Sheet-Pan Chicken Shawarma (with Chickpeas, Peppers and Tahini-Yogurt Sauce)
Bone-in chicken thighs rubbed with a shawarma-style spice mix, lemon and garlic and roasted at 475°F on one sheet pan with red onion, chickpeas that turn crunchy and red peppers added late, then spooned over rice with a lemony tahini-yogurt sauce and herbs.
Serious Eats built this tray for a weeknight from the same idea as the halal cart platter: warm spice, chicken and yellow rice under a creamy sauce. In the headnote Laila Ibrahim writes about the pleasure of peeling back the foil on a cart platter, and says this sheet-pan version "brings that abundance home". Craig Ruff in Serious Eats' Birmingham, Alabama, test kitchen solved the timing: the chicken, onion and chickpeas go in first so the skin can render and the chickpeas can crisp, and the peppers go in for the last stretch so they keep some bite. One spice blend of coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon and black pepper seasons everything.
It is shawarma in name and spice only: no spit, no thin slices, just one hot pan. That is the point of a Fast weeknight recipe, and why it sits next to the Levantine Beef Shawarma.
Why it works the kitchen science
Staggered vegetables
The chicken and chickpeas need the whole time to render and crisp, and peppers added late brown at the edges without collapsing.
Thighs to 175°f and up
Dark meat with bone and skin stays juicy well past 165°F, and the extra time renders the skin crisp.
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the spice mix in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk 6 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp salt, half the garlic and 2 tbsp spice mix. Add the chicken, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
- Step 2
Meanwhile, set racks in the upper and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 475°F.
- Step 3
Arrange the chicken skin side up on a rimmed baking sheet, leaving the edges free. Toss the onion and chickpeas with 2 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp spice mix and spread them around the chicken. Roast on the lower rack until the chicken and onion start to brown, about 18 minutes.
- Step 4
While it roasts, whisk the yogurt, tahini, honey, 2 tbsp oil, the rest of the garlic, 1 tsp spice mix, 1/2 tsp salt, the remaining 3 tbsp lemon juice and the zest, adding water until the sauce pours.
- Step 5
Toss the peppers with the last 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp spice mix and 1/2 tsp salt. Pull out the pan, flip the onions and scatter the peppers around the chicken.
- Step 6
Roast on the upper rack 15 to 20 minutes more, until the vegetables are browned, the chickpeas crisp and the chicken reads 175 to 185°F (well past the 165°F minimum).
- Step 7
Spoon rice into bowls, top with chicken, vegetables and pan drippings, drizzle with the sauce and finish with herbs, black pepper and lemon wedges.
Sheet-Pan Chicken Shawarma (with Chickpeas, Peppers and Tahini-Yogurt Sauce)
Serves 6 · 1 sheet pan · 1 hr 15 min total
Spice mix
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper, plus more for serving
- 3/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Chicken and vegetables
- 11 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided (6 + 2 + 2 + 1)
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest plus 5 tbsp lemon juice (from 2 large lemons), divided, plus wedges to serve
- 3 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half as much table salt), divided
- 3 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 6 oz each), patted dry
- 1 medium red onion (8 oz), cut into 1-inch wedges
- 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 small red bell peppers (8 oz), sliced 1/4 inch thick
Tahini-yogurt sauce
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 tbsp honey
- Water, as needed
To serve
- Halal cart-style yellow rice (see New York Halal Cart Chicken and Rice) or plain rice
- Parsley, mint and/or cilantro
Method
- Whisk the spice mix in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk 6 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp salt, half the garlic and 2 tbsp spice mix. Add the chicken, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
- Meanwhile, set racks in the upper and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 475°F.
- Arrange the chicken skin side up on a rimmed baking sheet, leaving the edges free. Toss the onion and chickpeas with 2 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp spice mix and spread them around the chicken. Roast on the lower rack until the chicken and onion start to brown, about 18 minutes.
- While it roasts, whisk the yogurt, tahini, honey, 2 tbsp oil, the rest of the garlic, 1 tsp spice mix, 1/2 tsp salt, the remaining 3 tbsp lemon juice and the zest, adding water until the sauce pours.
- Toss the peppers with the last 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp spice mix and 1/2 tsp salt. Pull out the pan, flip the onions and scatter the peppers around the chicken.
- Roast on the upper rack 15 to 20 minutes more, until the vegetables are browned, the chickpeas crisp and the chicken reads 175 to 185°F (well past the 165°F minimum).
- Spoon rice into bowls, top with chicken, vegetables and pan drippings, drizzle with the sauce and finish with herbs, black pepper and lemon wedges.
Adapted from Serious Eats, "Chicken Shawarma Sheet-Pan Dinner" (recipe developed by Craig Ruff, headnote by Laila Ibrahim; August 20, 2026), serves 6. We follow it as written: the seven-spice blend; 6 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, half the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the blend for 6 bone-in thighs; a 475°F oven; chicken, onion and chickpeas on the lower rack about 18 minutes; peppers added and the pan moved to the upper rack for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the thighs read 175 to 185°F; and the tahini, yogurt, honey, lemon and garlic sauce. Serious Eats lets the chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes or refrigerates it up to 24 hours; we refrigerate it the 30 minutes (Food safety baseline). The rice is the source's serving suggestion, without an amount. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Leave the edges of the pan free so the chickpeas and onions have room to crisp, not steam.
- The marinated chicken holds in the refrigerator up to 24 hours; do it the night before for a 45-minute dinner.
- Keep the extra spice blend for roasted vegetables or the next batch.
- Boneless thighs cook faster: check them at 165°F after the first 18 minutes.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- It's not shawarma without a spit. Folklore as a rule, but fair: Serious Eats says it captures the cart platter's "spirit"; the dish is a sheet-pan dinner with shawarma spices.
- Shawarma spice is one fixed blend. Folklore: this recipe uses seven spices, the Levantine Beef Shawarma uses thirteen, and Wikipedia gives no single blend.
- Chicken must come off at 165°F or it dries out. Folklore for thighs: Serious Eats takes bone-in thighs to 175 to 185°F on purpose.
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