CHICKEN SHAWARMA & MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES

February 02, 2024

This Chicken Shawarma & Mediterranean Vegetables has been on repeat for meal prep - it's so flavorful! Think spiced crispy chicken thighs with savory roasted vegetables, satisfying couscous, and dill yogurt sauce. This recipe can be made dairy-free using plain unsweetened coconut yogurt, or gluten-free using quinoa instead of the couscous. For vegan, you could try marinating tofu in the spices, olive oil, and lemon! However you make it, I hope you enjoy!

Did you know? One chicken thigh provides about 30% of your daily selenium (source). Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce DNA damage and oxidative stress. It's also key for thyroid health! Low levels of selenium have been linked to autoimmune thyroiditis and hypothyroidism.

Picking the best chicken

When it comes to chicken, I look for "organic" or "free range" with "no antibiotics." This means at the minimum, the chickens were raised with "some" access to the outdoors, and that they were not administered antibiotics due to disease or dirty living conditions. "Pasture-raised" or "humane certified" are better indicators of the chicken's welfare. 

You can use chicken thighs or chicken breasts, but chicken thighs are definitely juicier and more flavorful! Chicken breasts are of course slightly lower in fat.

Shawarma spices

Shawarma is a traditional Middle Eastern spice blend used to season rotisserie meats. This shawarma seasoning combines fresh garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground cardamom, and smoked paprika. The cayenne is optional for a little kick! If you don't have all these individual spices, you can buy shawarma seasoning on Amazon. 

Mediterranean veggies

I used eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and red onion in my vegetable blend. Carrots, beets, turnips, or squash would be delicious too! It's important to buy organic bell peppers since they consistently make the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen list of produce with the most pesticides. Pesticides are at the top of the list of endocrine disrupters on Endocrine.org!

I seasoned tossed my veggies with avocado oil and seasoned with ground cumin, smoked paprika, sea salt, and black pepper.

Couscous or quinoa?

If you're gluten-free, you will want to use quinoa since couscous is a pearl-shaped pasta made from wheat. I am not gluten intolerant so I love couscous! However, my husband is gluten intolerant so I made him quinoa. The trick to quinoa is to rinse it really well in a fine mesh sieve. This gets rid of the powdery residue and any bitter taste!

Yogurt dill sauce

The yogurt dill sauce couldn't be more easy. All you need is some plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage brand because it's thick), fresh minced garlic, fresh lemon, and dried dill weed. You could use three times as much fresh dill, but I had dry on hand. It's so yummy I want to eat it with everything! You can also use plain unsweetened coconut yogurt for dairy free. 

Here's the printable recipe for this Chicken Shawarma & Mediterranean Vegetables. I hope you'll rate and comment below if you try it :)

This post contains affiliate links and was created in collaboration with Metabolic Nutrition. 

Chicken Shawarma & Mediterranean Vegetables

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Category

Dinner

Cuisine

Mediterranean

Servings

6

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

268

This Chicken Shawarma & Mediterranean Vegetables has been on repeat for meal prep - it's so flavorful! Think spiced crispy chicken thighs with savory roasted vegetables, satisfying couscous, and dill yogurt sauce. This recipe can be made dairy-free using plain unsweetened coconut yogurt, or gluten-free using quinoa instead of the couscous.For vegan, you could try marinating tofu in the spices, olive oil, and lemon! However you make it, I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. raw boneless skinless chicken thighs

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

• 1 tsp. (1 clove) garlic, minced

• 1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander*

• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin*

• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom*

• 1 tsp. smoked paprika*

• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Yogurt sauce:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt*

• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1 tsp. dried dill*

Mediterranean vegetables:

• 2 cup eggplant, diced*

• 1 1/2 cup red pepper, sliced*

• 1 1/2 cup zucchini, sliced*

• 1 cup red onion, sliced*

• 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided

• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper 

*See blog post for notes and substitutions.

Directions

1. Combine spices for chicken in a small bowl (minced garlic, coriander, cumin, cardamom, paprika, salt, pepper, optional cayenne). You can also use store-bought seasoning.

2. Rub chicken thighs with spices and squeeze with lemon. Set chicken aside to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours (or at least 30 minutes).

3. Combine yogurt, lemon, garlic and dill then place in the fridge to chill.

4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

5. Toss vegetables with 1 tbsp. olive oil, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 15 minutes, then stir vegetables and roast another 10 minutes for even cooking. Set roasted vegetables aside.

6. If desired, prepare couscous or quinoa according to package directions as a side.

7. Pan-fry chicken thighs in a skillet over medium heat with remaining tablespoon of oil for 5 minutes on the first side, then 4 minutes on the second side or until crispy and cooked through.

8. Serve chicken shawarma with Mediterranean vegetables, yogurt sauce, and couscous if desired.

9. For meal prep, divide six equal servings into meal prep containers. These will keep in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for up to a month.

Recipe Note

Calories (1/6th chicken and vegetables, minus couscous): 268kcal, Fat: 14.8g, Sat fat: 3.7g, Carbs: 9g, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Protein: 28g, Sodium: 615mg

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