Crispy Chicken Wrap (Shawarma Inspired)

A Crispy Chicken Wrap recipe that is SO GOOD, it is going to bring street food directly to your house! This is an easy chicken wrap inspired by authentic Middle Eastern flavors.

Make this super easy and crispy wrap with pan-fried chicken, fresh vegetables, a homemade tahini sauce, and a quick shawarma glaze, bringing the authentic taste of street food directly to your kitchen table.

Why This Recipe Works

Making a chicken wrap is our favorite thing to do; they're so easy to make and so filling that they fit perfectly in an everyday diet with just a few variations. For a few years, we stuck with a classic chicken Caesar wrapbut we love trying new food.

During our recipe testing, we created a chicken shawarma, but it was too heavy for our diet. With this crispy chicken wrap version, you have the authentic taste of the classic recipe, but with a lighter filling that's ready in just a couple of minutes.

What Is Shawarma?

Shawarma is a traditional, popular Middle Eastern street food. The meat is marinated in spices, stacked on a rotating vertical spit, and roasted slowly. The tender meat is then shaved off and stuffed into warm flatbreads or pitas along with garlic sauce and vegetables.

Why Shawarma?

We love savory spices, but even if they're a reliable, we needed something lighter and much faster for our everyday diet. We decided to capture that exact street food taste and bring it into a simple, crispy chicken wrap. The chicken is pan-fried, and using a quick homemade glaze on the bread, you get all those shawarma flavors in a simple chicken wrap that is ready in minutes.

Ingredients

When figuring out how to make chicken wraps that actually taste like street food, the secret is in the details. To make this crispy chicken wrap, we focus on a few ingredients to get the right texture and flavor.

• Chicken thighs: We always use boneless, skinless chicken thighs here. Thighs stay juicier and absorb the spiced marinade perfectly. If you only have breasts, just be careful not to overcook them!
• Pita bread thins: This is crucial for the crunch! While you can definitely make a chicken tortilla wrap using standard flour tortillas, wholemeal pita thins toast up beautifully in the skillet with the glaze and hold the fillings without tearing. For a low-carb alternative, you can completely skip the bread and serve the filling as chicken lettuce wraps.
• Runny tahini: Tahini gives the garlic yogurt sauce that authentic Middle Eastern flavor. If you don't have it, you can leave it out and just use extra Greek yogurt or a tiny bit of mayonnaise, but we highly recommend using the tahini for a reliable taste.

Note: See full list of Ingredients and measurements in the Recipe Card below.

Additions and Substitutions

If you are looking for ways to switch up this recipe, it is incredibly versatile. Here are a few things we like to add or substitute depending on what we have in the fridge:

• Extra flavor: A dash of hot sauce is great if you want a spicy kick, or you can toss the cooked chicken in a little buffalo sauce before assembling if you are craving a buffalo chicken wrap.
• The protein: While we use sliced chicken thighs, you can easily use minced chicken to make quick ground chicken wraps. If you happen to have leftover crumbed chicken on hand, you can slice that up to make a breaded chicken wrap or a fried chicken wrap. For a leaner option, use chicken breast to make a grilled chicken wrap.
• The carbs: If you want to skip the bread entirely, spoon the warm chicken and salad filling into crisp butter lettuce leaves for fresh chicken lettuce wraps.

Also, sometimes we like to add a little bit of avocado with some extra red onion for crunch, and switch the tahini sauce for sour cream to make it lighter. You can even add cheese, bacon, and a little bit of ranch dressing to give it a classic chicken wrap vibe. Just a quick note: we do not recommend using buttermilk as a dressing or adding thick tomato slices inside. The extra liquid will just make the bread perfectly soggy instead of giving you that beautiful crispy finish!

On the stove

To make this chicken wrap as fast and easy as possible, please start marinating the chicken. Toss the chicken thighs with all the spices, tomato paste, lemon juice, and oil. Mix until every piece of the chicken is FULLY coated.

While the chicken sits, whisk together the garlic tahini yogurt sauce and keep it in the fridge. In a separate small bowl, mix the spiced tomato glaze, and quickly toss the tomato and onion salad together.

