This easy to prepare crispy chicken shawarma bowl is a new favorite! Pair with a tangy lemon tahini sauce, tomato, and pickles in a bowl or wrap for lunch or dinner.
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Yet again, I’m thrilled with the performance of my air fryer to achieve perfectly cooked chicken bites. I’m really skeptical of kitchen gadgets, but I’m using it at least 2-3 times per week. If you hate spending extra time in the kitchen and struggle to cook meats and veggies perfectly, this is the right tool.
Three factors which will ensure that the texture is perfect with this crispy chicken shawarma bowl:
- Use cornstarch to velvet the chicken
- Make sure the chicken pieces are well spaced apart in the air fryer / no touching at all
- Evenly misting the chicken with olive oil (use a pump mister instead of propellant can to avoid a sticky, permanent coating on cookware
For the tahini sauce it’s important to follow the order of addition of ingredients, the mixture will get thicker and appear to clump before thinning out again.
The chicken and sauce taste amazing over romaine or iceberg lettuce, as a salad, but will do equally well over rice or cauli rice, or in a pita or wrap for portability.
Crispy Chicken Shawarma Bowl
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small bite sized pieces, pat dry
- 2 tbsp. shawarma spice blend
- 0.5 tsp. Kashmiri chili powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. olive oil, from mister
For the Tahini Sauce:
- 2 tbsp. natural tahini
- 2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 0.5 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
- 1/4 cup water
For the Bowls:
- 1.5 cup diced tomato, fresh or canned (liquid drained)
- 4 cups chopped or shredded romaine lettuce
- 10-12 baby mini dill pickles, sliced
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts into small bite sized pieces and pat dry to remove excess moisture
- Place chicken in a large bowl and add in shawarma spice, chili powder, and cornstarch. Mix until the chicken pieces are thoroughly coated.
- Pre-heat air fryer for 3 minutes at 360oC, then add chicken pieces spaced apart. Mist the pieces with olive oil. The pieces should not be touching, so cook in batches if air fryer basket is small.
- Cook for 5 minutes, shake the basket, mist again with oil, and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
- Transfer cooked chicken to a bowl and cook the second batch.
- While chicken is cooking, make the Tahini sauce. Place 2 tbsp. tahini and 2 tbsp. white vinegar in a small bowl and stir to combine. then, add 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1/4 cup of water, garlic powder, and 1 tsp. of the shawarma seasoning. Mix thoroughly – it will start to smooth out. The final mixture should be runny – thin out with additional water if it seems too thick.
- Make a bowl: Assemble the bowl by using 1 cup lettuce, 1/4 of the pickles, 1/4 of tomato, and 3oz. of cooked chicken. Drizzle 1/4 of the Tahini dressing over the top
Notes
- Nutrition for the entire recipe = 959 kcal, 107g protein, 36g fat, 49g carbs. Recommend divide into 4 servings
- Enjoy with pita, rice, or wrap in a lavash. For a lower carb option, use a low-carb tortilla.
- If you’re tracking, I’ve created a custom entry in MyFitnessPal. Search foods for “MODUS ENERGY CRISPY CHICKEN SHAWARMA BOWL & TAHINI DRESSING”
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