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Bringing you all some summery vibes with this Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Golden Butter Fries and Garlic Sauce. These middle eastern-inspired chicken skewers are the homemade “street food” you need in your life. Spicy marinated grilled chicken skewers, served with homemade golden fries, creamy garlic white sauce, and summer cherry tomatoes. This grilled chicken shawarma is simple to throw together, full of fresh ingredients, colorful, super flavorful, and so delicious. The perfect summer grilling recipe to serve any night of the week…or at your next backyard BBQ.
When it comes to summer recipes I tend to favor the fruity, produce heavy recipes over the meaty grilling recipes. You all know I love a fruit-based dessert, a simple summer pasta…with all the cherry tomatoes, crostini with strawberries, or a dinner full of zucchini.
Over the past almost 8 years of HBH, I haven’t shared very many recipes requiring the grill. But with July 4th this weekend I really wanted to share an easy grilling recipe. Enter this chicken shawarma. Chicken shawarma is a classic middle eastern style street food. Traditionally, it is thinly sliced, stacked on a rotisserie, and roasted. But today we’re making it at home and on the grill, with crispy golden oven fries plus the best garlic sauce.
This isn’t your traditional July 4th cookout recipe, but honestly, nothing about this year’s celebrations are going to be traditional. So, I thought we’d break away from the average ribs and BBQ chicken. Very typical of me, I know, but I like to keep things fresh and never boring. That, and my brother has been sending me a lot of messages hinting that I need to make more recipes for the grill…because it’s summer and “the people” love grilling recipes.
I actually took his advice, which I normally hesitate to do, but it all turned out pretty darn good.
Start with the chicken. If you’re unfamiliar with Chicken Shawarma, it’s a simple middle eastern dish that can be made using either poultry, beef, or lamb and is served in or on a pita with a savory yogurt sauce. The chicken is marinated in a mix of middle eastern spices…garlic, lots of lemon, and olive oil. It’s traditional to roast the chicken, but I went for skewers on the grill. You can certainly roast the chicken if you prefer not to use the grill, either works. But the grill adds a nice flavor and chars on the outside while staying juicy on the inside.
For marinating, I toss the chicken with smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric, garlic, lemon, and red pepper flakes. I like to let the chicken marinate while I get everything else together. I’m not sure about you guys, but I can never plan ahead enough to cook a recipe requiring a long marinating time.
It almost never happens, so I usually just do a quick “marinade” of fifteen to thirty minutes. It works.
Golden butter with a little garlic and lots of flaky sea salt, so good. In fact, if you make only one thing from this recipe, maybe it should be these fries. They are delicious. If you love golden rice, but you love potatoes even more, than you’re going to LOVE these fries. They’re hard to stop eating.
Yes, you need to turn your oven on to make these fries (or if you have an air fryer you could certainly air fry them). I promise these fries are so worth it.
There are a few tricks you need to know when it comes to these golden fries.
First, one of the keys here is adding just the right amount of turmeric and garlic. You want flavorful, but not overpowering.
My other tip to these for these crisp oven-baked fries is to be sure not to overcrowd the baking sheet. If you have too many potatoes crowding the pan, the fries will steam instead of crisp. So, if you need to…use two baking sheets…do not overcrowd! It’s better to have extra space on the baking sheet than a pan full of soggy fries. Trust me.
And lastly, add a little butter. The butter adds that richness that the deep frier adds. For whatever reason, it really helps to highlight the turmeric on the fries.
So simple…SO GOOD.
And then finally, the garlic sauce. It’s simple, plain Greek yogurt or avocado mayo, lemon, grated garlic, and salt. But here’s another little tip. The garlic used for the golden fries is roasted whole instead of chopped. If you love a roasted garlic flavor, I highly recommend smashing the roasted garlic cloves into a paste and stirring them into the white sauce. The roasted garlic will add a rich, more in-depth flavor that is so delicious.
Once the fries are close to being ready, and the garlic sauce is made, grill the chicken, and then put it all together. I serve the fries and chicken the classic way they’d do it on the street, with fresh naan/pita, tomatoes, cucumber, and shredded lettuce. I also use homemade naan, but feel free to use your favorite store-bought pita or flatbread.
