Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma is a quick and easy homemade pressure cooker version of shawarma that’s healthy, requires very little hands-on time and delivers a delicious punch of bold flavor. Make a chicken shawarma wrap with pita bread or make a shawarma rice bowl. Serve with hummus, garlic sauce, tahini sauce or hot sauce, and pickles, lettuce, tomatoes , onions, french fries.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
I’m a huge fan of gyros and shawarmas. Both are street food sandwiches made out of succulent meat wrapped in flatbread or pita and both have a common ancestor: the doner kebab which is Turkish street food, created during Ottoman times.
But there are some important differences between shawarma and gyro.
Gyros originated in Greece. Gyros are generally made from pork, lamb, and/or beef and are served with a cucumber yogurt sauce called Tzatziki. Gyro meat is usually flavored with Mediterranean spices like oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.
Shawarma has its origins as a Middle Eastern / Arabic street food and is made from chicken, lamb, or beef. It’s served with a tahini sauce (made from sesame seeds) or garlic sauce. Shawarma meat has very different spices from gyro meat – it’s flavored with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and coriander.
This delicious chicken shawarma pressure cooker recipe is adapted from a stovetop shawarma recipe I’ve been making for many years. I have family living in the Middle East and was introduced to Arabic food during my visits there.
I feel that my recipe is healthier than what you’d get at a shawarma fast food place because when you make chicken shawarma at home, you don’t get that fat dripping back into the rotisserie meat as you do from a takeout place.
I like to eat Instant Pot chicken shawarma with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and/or onions. Often times I make this Mediterranean Salad that I like to serve on the side or to fill the shawarma with, instead of lettuce and tomatoes.
The garlic sauce / white sauce recipe that I’ve included in the recipe card is my own concoction that I just kinda made up! I serve it with all kinds of foods including Mexican fish tacos or carnitas.
My kids like to add french fries into the shawarma wrap like some of the street-food doner kebabs we ate during a visit to Istanbul. It’s actually quite good! You could substitute sweet potato fries to make them healthier.
Instant Pot Shawarma can also be served with accompaniments like pickled cucumbers, hummus, tabbouleh, or fatoush (Middle Eastern salads). Try it with this delicious mujadara rice and lentil dish.
Another way of eating the chicken shawarma is as part of a shawarma rice bowl, arranging the toppings side by side. You might like to try using my recipe for Instant Pot rice. If you use the Pot-in-Pot method, you could make both chicken shawarma and rice at the same time.
And here’s a tidbit of trivia for you if you’re a fan of Mexican food: Tacos al Pastor was introduced by Lebanese immigrants to Mexico and is an adaptation of shawarma! It always fascinates me how the foods of the world are so interrelated.
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Marination
Although the recipe states that you can marinate the chicken 2 hours to overnight, I’ve made this without any marination ahead of time and the flavor is still amazing.
Chicken
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I prefer to use chicken thighs in general and especially in the pressure cooker. The flavor is much superior to chicken breasts, which have a tendency to dry out. That being said, I’ve had readers who use chicken breast and like the results.
Browning
I like to quickly saute the chicken in a frying pan or cast iron skillet but you don’t need to do that; you can just remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and allow to drain well before placing directly in your pita or flatbread.
Spices
I mix up a larger batch of the dry spices and store them in a bottle in a cool dry place, that way I can save time if I want to make this dish on a busy night.
Grilling
In the summertime, I use the same marinade and make this Instant Pot chicken shawarma by pressure cooking boneless whole chicken thighs for 10 minutes, finishing on a barbeque grill, and slicing into thin strips before assembling the shawarma.
Liquid
Although it might seem that there isn’t enough liquid for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, I’ve never had trouble building pressure in my 6 quart Instant Pot with this recipe.
That being said, if your Instant Pot is picky about the quantity of liquid (eg. some newer model Instant Pots, particularly the 8 quart Instant Pots and burn messages), please add ¼ cup of chicken broth or a little extra yogurt. You might want to increase the quantity of spices if you do that.
FAQs
Double all ingredients but keep the cooking time.
