These chicken shawarma pitas get you TWO pitas for 430 calories and 45.1 grams of protein, and the whole thing takes about 30 minutes. Warm flax pitas, a swipe of hummus and Greek yogurt, juicy shawarma chicken, and a big scoop of cool cucumber salad with avocado, mint, and dill on top.
The salad is doing double duty here. It’s my creamy cucumber salad, the one you shake up right in a container, and it’s creamy enough that you can skip making a separate sauce… it’s the topping AND the dressing.
Shawarma is a Middle Eastern street food, traditionally shaved off a slowly turning vertical rotisserie. For my at-home version, I use my loaf pan chicken shawarma, tender thighs baked in warm spices and lemon. Have it cooked ahead and dinner is mostly warming pitas and piling things on.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Chicken Shawarma Pitas with Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Serves: 6 servings (2 pitas each)
- Calories: 430 cal
- Protein: 45.1g
- Fat: 18g
- Carbs: 31.4g
- Why You'll Love It: Warm flax pitas spread with hummus and Greek yogurt, piled with loaf pan chicken shawarma and a creamy cucumber avocado salad with mint and dill. Two pitas have 45.1 grams of protein!
What Makes These Pitas Different
A lot of chicken shawarma pitas get stuffed with a tomato and cucumber salad plus a garlic or tahini sauce. These keep it simpler. The cucumber salad is already creamy from nonfat Greek yogurt and avocado, and the lemon, mint, and dill taste SO fresh next to the warm spices in the chicken.
The other trick is the bread. Joseph’s flax pitas are 9 carbs each, which is how you get two full pitas per serving with 7.5 grams of fiber.
Before You Start Prepping
- Cook the chicken first. This recipe uses 24 ounces of cooked chicken shawarma, so bake it ahead or use any protein you’ve already prepped.
- Use a container with a lid. The cucumber salad gets shaken right in the container, so grab one big enough to toss everything.
- Slice the cucumbers thin. Thin slices soak up the creamy dressing and fold into the pitas without sliding out.
- Mix your spread first if you like. Stir equal parts hummus and Greek yogurt together, then you only need 20g per pita.
- Tracking macros? Search “Lillie Eats and Tells Chicken Shawarma Pitas with Creamy Cucumber Salad” in MyFitnessPal, MacrosFirst, or Lose It. Changing things up? Here’s how to create a recipe in MyFitnessPal. My weekly meal plans come with complete macros on every recipe and a new plan every Thursday if you’d rather not do the math at all.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Joseph’s flax pitas: At 9 carbs each, they keep two pitas per serving macro-friendly. For gluten free, I like BFREE Foods chia tortillas.
- Persian cucumbers: These little cucumbers slice thin and stay crunchy in the creamy salad.
- Avocado: It makes the cucumber salad creamy along with the yogurt, so don’t skip it.
- Fresh mint and dill: Two tablespoons of each give the salad its fresh, herby flavor.
- Nonfat Greek yogurt: It’s in the salad and the spread. For dairy free, my favorite swap is Forager plant-based sour cream.
- Hummus: Half of the spread on each pita. Any hummus you like works.
How to Make Chicken Shawarma Pitas
- Make the cucumber salad. Add the cucumbers, avocado, mint, dill, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and water to a container and shake or toss well.
- Warm the pitas. Heat them on both sides in a hot skillet with a light spritz of oil and a pinch of salt, just until hot and flexible.
- Spread. Give each pita about ⅔ Tbsp hummus and ⅔ Tbsp Greek yogurt (10g each), or 20g of the two stirred together.
- Pile it on. Top each pita with 2 oz chicken shawarma and 2 oz cucumber salad. Add lettuce, tomatoes, or red onion if you’ve got them around, and finish with an extra squeeze of lemon.
How Many Calories Are in a Chicken Shawarma Pita?
It depends a lot on the bread and the sauce. Restaurant shawarma pitas usually come on big pitas with plenty of garlic or tahini sauce. This version uses flax pitas, hummus, and nonfat Greek yogurt, so two pitas land at 430 calories with 45.1g protein, 18g fat, 31.4g carbs, and 7.5g fiber.
What to Serve with Chicken Shawarma Pitas
Two pitas make a full meal, but if you want a side, my tabouli salad with feta, brown rice, and cauliflower is the one I reach for, since tabouli is a Middle Eastern classic too. Feta parsley potato wedges make it heartier, and if you love extra dipping sauce, cucumber dill sauce is great on the side.
Storing Leftovers
- Keep everything separate. Store the chicken, cucumber salad, and spread in their own containers in the fridge, and warm the pitas right before you eat.
- Eat the salad soon. Cucumber salad with avocado is best within a day or two, before the cucumbers get watery and the avocado browns.
- Chicken keeps longer. Cooked chicken is best within 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Chicken Shawarma Pitas FAQs
What’s the difference between chicken shawarma and a chicken pita?
Shawarma is the seasoned, marinated chicken. A pita is the bread it’s tucked into. Put them together and you’ve got a chicken shawarma pita.
Can I use a different protein?
Yes! Any bulk prepped protein works. My herby Mediterranean grilled chicken tenderloins or Greek marinated chicken skewers would fit right in. The macros will change, so adjust your tracking.
Are these gluten free or dairy free?
Not as written. Use a gluten free wrap like BFREE Foods chia tortillas, and swap the Greek yogurt for a dairy free option like Forager plant-based sour cream.
How many calories are in these pitas without chicken?
Two meatless pitas are 238 calories with 7.7g fat, 27.8g carbs, 17g protein, and 6.6g fiber.
If these end up in your lunch lineup, leave a star rating below so others can find them! I post what we’re eating most days on Instagram, come say hi.
Chicken Shawarma Pitas with Creamy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
For the Creamy Cucumber Salad
- 4 cups Persian cucumbers, sliced thinly 470g
- 1 cup avocado, chopped 135g
- 2 Tbsp mint, chopped 5g
- 2 Tbsp dill, chopped 8g
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice 30g
- 2 Tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt 30g
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp water
For the Pitas
- 12 Joseph’s flax pitas 9 carbs each
- 24 oz loaf pan chicken shawarma 672g
- ½ cup hummus 120g
- ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt 120g
Instructions
- Add all of the cucumber salad ingredients to a container and shake or toss well.
- Heat the pitas on both sides in a hot skillet with a light spritz of oil and a pinch of salt. Remove when hot and flexible.
- Spread each pita with about ⅔ Tbsp hummus and ⅔ Tbsp Greek yogurt (10g each on EACH pita). You can stir these two ingredients together first in equal parts to make your spread if you prefer, then spread 20g on each pita.
- Top each pita with 2 oz of the chicken shawarma and 2 oz of the cucumber salad. Feel free to add any optional lettuce, tomatoes, or red onion if you’ve got them around! An extra squeeze of lemon is a nice finish!
Notes
Nutrition
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