Serve marinated and grilled Shish Tawook (chicken on skewers) over cooked quinoa with smooth hummus and a cool, creamy tzatziki sauce.
We like to serve Shish Tawook with freshly baked pita chips and an easy cucumber tomato salad. This recipe is loaded with flavor and good-for-you ingredients.
What does Shish Tawook mean?
Shish Tawook (pronounced “shish too ik” or “shish ta wook”) originates from Lebanon, but the name of this dish actually comes from Turkey. Shish means skewers and tawook means chicken. So many cities around the world serve this marinated chicken shish kebab dish that it’s become an international treat (Read more here).
While I claim no authenticity (at all!) with this recipe, I discovered Shish Tawook while traveling this past summer and couldn’t get it out of my mind. And you know how I am when I find a great dish: it’s time to create my own version!
What is the difference between Shish Tawook and shawarma?
How we serve Shish Tawook
First, we marinate the chicken in yogurt, lemon, oil, tomato paste, and garlic, and then season liberally with spices. After marinating, we grilled it (indoor or outdoor grill) and you’re left with the most tender, juicy, and flavorful chicken. This is truly one of the tastiest chicken kabobs around!
Traditional Shish Tawook pairs with toum (a garlic sauce), hummus, and tabbouleh. I love it with hummus (and definitely recommend serving it with some), but we prefer it with tzatizki instead of the toum (Although, feel free to use either–or both!).
We also love serving the chicken with baked pita chips (although regular pita is great too), all on a bed of quinoa with cherry tomatoes and Persian cucumbers for a crunchy finish. One bite of this dish and you’re going to add this recipe to your dinner rotation! It’s become one of my all-time favorite recipes.
Recipe tips
- Use good, quality ingredients. Quality ingredients make a world of difference (as with most dishes). Make sure to get good yogurt (I love Greek Gods®), Persian or English cucumbers, and I recommend squeezing fresh lemons to get the best lemon juice as well as using fresh garlic cloves (rather than the pre-minced type).
- Hummus: You can prepare your own hummus, but I recommend buying it so this dish doesn’t become too involved. Pick a good packaged hummus or use your favorite homemade recipe.
- Tzatziki: I recommend preparing this sauce while you’re working on the chicken. The longer this sauce sits in the fridge, the more time it has to develop a deeper flavor. It also makes throwing everything together when you’re ready to eat that much easier.
- Foil: When you take Shish Tawook off the grill, immediately cover it with foil to trap the moisture and give you even juicer chicken.
Is Shish Tawook healthy?
When you look at the nutrition facts for this recipe(below), keep in mind that the numbers reference the chicken, marinade, and quinoa since the other additions to the bowl will vary greatly from product to product. Also, note that not all the marinade is consumed so numbers are slightly inflated. Shish Tawook is a great healthy recipe with wholesome, good ingredients!
Quick recipe note
While the ingredient list is fairly long, many of the ingredients overlap. They’re written out twice for clearer reading. And despite the many components, Sihsh Tawook really does come together quickly, because you can prepare the chicken and tzatziki sauce up to a day in advance. Then, when it’s time to put it all together, it falls into place easily.
More easy chicken dishes
- Black Pepper Chicken easy, quick stir fry
- Greek Chicken
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Coconut Curry Chicken
- Rotisserie Chicken Tacos ready in 30 minutes or less
Shish Tawook
Equipment
- Large baking pan
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 large lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt full-fat
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into even 2-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
For Serving
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa plus 2 cups water or chicken broth, see note 1
- 1 (10-ounce) container hummus or make your own
- 3 Persian cucumbers or 1 large English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
Pita Chips (Optional)
- 4 pieces white pita bread
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 Persian cucumber or 1/3 of 1 English cucumber, 1/2 cup grated
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt full-fat
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 large lemon
- 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare chicken breasts by patting dry with paper towel, cutting into even 2-inch pieces, and placing in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients: 1/4 cup lemon juice, olive oil, yogurt, finely minced garlic, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, oregano, paprika, ground allspice, and salt and pepper (to taste; about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Whisk until combined and pour over chicken. Stir to generously coat chicken, cover, and chill. Marinate for 2–24 hours.
- Tzatziki: After preparing chicken marinade, make this sauce so it can chill and flavors can develop before serving. Grate a cucumber with the large holes of a grater. Line a small bowl with a few paper towels (or a clean kitchen towel) and add grated cucumber on top. Squeeze as much extra moisture from the cucumber as you can (to keep the sauce from being watery). Once drained, place grated cucumber in a medium bowl. Add Greek yogurt, minced garlic, red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper). Refrigerate until ready to serve. Whisk right before serving.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat (400–450°F on an outdoor grill) and generously oil the grates. Thread the chicken onto metal (or pre-soaked wooden) skewers. Cook on preheated grill until chicken is golden and no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cut each pita into 8 triangles and arrange evenly on the prepared pan. Drizzle olive oil over the triangles and use a pastry brush to spread the oil evenly onto the pita bread. Flip the bread and repeat. Sprinkle with salt (about 1/4 teaspoon). Bake 10 minutes, flipping the pita bread halfway through. Serve warm with the chicken. For the tomato/cucumber salad, add the halved tomatoes and thinly sliced cucumber halves to a bowl. Drizzle on a little olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper (to taste).
- With the back of a spoon, spread hummus onto 4 large plates. Divide cooked quinoa and chicken skewers evenly among the plates. Top with tomato/cucumber, and drizzle even parts of tzatziki sauce over (or serve on the side). Divide the pita chips. Season individual plates with salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really great main dish. Healthy and it is so delicious! Made it for my family and we will definitely be having this meal again. Thank you.
So happy to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks for the comment and review 🙂
another great recipe to make chicken taste better (at least for me) thank you!
I love chicken a skewer, especially if pita is also on the table!This looks so delicious 🙂
Thanks Makos!