It’s not essential to saute the chicken at the end, but it adds caramelization and flavor. If you have the time, it’s worth it.
Yes, you can use whole thighs or chicken breasts if you wish:
– whole boneless thighs – pressure cook for 9 to 10 minutes
– whole bone-in thighs – 12 to 13 minutes
– whole chicken breast – 8 minutes
– chicken breast (cut into pieces) – 4 to 5 minutes
Feel free to shred the chicken after it’s cooked.
If your Instant Pot is prone to getting the burn message, add an extra ¼ cup of broth before pressure cooking. Also, make sure to deglaze the Instant Pot so that no brown bits are stuck to the bottom of the pot before you pressure cook.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- General Instant Pot Instructions for Beginners
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma – Ingredients List
- Chicken
- Cloves
- Coriander
- Yogurt
- Lemon juice
- Paprika
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Garlic
- Bay leaves
- Cardamom
- Cumin
- Salt
More details in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post
How to Make Chicken Shawarma in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Marinate chicken
- Add chicken to Instant Pot
- Add remaining ingredients
- Pressure cook
- Release pressure
- Brown chicken
- Simmer to thicken
Marinate chicken
- In a large mixing bowl, combine coriander, cumin, paprika, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, yogurt, and garlic.
- Add chicken to the marinade and stir. Refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
Saute chicken and mushrooms
- Transfer chicken to Instant Pot inner pot.
- Add bay leaves and stir to combine.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 5 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads ‘5′ (5 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 5 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 5 minutes (00:05).
- Press Start.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Naturally Release Pressure (NPR) on the DUO and ULTRA
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). The float valve will be in the down position. This may take 15 to 30 minutes. [Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
Brown chicken
- Stir up the chicken.
- Using a slotted spoon, drain the chicken well and transfer it to a serving bowl, and discard the sauce.
- Heat some oil in a frying pan or cast iron skillet. Saute the chicken till lightly browned, adding some of the sauce to deglaze and keep the chicken moist.
Assemble the pita
- Lightly heat the pita to make it pliable.
- Spread garlic sauce / white sauce on the pita.
- Add your choice of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions.
- Add chicken on the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Optional toppings: feta cheese, hummus, pickled cucumbers.
- Roll the pita up tightly.
Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Shawarma
- ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder or 3-inch piece of cinnamon stick
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves powdered
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup yogurt
- 2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 kg) cut into 2 inch strips
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoon olive oil (for stovetop version, or for optional browning of Instant Pot version)
- Chopped parsley for garnish
- pita to serve
- Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes
- Optional toppings: cucumbers, sliced onions, hummus, feta cheese, pickled cucumbers, french fries or sweet potato fries
Garlic Sauce / White Sauce
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or whole milk yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ⅛ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ jalapeno pepper chopped finely (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine coriander, cumin, paprika, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, yogurt, and garlic.
- Add chicken to the marinade and stir. Refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight if you have the time.
Instant Pot Instructions for Shawarma
- Transfer chicken to Instant Pot inner pot.
- Add bay leaves and stir to combine. Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally. If you're in a hurry, do a 10 minute natural pressure release (NPR) i.e. allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, and release remaining pressure using quick release (QR). [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Stir chicken and sauce.
- Transfer chicken to a serving dish using a slotted spoon, draining well.
- Optional but recommended: Heat olive oil in a large frying pan or cast iron skillet. Saute the chicken till lightly browned, adding some of the reserved sauce to deglaze and keep the chicken moist.
Stovetop Instructions for Shawarma
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add olive oil. Saute chicken for about 10 minutes, or until chicken browns.
- Transfer chicken to a serving dish.
Garlic Sauce / White Sauce
- Combine all ingredients for garlic sauce / white sauce in a medium bowl.
- Whisk together until smooth and set aside.
Chicken Shawarma Assembly
- If necessary, lightly heat the pita to make it pliable
- Spread garlic sauce/white sauce on the pita
- Add lettuce and tomatoes
- Add your choice of optional toppings
- Add chicken on top
- Garnish with chopped parsley
Notes
- This recipe was tested with a 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Instead of using lettuce and tomatoes, try substituting this Mediterranean Salad.