Having the three stations ready helps to make the cooking process so much easier.

Cook the chicken in a skillet with a little oil over medium high heat for about five minutes to get some color on the meat. Add the fresh veggies, grated garlic, and a pinch of salt; mix for another five minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through and the peppers have softened.

When we test different chicken wrap recipes, we find the toasting step is the MOST important part. Take the tortilla and spread a generous layer of the garlic tahini sauce, the warm chicken, and fresh salad. Roll it up tightly. The key to making it CRISPY is toasting the wrap. Toast it in a skillet or a sandwich press for a minute or two on each side to seal it. But that's not it; coat the outside of the wrap with the shawarma glaze right in the pan and let it cook until the outside is golden. This extra brushing step is exactly how you get a reliable crunchy chicken wraps right at home. Serve them warm!

Kitchen tip

• Do not overstuff the pita: Controlling the filling is important here, but if you add too much, it's going to complicate the rolling process. Keep the portions moderate so you get a tight and secure seal. Also, in this way, it avoids the filling coming out of the chicken wrap.
• Get the pan hot: Make sure your skillet is heated before adding the marinated chicken thighs. In this way, the chicken sears properly and gets good color.
• Warm the tortilla first: We like to warm the tortilla for a few seconds in the microwave or in a skillet before assembling. This makes them easier to fold and helps to prevent them from cracking.
• Brush the glaze at the end: When you are toasting the wraps, wait until the last minute to brush with the glaze. Cook for a few seconds after. That's how you make CRISPY chicken wraps.

Serve it with

If it is a good wrap, we normally serve it alone, but this one is so good paired with a few fried chips or sweet potato wedges to share. It helps keep the taste and that fun Middle Eastern street food vibe going. If you want to make the meal a bit lighter, add some fresh Greek salad on the side to balance everything out.

Cook notes

For this recipe, we created a homemade garlic tahini sauce. If you like to go for classic ranch dressing or sour cream, that's never going to fail.

Chicken wraps can easily fit in an everyday diet. If you make them at home, you can control the ingredients and keep the calories in check. Just use a drizzle of sauce, and you can always swap the chicken thighs for chicken breasts or tenderloin for a leaner option.

The secret to a truly crunchy chicken wrap is toasting it in a hot skillet or sandwich press after assembling. We brush the outside of the pita with a glaze right in the pan, which toasts up into a crisp crust. Also, the tortilla matters here; for this recipe, we choose the pita bread, which gives us a better crunch once toasted.

What you need

• 1 lb chicken thighs cut into thin pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• 1⅓ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander ground
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ⅓ tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 green bell pepper finely sliced (capsicum)
• 1 red bell pepper finely sliced (capsicum)
• 4 cloves garlic grated
• ½ tsp salt
• cooking oil spray or a drizzle of olive oil
• ¾ cup low fat greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp runny tahini
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic grated
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp coriander ground
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp cumin powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
• 1 red onion finely sliced
• 5 tsp fresh coriander chopped
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tbsp honey
• pinch salt and pepper
• 3 tortillas pita bread thins, wholemeal

Method

1. In a bowl, combine chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, chili powder, tomato paste, lemon juice, and oil.
2. Mix well until chicken is fully coated. Reserve.
3. In a bowl, whisk together yogurt, tahini, honey, lime juice, garlic, salt, cayenne, and ground coriander.
4. Mix every ingredient until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5. Mix tomato paste, avocado oil, water, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin powder in a small bowl. Set aside.
6. Combine tomato, onion, fresh coriander, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss well and set aside.
7. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook for about 5 minutes.
8. Add sliced capsicum, grated garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt.
9. Stir and cook for about 5 more minutes until chicken is fully cooked and capsicum softened.
10. In a tortilla or pita wrap, spread a little bit of garlic tahini sauce.
11. Add chicken capsicum mixture and onion tomato salad.
12. Grab both sides of the tortilla and fold it carefully.
13. Toast it in a skillet for 1–2 minutes on each side.
14. Then coat the wrap with shawarma glaze and cook until golden and crispy. Serve warm.