Crispy Chicken Shawarma Wraps

There's a reason shawarma wraps have taken over the internet. Crispy chicken, warm bread, cool sauce — a whole meal you eat with one hand while the kids argue over the last chip.

This is our house version. Nothing scary, everything you can pick up at Woolies.

Serves 4 · Prep 15 min · Marinate 30 min · Cook 15 min

For the chicken

  • 1 kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp cumin, ground
  • 2 tsp coriander, ground
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Juice of 1 lemon

To serve

  • 4 large flatbreads or Lebanese bread
  • 1 cup thick garlic yoghurt (Greek yoghurt + 1 crushed garlic clove + squeeze of lemon)
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced and quickly pickled in the juice of ½ lemon
  • Handful of parsley, chopped
  • Golden shoestring fries (bake or air-fry)

Method

  1. Mix all the chicken marinade ingredients in a bowl. Turn the thighs through it and rest for 30 minutes on the bench (or overnight in the fridge).
  2. Heat a heavy pan — cast iron if you have it — over a medium-high flame until it's smoking. Sear the thighs 4–5 minutes each side until deeply coloured and cooked through.
  3. Rest 5 minutes on a chopping board, then slice thinly across the grain.
  4. Warm the flatbreads for 20 seconds each in a dry pan.
  5. Layer garlic yoghurt down the centre of each bread, then chicken, pickled onion, parsley, and a small handful of fries. Roll tight, tuck the ends, and slice on the diagonal.

Serve it on a wooden board

A long serving board turns four wraps into a share plate. Ours is the Bamboo Sushi & Serving Board — cheap trick that makes a weeknight dinner feel like an event.

Made this? Tag @woodencollection.au and we'll share the good ones.