Nutrition
Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Some Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Ellen says
I made this tonight and it was delicious. I had only about 1/2 hour to marinate and it came out great. i did not use the white sauce, instead used Tzatziki and it was a great and authentic addition to the wrap. I also poured off and reserved some of the cooking lliquid after NPR, leaving a little, and sautéed and deglazed right in the instant pot and the chicken was moist and tasty.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks Ellen, for sharing your modifications. Tzatziki sauce is great. And sauteing in the Instant Pot is a great option too.
Johanna says
I made this last night and I believe it will become a regular in our house. My husband and I have been so sad ever since a great shawarma restaurant near our house got turned into a French restaurant.
I marinated the chicken for about a day prior and I think it really helped to keep it moist and full of flavor. Followed the recipe exactly afterwards and my house was so fragrant! My kids didn’t like the white sauce, but they ate some of the marinated chicken with pita, veggies and hummus. I also added sweet potato fries. The dinner was fantastic. I’m so happy I found your blog, thank you!
Steve says
I’ve made this recipe twice. I’ve had some really good shawarma and this is highly comparable. Letting it marinate over overnight makes a world of difference. This recipe is now going to be in permanent meal rotation at our house. We like ours with a hot sauce. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Steve! I agree that marination for at least a few hours is always best. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Jennifer says
I’m super excited to try this recipe since my significant other and I really enjoy Chicken Shawarma at restaurants. I do have a question though, do you think the recipe would still be ok if I used dairy free yogurt? I’m lactose intolerant so when we eat it out at a restaurant I just take a pill so the dairy doesn’t effect me. I’d prefer not to do that at home if I don’t have to and can make the food myself. There are some really good coconut milk based yogurts out there but I don’t know if they would work as a substitute.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Jennifer, do you use dairy free yogurt in other pressure cooker recipes? If you do, then I see no reason you wouldn’t be able to substitute. However, I’m not sure what happens to those yogurts when you pressure cook them, so I can’t say for sure – I would try it out with a small amount first so you don’t waste in case it doesn’t work out. Thanks for your question.
Amy says
This was DELICIOUS! The only thing I changed was that I added some turmeric and did not make the sauce. We ate it with hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, and thinly sliced sweet onion. So good!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Amy! I’m glad you liked the recipe – it’s great for a leftover lunch too or on a salad!
Andrew says
Hi there, would this work with chicken breast as well?
Thank you it looks great!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Andrew, I’m not a fan of cooking chicken breast in the Instant Pot because it is a lean meat and the IP is best for meats with some degree of fat 🙂 However, since the chicken is submerged in liquid I think you can use chicken breast and pressure cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Hope you like it.
Missy says
I’m part of a freezer meal group. Could I make this ahead of time, freezer it and then Instapot it at a later date. I would be freezing the raw chicken with the marinade.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Missy – my only concern would be freezing the yogurt. Frozen and thawed yogurt can have a watery consistency but since you’re cooking it anyway maybe it would be okay?
CarS says
I made this tonight and it was really very good. I had no issues with it coming up to pressure or cooking it for the amount of time as written.
When it was done cooking in the IP I browned it in a cast iron skillet for about 5 min to give it some crusty texture. Then I put it on a bed of hummus and added tomatoes and shredded lettuce. The house smells like a Greek restaurant for an added bonus. Thank you for sharing this much healthier version as the one I had previously called for using 1/2 c of oil to marinate. Your recipe was just as tender and flavorful. ! 😁💜
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you for your kind comment – I do love the aroma of the spices in this recipe too.
Debra Daniel says
Hey,
Thank you for shawarma recipe, I really really like the way you explained it, Me and my family like shawarma when we ate it in asian restaurant so i’m going to try this one in upcoming weekend where we set together once in a week so this will be amazing can you please tell me if i use persian saffron in it ? Because i have purchased saffron in good saffron price that is why thinking to make a twist in it, this will be perfect or not give me some suggestion.
