Shawarma-Spiced Chicken Paillard
with Arugula Shirazi Salad & Red Pepper Hummus
- Milk
- Wheat
- Sesame
This dish is a mash-up of culinary influences: You’ll season chicken with a spice blend inspired by Turkish shawarma, then pound the cutlets thin and pan-fry them—similar to French paillard. On the side, you’ll serve an Iranian-inspired shirazi salad of tomato, cucumber, and lemon, plus arugula for extra greens. The end result? Totally delicious.
Ingredients
1 unit
Lemon
1 unit
Tomato
2 unit
Scallions
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
2 ounce
Arugula
1 unit
Croutons
(Contains: Milk, Wheat)
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
12 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
4 tablespoon
Red Pepper Hummus
(Contains: Sesame)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Oil
Olive Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Zest and quarter lemon. Trim and finely dice cucumber. Dice tomato into 1⁄4-inch pieces. Trim and thinly slice scallions. Roughly chop cilantro.
• Pat chicken dry with paper towels; place between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a mallet or rolling pin until chicken is about 1⁄4 inch thick. Season all over with half the garlic powder, half the Shawarma Spice Blend (all for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side. • Turn off heat. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm.
• In a large bowl, whisk together lemon zest, remaining garlic powder, 2 TBSP olive oil (4 TBSP for 4 servings), a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and pepper. • Add arugula, cucumber, tomato, scallions, and cilantro to bowl; toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Divide chicken between plates. Spread tops of chicken with hummus; top with salad and croutons. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Poultry is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The shawarma-spiced chicken and red pepper hummus were crowd favorites; the hummus spread on top genuinely elevated the flavor profile 🌶️. Some found the overall dish mild and wished for more seasoning, while others loved the bold spice combination.
- Ease of prep: Most found this a quick, satisfying weeknight meal that comes together easily with minimal effort.
- Suggestions: Use the full shawarma spice packet and squeeze extra lemon over the chicken for a bigger flavor punch. Some swapped the lemon-olive oil dressing for a Greek vinaigrette or added pomegranate for a touch of sweetness.
- Leftovers: One reviewer made the salad the next day for lunch and found it held up beautifully.
- Portions: A few felt the meal was on the lighter side and suggested adding pita bread, rice, or another carb to make it more filling.
- Salad: The arugula's bitterness divided opinions — some loved how the hummus balanced it, while others preferred less arugula or a milder green. Reducing the arugula or chopping it can help the tomato-cucumber flavors shine through.
Reviews from our home cooks
Well my cucumber was spoiled, so I took the items and went in a different direction. I made crumbs from a few crouton packets, combined with herb/spice packets and added some parmesan cheese. Then I split, pounded and breaded the chicken breasts with a three step process, flour, Just Egg, egg replacement, then the crumb mixture. Then I sauteed the chicken breasts and mixed up the arugula salad. It was so good.
Chicken & salad were a well balanced, healthy seeming meal. Liked the spices on the chicken as they made it taste different from our usual chicken dishes. Salad was ok, didn't end up finishing because the taste didn't thrill me and overall found this meal a little boring and not as tasty as many of your other similar ones
The red pepper hummus on top of the seasoned chicken was delicious. Salad was also tasty and balanced the chicken well.
I absolutely loved this meal. The hummus spread on the chicken made a big difference in flavor profile. Loved this combo.
Delicious. I did add some extra sugar free vinaigrette to the salad to add some flavor but otherwise it was fantastic. Loved the hummus!
Great flavor and easy to make. Would have never have thought to add humus to chicken but it works. Meal felt small
The flavors are great. So easy to prepare. I will confess I breaded the chicken with panko and loved the extra crunch.
Flavors were sharp and the salad was amazing. Great low carb meal!
Wonderful, light and healthy. Didn't use all the dressing, but used vinegar alongside dressing to cut the calories.
The salad on the chicken was a bit weird, but overall everything had good flavor, just wish there was a bit more of it!
