Low Carb Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Have you ever craved a flavorful and healthy meal that is quick and easy to make? Look no further, because Shawarma Spiced Chicken Lettuce Wraps are here to satisfy your taste buds and nourish your body.

Inspired by the traditional Middle Eastern shawarma dish, these wraps are packed with aromatic spices, juicy chicken, and fresh vegetables and a garlic infused yogurt dressing all wrapped up in crisp lettuce leaves.

Get ready for a delicious journey ahead!

Traditional shawarma is made by stacking marinated sliced beef, lamb or chicken on a spit and then cooking it vertically over an open flame, think rotisserie flipped 90 degrees. The cooked meat is then sliced across the original slices while still on the spit, creating thin fragrant juicy slices.

Not the easiest recipe to recreate at home.

Instead, this recipe packs all of those wonderful spices and aromatics into an easy to prepare, healthy meal you can make at home.

Low carb or Traditional

This recipe is written for lettuce wraps, a nice gluten free, low carb option.

If you want to be a bit more traditional, use fresh soft flat bread instead. This grilled flatbread would be ideal, but if you don't want to go to the extra effort you can opt for:

• pita bread
• naan
• lavash bread

While it might not be authentic, the filling would even be delicious in a flour tortilla.

Ingredients for Shawarma Spiced Chicken Wraps

Did you peek at the ingredients and panic? Take a deep breath and relax, most of it is the spice blend. And yes, you want every single one for a perfectly balanced flavor.

Luckily, all of the ingredients should be readily available in a traditional grocery store.

• boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• lemon juice
• olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
• Spices:
  • ground coriander
  • ground cumin
  • ground allspice
  • turmeric
  • ground cinnamon
  • cayenne pepper
  • smoked paprika (sweet is okay, smoked is better)
  • salt and pepper

Yogurt dressing

• Greek yogurt
• clove garlic
• lemon juice
• ground cumin, dill weed, salt and pepper

Lettuce Wraps

• Bibb or Romaine lettuce leaves or soft flatbread (see above)
• tomato slices or cherry tomatoes
• cucumbers

If you want to slice up some lemons and grill them up on a grilling pan it is not only pretty when served, but lets diners add a squeeze of lemon if desired.

Recipe

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

 

Shawarma Spiced Chicken

• 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1½ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (or 4 b/s chicken breasts)
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Greek Yogurt Dressing:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Lettuce Wraps

• Bibb or Romaine lettuce leaves
• tomato slices or cherry tomatoes
• cucumber slices
• 1-2 medium lemons, cut in thick slices (optional)

Instructions

 

• In a medium bowl, combine garlic, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons olive oil and spices. Whisk to combine.
• Place chicken in a large, zip-to-lock plastic bag and pour marinade mixture on top. Seal the bag and thoroughly coat chicken. Refrigerate for several hours to overnight.
• To prepare the yogurt sauce, combine all ingredients in a glass or other non-reactive bowl and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bag and discard remaining marinade. Add the chicken to the hot skillet and brown on each side, approximately 2 minutes per side.
• Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, approximately 6-7 minutes per side. Remove from heat and let cool for several minutes.
• Optional: on a grill pan or in the skillet from the chicken heated over high heat, grill the lemon slices for 2-3 minutes a side to get some color.
• Slice chicken and arrange on lettuce leaves. Top with tomatoes and cucumbers and Greek yogurt dressing. Serve with lemon slices if desired.