliced diagonally
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Sriracha

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Put all the chicken ingredients into a mixing bowl and season generously with salt and pepper, then use your hands to mix well and ensure the marinade coats the top and underside of each thigh. (I let the chicken tenders marinate overnight.)

I remove the tendons from the tenders before using. I find them unsightly and I don’t want to bite them.

Transfer the chicken thighs to the lined tray and roast for 40-45 minutes until lovely and charred and cooked through. (I cooked the tenders only 35 minutes and they would have been better after 30 minutes only.)

Remove from the oven, slice the cooked chicken thinly and set aside.

Place all of the salad ingredients together on a large platter. Squeeze over the lemon juice, add a little drizzle of olive oil, and season well with salt and pepper, then gently toss together.

Add the chicken slices and toss again, then drizzle with yogurt and some Sriracha, and scatter over a little extra coriander if desired.

This salad is wonderful. And the Sriracha mixed with yogurt is perfect with the chicken.

The one thing I couldn’t resist was to put the salad and chicken in some lavash. Salad is great, but I love wraps!