Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma
The following recipe, video and photography were provided by our partner, Alissa DiSanto of Sauced By Sunday.
When you’re craving Middle Eastern food, but don’t necessarily want to order takeout, turn to your trusty slow cooker!
A classic dish that you see on restaurant menus is chicken shawarma! Traditionally very tender and filled with flavor, you might be surprised to learn that all it requires is chicken, stock, ground spices and tahini!
Started in the slow cooker and finished quickly on the stovetop, this dish proves that big flavor can come in the form of a low-effort meal!
Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma
Cook time: 120min Prep time: 20min Total time: 140min
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Gerber’s CARE Certified boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground sumac
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. paprika
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground cloves
- ¼ cup olive oil or nonstick spray
- ¼ cup tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp. water, or as much as needed to achieve desired consistency
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Instructions
- Place the chicken into the slow cooker with chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on high for 1 ½ hours.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the lemon tahini sauce by combining the tahini, lemon, water, garlic and salt. Add as much water as you need form a thick paste (start with a teaspoon at a time).
- To create the spice mixture, add all of the spices to a small bowl, starting with ground cumin and working down to the ground cloves. Mix well.
- Once the chicken is cooked, drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with spice mixture.
- Over medium-high heat, preheat a grill pan or a nonstick skillet with olive oil or nonstick spray until hot.
- Once the pan is hot, add the chicken. Allow the chicken to brown for 2-3 minutes on the first side, being careful not to touch it.
- Give the pan a light drizzle of olive oil or a spray of nonstick spray before flipping the chicken to the other side. Cooking another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan immediately and slice it against the grain.
- Serve with the lemon tahini dipping sauce
Notes
- Serve this dish with rice, fresh herbs such as parsley or mint and/or pickled red onion to make a more complete meal. A nice squeeze of fresh lemon gives it a nice zing, too!
- The chicken, spice mixture and lemon tahini sauce can all be made in advance. Simply store the chicken and tahini sauce in airtight containers in the fridge, and the spice mixture in an airtight container in the pantry.