Last up, add a very generous amount of that garlic sauce…which my oldest brother says is key. He also says to use mayo, never yogurt, in the sauce. Oh, and to crumble on some feta too, because why not?
D.E.L.I.C.O.U.S.
And you know what I love about this recipe?
It’s not just a grilled chicken recipe. Nope, it’s so much more.
It’s an all-in-one meal, there’s even a little salad…if you count the tomatoes and lettuce that I say are “for serving”. It’s all just really good food. The chicken is tender, flavorful, and extra juicy due to the marinating. The fries are pretty much just addicting, and the creamy white sauce really ties it all together.
Just add that naan and the vegetable toppings and you”ll have a complete dinner. I love an all-in-one style recipe that makes getting dinner together simple and easy!
Looking for other summer grilling recipes? Here are some favorites:
Lebanese Chicken with Charred Lemon Cauliflower
California Chicken, Veggie, Avocado and Rice Bowls
Lastly, if you make this grilled chicken shawarma with golden butter fries and garlic sauce, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I can’t find the recipe for the garlic sauce?
Oh my goodness, please disregard— I found it.
Hey Meghan,
The garlic sauce is made in step 3. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Loved this! Your recipes never fail! We paired it with roasted Mediterranean veggies and a sprinkle of feta!
Hey Cristina,
Awesome! So so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xxTieghan
Another fantastic HBH recipe! My partner absolutely loved it. Great flavours, especially the herb shallot oil and garlic yogurt combo on the chicken. Thank you for sharing so many creative, delicious recipes!!
Hey Courtney,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! ☀️xTieghan
This meal was so delicious! Next time I’ll try the sauce with raw garlic instead of roasted. This will be a new recipe for the rotation.
Hey Rachel,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Hi! Chances of you seeing this and responding in the next 30 minutes is probably slim, but it’s worth a shot! I am making this for dinner tonight, and I am confused about the shallots. The recipe says to grill them, and then toss with the herbs and oil. Do you chop them up after you grill them and add to oil and herbs make a sauce like topping? Leave them whole like in your photo? Regardless, I’m sure this is going to turn out delicious. Thank you!!
Hey Jordan,
You can go ahead and chop the shallots, sorry for the confusion! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Followed the recipe exactly,but used the roasted garlic suggested in the notes….so yummy! I had it over greens with cucumber to lighten it up.
Hey Brittany,
I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
This recipe was amazing!!! And these fries I’m obsessed? 2nd time tonight and I made them in air fryer for 30 minutes at 400 degrees they came out so crispy and delicious!
Hey Irene,
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
I have made about 35-40 HBH recipes in the last 3 months. This is one of my favourites! We made it tonight for the second time!
Those fries are killer! You can’t stop eating them!
Hey Melissa,
Thanks so much for making the recipe, I am so excited that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Do you think this recipe would work well with sweet potato fries? Trying to use up what we have in the pantry!
Hey Meg,
Yes, I think that would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I loved it!! I’ve made this twice so far, once I followed directions and marinated and used on the grill – the other time I just used rotisserie chicken and used the ingredients for the marinade to cook it with straight on the skillet – and it turned out great! The FRIES are amazing, and the combination and the dill and shallots are just perfect.
Thank you Mitra! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this recipe last night and it was so delicious, flavorful and filling! The chicken was cooked perfectly in the oven and the golden butter fries were gone from our dinner table within minutes. Thank you as always for another delicious recipe! xo
Thank you Hilary! I am so happy this one turned out so well for you! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
OMG! That chicken. Those fries ? question for you. I’m on a nutrition plan limiting fat intake. If you couldn’t use fat such as oils, butter, yogurt to marinade chicken and meat, how would you do it? What would you use instead? I love every one of your recipes btw!
Hey Glenda,
I would just coat with the seasonings, but without a fat it won’t necessarily be a marinade. Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love the recipe. Thank you! xTieghan
I really want to make this recipe but don’t have a grill. I see there’s an option to make in the oven. If you are doing this option do you still skewer the chicken? Or do you just do it whole? Or do both options work?
Hey Lucy,
Either option will work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
loved by everyone in our family!
Love to hear that!! Thank you! xTieghan
Made this last night. SO delicious! On to your Greek Salmon tonight and Carne Asada tacos tomorrow!
Thank you so much Rebecca! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan