Whenever the AK team and I get together to work in person, there’s a high chance we’re ordering chicken shawarma wraps from Sinya in Chicago. It has thinly sliced, slow-cooked, perfectly spiced chicken with tomatoes, pickles, and an addicting garlic sauce, and these meatball bowls might be a love letter to our favorite lunch.
These chicken shawarma meatball bowls are filled with those warming, delicious flavors of shawarma, plus seasoned rice, fresh salad, and a creamy tahini sauce.
Scoop up every dreamy bite with warm torn pita, and add a little hummus if you’re feelin’ extra fancy! Your weeknight dinner is looking better than takeout.
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What is shawarma?
Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern street food made with thinly sliced, slow-roasted meat like lamb, beef, or chicken. The meat is beautifully seasoned with spices like cumin, turmeric, and garlic, and is often eaten in flatbread or pita wraps with fresh salads and sauces.
This meatball version incorporates those cozy spices and rolls them into juicy, flavorful chicken meatballs that get served “deconstructed” in a bowl with fresh salad and tahini sauce. SO GOOD.
Ingredients in these chicken shawarma meatball bowls
Every bite of the meatballs, rice, salad, and sauce together is absolutely magical thanks to the wonderful combo of spices. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- For the rice: you’ll cook long-grain white rice (like basmati) with sautéed onion, garlic, fresh turmeric, salt, and pepper. Feel free to cook it in water or chicken broth.
- For the meatballs: we’re mixing lean ground chicken with shredded zucchini for moisture, an egg and panko breadcrumbs for binding, and then all of the cozy spices like sweet paprika, garlic powder, cumin, ground turmeric, and ground cinnamon.
- For the salad: add freshness to your bowl with a simple salad made with cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, red onion, fresh parsley, lemon juice, and salt.
- For the sauce: that creamy tahini sauce is made with tahini, whole-milk plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and a touch of maple syrup.
Make these bowls your own
There are a few simple ways you can customize these bowls with ingredients you have on hand:
- Pick your meat: feel free to use ground turkey or lamb in place of the chicken.
- Choose your rice: long-grain white jasmine rice, or a long-grain brown rice will also work. Just note that brown rice takes much longer to cook and will taste different.
- Try a new salad: my Smashed Cucumber Avocado Salad or my Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad would pair beautifully.
- Experiment with a new sauce: the tahini sauce adds such a lovely creaminess, but my Homemade Tzatziki Sauce is a great swap or addition.
Gluten-free & dairy-free substitutions
- To make gluten-free: simply use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs or 2-3 tablespoons of coconut flour in the meatball mixture.
- To make dairy-free: use plain dairy-free Greek yogurt in the sauce, or try my original tahini sauce recipe.
Looking to add more veggies?
It’s easy! You can simply:
- Julienne 1 large red bell pepper
- Toss it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Place it on the sheet pan in between the meatballs and bake as directed in step 5.
Save time and prep this dish ahead
Feel free to make the rice, sauce, and/or meatballs in advance. There are two easy ways to do this:
- Prep the meatballs. Place the meatballs raw on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper, tightly cover them with plastic wrap, then store them in the fridge 1-2 days ahead of time until you’re ready to cook.
- Cook the meatballs & rice. Alternatively, you can fully cook the rice and meatballs, store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge, and simply reheat them when you’re ready to enjoy the bowls.
- Make the sauce. You can also make the sauce ahead of time and store it in a container or jar until you’re ready to eat! You may just need to add a little more warm water to thin it out after it has been in the fridge.
This recipe is also great served with microwaveable rice if you are in a pinch!
Make these bowls a little heartier
I love serving these chicken shawarma meatball bowls with hummus to make them go further! Try any of these delicious hummus recipes:
- Roasted Garlic Hummus
- Garlic White Bean Basil Hummus
- Cilantro Pistachio Pesto Hummus
- Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus
- Roasted Beet Hummus
Storing tips
I’d recommend storing all of the components (meatballs, rice, salad, and sauce) in separate, airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Simply assemble the bowls when you’re ready to enjoy them!
Tools you’ll need
Check out all of my fav kitchen tools here!
More meatball recipes you’ll love
- Greek Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Orzo & Creamy Feta Yogurt Sauce
- Herby Chicken Meatball Pitas with Jalapeño Tzatziki
- Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce
- One Pan Baked Pesto Orzo with Chicken Meatballs
- Jalapeño Coconut Curry Chicken Meatball Bowls
Get all of my meatball recipes here!
