Street-Cart-Style Chicken Shawarma Bowls
with Bell Pepper, Pistachio Rice & Creamy Cilantro Sauce
- Tree Nuts
- Milk
Our chefs can’t get enough of the warming, aromatic flavors of shawarma. Here, chicken is marinated in shawarma spices and yogurt, then cooked until golden and tender. It’s piled into bowls with zesty, pistachio-studded basmati rice, sautéed bell pepper, and a creamy cilantro sauce for drizzling. It really doesn’t get much better than digging into all that.
Ingredients
10 ounce
Chopped Chicken Breast
4 tablespoon
Sour Cream
½ ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
1 unit
Lemon
2 tablespoon
Yogurt
(Contains: Milk)
1 clove
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
1 unit
Bell Pepper
¼ ounce
Cilantro
½ cup
Basmati Rice
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry all produce. • Core, deseed, and dice bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Finely chop cilantro. Zest and quarter lemon. Peel and mince garlic. Roughly chop pistachios. • Place chicken* in a medium bowl and pat dry with paper towels. Toss with yogurt, Shawarma Spice, ¾ of the garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside to marinate.
• In a small pot, combine rice, ¾ cup water (1¼ cups for 4 servings), and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7-10 minutes. TIP: If needed, add splashes of water to help pepper soften. • Turn off heat; remove from pan and set aside. Wash out pan.
• While bell pepper cooks, in a small bowl, combine sour cream, half the cilantro, half the lemon zest, remaining garlic, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for bell pepper over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. • Stir in bell pepper, then remove pan from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Fluff rice with a fork; stir in pistachios, remaining lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. TIP: For extra-rich rice, stir in 1 TBSP butter. • Divide rice between bowls and top with chicken mixture. Drizzle with creamy cilantro sauce and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the aromatic shawarma spices, though some found it mild; adding extra herbs or spices boosted flavor 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to make, with several appreciating the no-oven cooking method for summer.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more vegetables like onions, carrots, or chickpeas for variety and nutrition.
- Portions: Some felt servings were small; doubling the rice or adding pita bread could make it more filling.
- Texture: The pistachio rice was a hit, adding delightful crunch; ensure chicken isn't overcooked to avoid dryness.
Reviews from our home cooks
Chicken shawarma is one of my specialties, so we wanted to try this to compare. Mine is better, but this was much faster and was almost as good. The dipping sauce was a little bland and would have been better if made with yogurt.
Easy, tasty recipe. I love the shawarma seasonings and recommend using more. The chicken strips are the worst quality ever and produce is low quality also. This recipe would be perfect with fresher ingredients.
Street-Cart food at home? Quick? No oven? Hello, fresh! Yum this one is diverse and flavorful without being too intensive to make. Great recipe!
This was amazing! I've had shawarma in the Middle East, but never had it in America, and it was fun to try making it. Very yummy.
This was fantastic! Simple, the marinade for the chicken was delicious and I didn't mind the cilantro in the creamy sauce. We really liked the pistachios in the rice as well. The only thing that would have made it better would be some more veggies. 8.5/10!
We loved this dish. I only used 1 packet of shawarma spice for the 4 servings. It was perfect. If I had used the second it would have been too spicy. Also - please send crushed nuts. Too difficult to chop pistachios.
Chicken and sauce were delicious! The pistachios in the rice almost made me think at first that I had undercooked the rice, as the flavor wasn't forward enough to distinguish. I would recommend serving the pistachios on top instead of in the rice.
Amazing flavors! First time shawarma eater/maker and can see how this could be addicting. Will make again. And again.
Delicious - loved the pistachios. Why was it necessary to remove peppers and wipe out the pan before adding chicken? Seemed unnecessary and dangerous to wipe out a hot pan and a waste of the oil that was already in the pan.
Everyone in the family loved this recipe! My one son said it's his new favorite! Recalling a previous recipe I purchased, I decided to add a little bit of apricot jam to the sauce as the chicken cooked. We will definitely purchase this recipe again!
