Bring Middle East street food to your table with this easy Grilled Beef Shawarma recipe! In just 30 minutes you can have savory, tangy melt-in-your-mouth beef ready to be turned into a bowl, wrap, or sandwich!
Beef shawarma is one of my favorite go-to Middle Eastern recipes that’s usually on every middle eastern restaurant menu and famous street food around the world. It is one of those recipes that can easily be recreated and enjoyed at home too. Make this beef shawarma into a bowl with salad, rice, or a sandwich. The result will be a juicy, tangy beef over rice with some of your favorite veggies of choice.
If you prefer shawarma wraps, no worries! This recipe focuses on making the best beef shawarma for you to add to bowls, salads, wraps, or anything else you want! You can get creative!
WHAT IS BEEF SHAWARMA?
Traditional beef shawarma is Middle Eastern street food, similar to gyros. It’s usually heavily spiced or marinated and slow-roasted, then sliced off and added to a pita or wrap, then topped with fresh veggies and sauce.
Luckily, it’s possible to get that incredible, mouth-watering beef shawarma at home, without hours of slow-roasting!
Why You’ll Love this easy Shawarma Recipe
- Street food at home. Street food is fun but street food at home is even better!
- Savory, tangy flavor. I’m obsessed with the complex flavor of beef shawarma.
- Versatile. You can use this grilled beef shawarma on pitas, wraps, bowls, and so much more.
- Healthy. When you top this beef with veggies, you end up with a high-protein, healthy dinner.
- Easy to make and delish: Making this beef shawarma is truly easy and it’s bursting with flavor. It will be a winner!
Ingredients You Will Need:
- ground cumin
- Ground coriander
- Smoked paprika
- Ground turmeric
- Cayenne pepper
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground cloves
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt
- Ground pepper
- Beefsteak or your favorite cut
- Olive oil
- Optional: cooked basmati rice, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, parsley, yogurt, pita bread
How to Make Grilled Beef Shawarma from scratch
- Combine all the spices in a small bowl and mix well.
- Place the beef steak in a shallow dish and sprinkle with the seasoning mix. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Rub it evenly on all sides of the meat.
- Cover and allow it to sit for 15 to 30 minutes at room temp.
- Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high, and brush with some oil.
- Add marinated steak and grill for 2-4 minutes per side, or until it’s done to your liking.
- Allow the steak to sit for a bit before slicing it.
- Add a base of cooked basmati rice to each bowl, and top with chopped veggies, pickles, and sliced shawarma steak. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with yogurt and pita bread.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Sirloin tip and flank steak are the best cuts of beef for making shawarma.
- If you don’t have a grill, you can also make this in a cast-iron pan.
- Cut the steak to no thinner than 1/2 inch so that it remains juicy.
- Avoid marinating for too long. 30 minutes is the perfect amount of time for marinating beef shawarma. Anything longer than 2 hours will cause the beef to break down.
- You can make it with chicken if you like, but we do have a chicken shawarma recipe you can check out.
- Serve in a pita wrap, over salad, or over a rice bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shawarma spice is made up of a handful of popular spices, including cumin, coriander, paprika, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. It has a savory, tangy flavor. You can find prepared shawarma spice mixes but you like already have all the ingredients in your pantry. We usually do, which is why we prefer to make our own seasoning.
We love making beef shawarma rice bowls, as shown above. They’re easy, filling, and healthy. However, there are so many other ways to use this grilled beef shawarma too. If you’re not a fan of rice or prefer lunch to-go, you can turn the above ingredients into a shawarma wrap, using pita if you want to stay more traditional.
You can also make a beef shawarma sandwich or salad. However you serve beef shawarma, we recommend accompanying it with an easy homemade tzatziki sauce as the two truly compliment each other!
If you have any leftovers, refrigerate the beef shawarma for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove for best results.
Other middle eastern Recipes to try
- Middle Eastern Crushed Lentil Soup
- Grilled Chicken Kafta
- middle eastern Chopped Salad
- Homemade Baba Gannoush
- Beef Kafta
- Homemade Hummus
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Beef Shawarma Bowl
Ingredients
Spice rub:
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper or to taste
Beef shawarma :
- 1 lb beef steak about ½ inch in thickness
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Optionals for the bowls:
- Cooked basmati rice cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, parsley, yogurt, pita bread
Instructions
Spice rub:
- In a small bowl combine all the spices and mix well.
Beef shawarma:
- Place beef steak to a shallow dish and sprinkle with the seasoning mix. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil
- Using your clean hands, rub it evenly on all sides of the meat.
- Cover and allow it to sit for 15 to 30 minutes at room temp.
- Meanwhile, heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high, and brush with some oil.
- Add marinated steak and grill for 2-4 minutes per side, or until it’s done to your liking.
- Allow the steak to sit for a bit before slicing it.
Shawarma bowls:
- Add a base of cooked basmati rice to each bowl, and top with chopped veggies, pickles, and sliced shawarma steak. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with yogurt and pita bread.
Notes
- Serves about 2-4
- Nutrition facts and calorie counts do not include the rice and veggies
- Sirloin tip and flank steak are the best cuts of beef for making shawarma.
- If you don’t have a grill, you can also make this in a cast-iron pan.
- Cut the steak to no thinner than 1/2 inch so that it remains juicy.
- Avoid marinating for too long. 30 minutes is the perfect amount of time for marinating beef shawarma. Anything longer than 2 hours will cause the beef to break down.
- You can make it with chicken if you like, but we do have a chicken shawarma recipe you can check out.
- Serve in a pita wrap, over salad, or over a rice bowl.
Lucy Daniel says
Rena, thank you for this delicious recipe! I’ve had chicken shawarma before, but this is my first time trying beef. I followed your instructions, and the food turned out perfectly cooked, with a tangy taste that lasted much longer. Thi middle-eastern delicacy is super healthy and simple to try at home.
Rena says
Thanks lucy