Thanks
Debra
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Debra, any type of saffron would work. Hope you like the recipe!
HeathenIbis says
Do you have a hot sauce recipe that could go with this? Every chicken shwarma I’ve had in the Middle East had a spicy red sauce as an option and we like our food really spicy.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
One of my favorite sauces is harissa sauce, which is a red pepper and chili hot sauce. It’s quite spicy and yummy! Mina’s Harissa sauce is the brand that I find in my local grocery store.
suja md says
Great, this is the recipe I have searched for a long time. The easiest and with the ingredients which are available to me. And to use my instant pot is perfect. I started loving shwarma after I had it in Dubai. This is the closet recipe which I was looking for. Glad I find it at last.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Suja – I’m really glad you liked it; I have family in Dubai too 🙂
Shashi at SavorySpin says
Just reading through your recipe is making my mouth water! I spent my teen years in Abu Dhabi and grew to LOVE chicken shawarma – its been so long since I had it and now I need to go get me an Instant Pot! It was good to chat with you at the conference this past weekend – even though it was for a few seconds – looking forward to meeting you again and chatting more!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Shashi – so great to meet you too! Hopefully next time we’ll be able to chat some more. This recipe is adapted from my stovetop version, so you can do it on the stove too 🙂 I’m looking forward to trying out some of yours!
Ducky L. says
Delicious! My four year old had three servings of this dish. Thank you for sharing it.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Yippee – pleasing a four-year-old is a true seal of approval! Thank you for letting me know.
Kat says
THIS WAS AMAZING! I have 2 teenagers who eat me out of house and home. I made an 8 pound batch in my instapot. Used limes instead of lemons, because that is what I had. My boys polished off all of it in 2 days!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Kat, can definitely relate!! When all three of mine are at home, I have to cook more and no leftovers! Great to hear that you were able to scale the recipe. Thanks for your comment!
Cory Snider says
Easy to read, large graphics, right to the point. Excellent work!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Cory! Hope you like the recipe.
zouhair fiorino najjar says
Awesome recipe..recipe saved and posted to all my sites on social media..pleased to follow you on Facebook..Twitter…instagram..
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Zouhair – that’s so nice of you. I’m so glad you liked it!
Ele says
Maybe it’s just me, but 5 minutes wasn’t enough to bring the chicken’s temperature to 165°. I added 20 minutes. Something to consider.
Ele says
You forgot to mention that the instant pot needs at least 1 cup of water in order for pressure to build.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi there Ele, the quantity of liquid an Instant Pot requires to come to pressure can vary from model to model. You will need to add the quantity that’s right for you. It’s not essential for the liquid to be water – the yogurt and lemon juice work just as well. My Instant Pot comes to pressure with the ingredients that I’ve listed in the recipe but your Instant Pot may require additional yogurt or broth, as I mention in the Tips section.
sandra says
I made this recipe last night in a 6 quart duo instant pot. I followed the recipe as written. My pot would not seal! It hissed and hissed and steamed. I cancelled and added a 1/4 cup of chicken broth as noted. Tried again, no luck. I opened it again and the chicken was cooked so I put it on a sheet pan under the broiler, basting with the an juices until it was browned. I think the problem is because (and I missed this) that when waiting for pressure the first time, most of the liquid had boiled off leaving a little bit of a browned area at the bottom of the pot. The 1/4 cup of broth wasn’t enough to get me back on track.
I assembled as described and it was delicious!!
Anyway, I will make this again, but saute on the stovetop & use the broiler again
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Sandra – good point, you probably needed more liquid. Glad it worked in the end. It is easy enough on the stovetop too. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Tricia Morris says
I can’t wait to try this recipe tonight with all of those fabulous spices! Thank you for all the great tips. I’ve started using chicken thighs for everything because of your use of it in recipes and the fact that it turns out perfectly every time. Thank you for your hard work developing recipes with wonderful step by step photos and tips. Much appreciated!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Tricia – that’s so nice of you to say – thank you! It’s my pleasure to share these recipes with you.