I hope you love these chicken shawarma meatball bowls! If you make them, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Chicken Shawarma Meatball Bowls
Ingredients
- Rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon of fresh grated turmeric (or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric)
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (such as basmati), well-rinsed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups water or chicken broth
- Meatballs
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 pound lean ground chicken
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salad
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 persian cucumbers, quartered and sliced
- ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Tahini Sauce
- 3 tablespoons tahini (I like Soom)
- 3 tablespoons plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Optional serving
- Warm pita bread for scooping/dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Cook the rice: Place a medium pot over medium heat and add in olive oil. Once oil is warm add in onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and turmeric and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add in the rice, kosher salt and stir until rice is evenly coated, 30 seconds. Add in the water and bring the rice to a gentle boil over medium-high heat for 1 minute, then immediately cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 to 18 minutes until rice is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, then replace the cover and allow rice to steam for 5 more minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper, as needed.
- While the rice cooks, shred the zucchini and prepare the meatballs: Use a box grater to shred the zucchini. Place a paper towel or clean dish towel/cheese cloth over a large bowl and squeeze ALL of the moisture out of the zucchini. Discard the liquid, then place the zucchini back in the large bowl. It should equal about ½ cup.
- Form the meatballs: To the same large bowl, add the ground chicken, panko, egg, salt, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Use clean hands to mix until well combined; avoiding overmixing, otherwise meatballs will become tough. Form into 20 golf-ball sized meatballs, placing on the prepared baking sheet, at least 1-inch apart.
- Bake the meatballs: Bake until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the meatball reads 165 degrees F, 15 to 18 minutes.
- While the meatballs bake, prepare the salad and make the sauce: In a medium bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, parsley, lemon juice, and salt. Stir until well-combined, then set aside at room temperature to allow the flavors to come together.
- Make the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, water, garlic, maple syrup, and salt until well combined and smooth. Add more taste to taste, if needed.
- Assemble the bowls: Add a scoop of the rice to one side of a shallow bowl, then add the 5 meatballs next to it and about 1/4th of the salad next to that. Drizzle sauce on wherever you’d like. Serve with warm pita bread for dipping and scooping, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This is a wonderfully exotic meal in a bowl! This recipe will be going into my rotation. Thank you for the flavorful combination of protein, veggies, and a carb drizzled in a tangy sauce!
So glad you loved it! One of our favs 🙂
I used ground chicken. Did not make every side dish, liked the yogurt sauce with garlic and lemon juice. The chicken meatballs were Good. I added chopped onion to the mixture. Had leftovers for the next day and the next day ! THANK YOU Monique !
Love it! Glad you enjoyed!
What percentage of fat for chicken do you use ? If I use chicken breast do
I put in a couple TBSP oil for fat?
For meatballs I use 93% ground chicken! Will you just be cooking chicken breast instead of making meatballs?
This is a must make! The flavors are fantastic! My son LOVED the meatballs and sauce served with naan bread. Highly recommend adding red peppers to the meatballs to cook! Thank you Monique for one again knocking it out of the park!
So happy to hear that! One of our new all-time favs 🙂
These were delicious and sooo flavorful! Even my toddler ate it!
I’m so glad!!
Everything was absolutely delicious! It was easy enough to make on a weeknight with 3 little kids running around so that means it will (happily) stay in our rotation. And the kids actually ate it without complaining (mostly ha!) Thank you for the recipe!
Amazing! So glad thsee were a hit 🙂
Everything was completely delicious, I did add red and orange peppers and thought they were a good addition. Love the tahini sauce so I doubled it to have extra. I think 20 minutes for prep time is extremely understated.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
This was a crowdpleaser and the flavors work together so beautifully. This will stay in our rotation for sure.
So glad it was a hit!
Another great meatball recipe – my husband even asked if it was from the “meatball lady’ because we like so many AK meatball recipes. I substituted 3 tsp of Eastanbul shawarma seasoning for the spice blend but otherwise made it exactly per the recipe. We’ll make this one again!
Haha love that (I clearly love meatballs over here!) Glad these were a hit!
This was amazing! I’m having leftovers for lunch today! 🙂
So happy to hear that!
I made this exactly as written and it is delicious and easy. The tahini sauce is the bomb.com. I could put that on anything. Thanks for another winner!
So good! Glad you loved it!
Delicious! This meal was so warm and cozy. The meatballs are packed with so much flavor and pair perfectly with the turmeric rice, tahini sauce, and cucumber/tomato salad. A recipe we will definitely make again!
So glad you loved it! one of our new favorite meals 🙂
Made this for my family this week and it was fabulous! Loved being able to prep the meatballs one day and the rest the next. Didn’t have time to make the rice so we opted to do pita “tacos” if you will and all of the flavors were still excellent.
So happy to hear that! Tacos sound delicious, too 🙂