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🥘 Skillet & One-Pan · Chicken · Saudi Arabian

Chicken Shawarma with homemade garlic herb yoghurt sauce

Name: Chicken Shawarma with homemade garlic herb yoghurt sauce
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 23 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Saudi Arabian
Ingredients: 1kg Chicken Breast; 2 cloves minced Garlic; 1 tblsp Ground Coriander; 1 tblsp Ground Cumin; 1 tblsp Ground Cardomom; 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper; 2 tsp Smoked Paprika; 2 tsp Salt; 2 tblsp Lemon Juice; 3 tablespoons Olive Oil; 1 cup Greek Yogurt; 1 clove peeled crushed Garlic; 1 tsp Cumin; Splash Lemon Juice

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Chicken recipe with Saudi Arabian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 55 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 35 min total

1kg Chicken Breast
2 cloves minced Garlic
1 tblsp Ground Coriander
1 tblsp Ground Cumin
1 tblsp Ground Cardomom
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Salt
2 tblsp Lemon Juice
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1 clove peeled crushed Garlic
1 tsp Cumin
Splash Lemon Juice

Step-by-step instructions

Start by cutting your chicken up into reasonably small slices. Grab your ziplock bag and dump the freshly sliced chicken inside.
Add garlic, coriander, cumin, cardomom, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil to the bag. Close the bag and mix thoroughly. Place in fridge for 10-12 hours (shorter is fine but longer is better).
Once ready to cook, heat your fry pan to medium-high and add a tiny bit of olive oil. Fry one side of all of your flatbreads until slightly toasty. Remove from pan, add enough oil to coat the fry pan. Put crumble fries into air fryer on 180 for 15 minutes shaking occasionally.
The pan should be pretty hot by now, add the chicken in 2 batches (unless you have a big fry pan) to avoid overcrowding. The chicken should get a nice sear and darker colour which is perfect. Cook for a further 5-8 minutes or until cooked through. Repeat with next chicken batch.
While chicken is cooking, place your Greek yoghurt into a bowl. Combine garlic, finely chopped mint and parsley, squeeze or so of lemon and cumin. Combine and add salt to taste. In a small bowl, combine 1tsp garlic powder, paprika, cumin, onion powder, oregano, dried parsley, cayenne pepper (optional) mix and leave aside for fries.
Season fries immediately once cooked and add salt to taste. Once the chicken is complete, serve immediately by laying out your flatbread, spreading the sauce evenly over the bread, add lettuce, onion, tomato, fries, chicken, feta and more sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Why this works on a weeknight

Chicken Shawarma with homemade garlic herb yoghurt sauce lands at about 35 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Chicken Shawarma with homemade garlic herb yoghurt sauce actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Chicken Saudi Arabian Kebab