One-Pan Shawarma-Spiced Chicken & Rice
with Golden Raisins, Carrots & Cilantro Crema
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
When you picture shawarma, do you imagine chicken on a stick? Tonight’s spiced chicken has all the typical Middle Eastern-inspired flavors, but it’s cooked in one pan. You’ll add carrots, garlic, rice, and raisins to your chicken, then mix it all together with a squeeze of fresh lemon, a drizzle of cilantro crema, and a garnish of almonds. Ditch the rotisserie for a dinner that’s easy to clean up and even easier to gobble down.
Ingredients
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
2 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
2 tablespoon
Yogurt
(Contains: Milk)
1 clove
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
9 ounce
Carrot
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 ounce
Golden Raisins
½ ounce
Sliced Almonds
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Pat chicken* dry with paper towels. Season all over with 1 tsp Shawarma Spice (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. (You’ll use the rest of the Shawarma Spice later.) • Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium, preferably nonstick, pan (use a large, preferably nonstick, pan for 4) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. • Remove from pan and set aside to rest.
• While chicken cooks, wash and dry produce. • Trim, peel, and dice carrots into ½-inch pieces. Peel and mince garlic. Finely chop cilantro. Quarter lemon.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for chicken over medium-high heat. • Add carrots in a single layer; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 3-4 minutes.
• Add a drizzle of oil to pan with carrots; add garlic, rice, raisins, remaining Shawarma Spice, and ½ tsp salt (1 tsp for 4 servings). Cook until fragrant, 1 minute. • Stir in 1½ cups water (3 cups for 4) and stock concentrates. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by half, 3-4 minutes. Cover pan and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. TIP: Add a splash of water if mixture seems dry. • Remove pan from heat; return chicken to pan. Let sit for 3 minutes to warm through.
• While rice cooks, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, sour cream, and half the cilantro. Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board; slice crosswise. • Fluff rice with a fork and stir in a big squeeze of lemon juice to taste. • Divide rice between bowls. Top with chicken and garnish with almonds and remaining cilantro. Drizzle cilantro yogurt sauce over top. Squeeze juice from any remaining lemon wedges over bowls to taste and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the unique blend of savory shawarma spices with sweet raisins, though some found it too mild or sweet 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Customers appreciated the simple one-pan cooking method, but several noted longer cook times than listed.
- Suggestions: Consider toasting the almonds, adding more vegetables like bell peppers, and adjusting spice levels to taste.
- Portions: Some wished for more chicken or vegetables; others found it satisfying and great for leftovers.
- Texture: The crunchy almonds and chewy raisins added nice contrast, though a few disliked the raisin texture.
Reviews from our home cooks
One of our top dishes! We loved the taste of this dish. We doubled up (or tripled up) on the carrots and doubled the rice with the same amount of chicken. The raisins and the almonds did not add much to the taste and I would recommend to eliminate them. I also did not like the yogurt/sour cream sauce. We did not use the lemon. Keep the shawarma spice and possibly double it too!
Good tasting recipe, really glad they used cutlets instead of the really bad strips. You don't need to add the extra oil plenty there by using same pan that did not get wiped out. Recommend changing recipe prep to "medium pan with lid." Mentioning no lid leaves the cook stranded at the end if pan used doesn't have lid. Would also prefer more flavor, perhaps adding more Shawarma spice and or/yogurt sour cream to chicken first to grab on to spice better.
Loved the crunchiness of the almonds and the flavor combinations with the raisins. We liked the shawarma spice and the balance of heat with the yogurt. We would have this one again.
I really loved the prep for this meal. Easy, one pan, and looked really elegant when done. Will look for more recipes like this.
Adored this recipe! First time trying shawarma, and it did not disappoint. The golden raisins and sliced almonds put it over the top. Even leftovers the next day were phenomenal.
Never had Shawarma spice before but liked it; it reminded me of curry. Chicken was a little dry; I prefer dark meat such as thigh.
We loved the different textures in this dish, and we got a good portion of chicken. The spice blend was really nice!
By far the best middle eastern recipe! Finely balanced sweet and spicy absorbed into soft rice, topped with a light contrasting yogurt, just comfort and flavor packed goodness!
As usual, the recipe called for way too much water for the amount of rice, so the rice came out mushy. Should have trusted my instinct and reduced down ~1/4 c, rather than assuming something was different due to this being a one-pan dish. Flavors were really good though!
Love the shawarma. Rice with raisins makes sense. Stop adding carrots to every single recipe please
