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Trader Joe's Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma

Easy★ 4.8Yields: 4 servings

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Trader Joe's Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma

Trader Joe's sells pre-marinated Shawarma Chicken Thighs in their meat section and not nearly enough people know about this. They're sitting there in the refrigerated case, already seasoned with cumin, coriander, turmeric, and paprika, just waiting for someone to take them home and give them the sheet pan treatment they deserve. Most people walk right past them on their way to the orange chicken and that's a tragedy I'm here to correct. The move is stupid simple: throw the marinated chicken thighs on a sheet pan with some vegetables, roast everything at high heat until the chicken is charred on the edges and the vegetables are caramelized, then pile it all onto warm TJ's Garlic Naan with a drizzle of their Garlic Spread Dip mixed with a little lemon juice as a quick garlic sauce. That's it. Thirty minutes from cold oven to loaded naan in your hands. It tastes like a $16 shawarma plate from that Mediterranean place downtown except you made it for about $4 a serving in your pajamas. I've eaten this for dinner four times in the last two weeks and my apartment smells permanently like a spice market and honestly I'm fine with that. Let's fucking go.

Ingredients

1 package Trader Joe's Shawarma Chicken Thighs (pre-marinated, in the fresh meat section)
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini, sliced into half-moons
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 package Trader Joe's Garlic Naan (frozen section)
Trader Joe's Garlic Spread Dip mixed with juice of half a lemon (for drizzling)
Quick pickled red onion, fresh parsley, and hot sauce for topping

Instructions

1
Heat and prep
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with foil (trust me on the foil, the shawarma marinade caramelizes and is a nightmare to scrub off). Spread the red onion wedges, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini on the pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
2
Add the chicken
Nestle the shawarma chicken thighs among the vegetables. Don't stack them. Give each piece some space so it roasts instead of steams. The marinade on the chicken will drip onto the vegetables as it cooks and season them for free. That's called efficiency and also deliciousness.
3
Roast until charred
Roast for 22-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (165°F internal temp) and has charred edges. The tomatoes should be blistered and the onions should be soft and caramelized. In the last 5 minutes, throw the garlic naan directly on the oven rack to warm through. You want it warm and pliable, not crunchy.
4
Build and demolish
Slice the chicken against the grain. Mix the Garlic Spread Dip with lemon juice to make a quick garlic sauce. Load up the warm naan with sliced chicken, roasted vegetables, a drizzle of garlic sauce, and whatever toppings you want. Pickled red onion and fresh parsley are elite choices. Hot sauce if you want heat. Fold it up. Eat it over the pan so you catch the drips. This is not a neat food. This is a glorious mess.

Baker's Notes

The Shawarma Chicken Thighs are in the fresh meat section, usually near the other pre-marinated meats. They're boneless, skinless, and already seasoned. If your store doesn't carry them, buy plain chicken thighs and season with cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. It's not the same but it gets you close.
The Garlic Spread Dip + lemon juice hack is a quick toum (Lebanese garlic sauce) substitute. Real toum takes forever to make. This takes 30 seconds and tastes 85% as good. Nobody at your dinner table will know the difference.
Foil on the sheet pan. Not optional. The shawarma marinade has sugar and spices that caramelize into a concrete-like substance on bare metal. Foil means you crumple it up and throw it away instead of spending 20 minutes scrubbing. This is self-care.
If you want to go full Mediterranean plate, serve this with TJ's Hummus, their Mediterranean Style Salsa, and some cucumber slices on the side. It goes from quick dinner to an entire spread.
Leftover chicken is incredible chopped up and thrown into a salad the next day. Add some of that lentil bruschetta dip on the side and you've got a lunch that makes your coworkers hate their sad desk sandwich.

Nutrition

Calories

480

Fat

22g

Carbs

38g

Protein

32g

Sugar

6g

Serving

1 loaded naan

Notes

“The recipes are good. The language is bad. You're welcome.” - fuckingdelicious.co

FAQ

What's shawarma?

It's a Middle Eastern preparation where meat is marinated in warm spices like cumin, coriander, and turmeric, then traditionally cooked on a rotating spit and shaved off. The TJ's version skips the spit and gives you pre-marinated thighs that you roast in the oven. The flavor profile is warm, aromatic, slightly smoky, and completely addictive. If you've had a gyro, shawarma is in the same family but with different spices.

Can I use chicken breast instead?

You can but thighs are better. Thighs have more fat which means more flavor and they're way more forgiving if you overcook them by a few minutes. Breasts dry out fast at high heat. If you must use breasts, cut them in half horizontally so they're thinner and cook more evenly.

What other vegetables work on the sheet pan?

Bell peppers, eggplant, sweet potato cubes, and cauliflower florets all roast beautifully with shawarma chicken. Anything that can handle 425°F for 25 minutes without turning to mush. Avoid anything too watery like cucumbers or leafy greens. Those go on fresh after.

Can I prep this ahead of time?

You can chop the vegetables and have everything ready on the sheet pan in the fridge up to a day in advance. When you're ready to eat, just pop it in the oven. The chicken is already marinated so there's zero active prep at dinner time. This is peak meal prep energy.

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