This is the easiest homemade beef shawarma, oven baked in a sheet pan. This recipe gives you the tastiest beef shawarma sandwiches with a tangy tahini sauce. A simple beef shawarma marinade uses easy to find spices for a family pleasing dinner better than take out!
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What is shawarma?
Shawarma is a very popular Middle Eastern street food, made of seasoned meat or chicken sliced very thin and usually cooked on a vertical spit until charred in places.
Typically, shawarma is served with a garlic or tahini sauce, pickles, parsley, onions, and tomatoes. Sometimes they stuff fries into the sandwich too (yum!). The bread that shawarma is wrapped in is either pita bread or saj bread.
What ingredients are in a beef shawarma marinade?
Olive Oil
Lemon juice and white vinegar: these tenderize the beef strips so that they aren’t overly chewy.
Spice mix: cumin powder, seven spices (or all spice) , garlic powder, ginger powder, paprika powder, salt and pepper.
Yogurt
Garlic
Sliced red onion: These char a little in the oven and add so much flavor
Beef: I have the butcher cut it into strips for me so it’s ready to go when I get home. They’ll be around 3.5 inches in length and 0.5-0.75 inches wide, sort of the same size of beef stroganoff.
The best cuts of beef to make homemade beef shawarma are cuts of beef that aren’t too tough, and still have a little fat to flavor the meat. Flank steak, strip steak or ribeye are all good choices.
How to make easy shawarma:
- Mix together all the ingredients for the beef shawarma in a large bowl until well combined and beef strips are coated. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate for at least 30-45 minutes (or up to a couple hours).
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the shawarma mixture onto the parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and sizzling. You can broil for the last 1-2 minutes to get a nice char in places.
Making an easy tahini shawarma sauce:
A tahini sauce really packs on the flavor in a beef shawarma wrap. It’s really simple to make!
All you need to do is whisk together tahini sauce, lemon juice, minced or crushed garlic cloves, salt and water. I usually use a fork to whisk. Once the texture is smooth and combined, taste, and see if you need to adjust any seasoning.
Store in the fridge until ready to use. In fact, this shawarma sauce will last 2 weeks tightly covered in the fridge so it’s great to make in advance.
It’s also delicious to have drizzled onto salads and roasted vegetables!
What to serve shawarma with?
The most classic thing to do would be to assemble beef shawarma wraps by placing some of the shawarma mix into the middle of pita bread or saj bread.
Drizzle with tahini dressing, and some sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, chopped parsley, Arabic style pickles, even a sprinkling of sumac.
You could also make this into shawarma bowls by topping some rice or quinoa with the shawarma meat and adding the toppings to this. Try this delicious turmeric rice recipe, it would be a great pairing.
Make ahead instructions:
You can make the marinade 5-7 days ahead of time, and you can have the beef marinating for up to 24 hours in advance, although I do prefer a quick 1-2 hour marination period.
The tahini sauce can also be made in advance, and will last well covered in the fridge for at least 2 weeks.
Storing leftover shawarma meat:
Leftover cooked beef shawarma will last 2-3 days tightly covered in the fridge. You can reheat in an oven set at low heat, in the microwave, or in an air fryer for a couple minutes!
Cooked shawarma meat can also be frozen in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQS:
A tender cut of beef that still has a little fat in it. Flank steak is a great choice, as is strip steak, ribeye and sirloin steak.
Yes, you can! I find the oven baking method to be more hands off, but you can definitely make these on the stove. Use a heavy bottomed skillet or cast iron skillet, and cook for about 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally, until totally cooked through.
It really is, and much better for you than takeout. You can load your sandwiches up with veggies, or even cut the simple carbs and make beef shawarma bowls using quinoa or cauliflower rice.
I have a very similar recipe used to make oven baked chicken shawarma, click here to get it!
Related Middle Eastern recipes:
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Beef Shawarma
Ingredients
For the shawarma:
- 1.5 lb beef cut into strips, like flank steak, strip steak, ribeye or sirloin 700g
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon seven spices or all spice powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1 red onion, sliced
For the tahini sauce:
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
For the shawarma:
- Mix together all the ingredients for the beef shawarma in a large bowl until well combined and beef strips are coated. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate for 30-45 minutes or up to an hour.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the shawarma mixture onto the parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and sizzling. You can broil for the last 1-2 minutes to get a nice char in places.
For the tahini sauce and to assemble:
- Mix together the ingredients for the tahini sauce, and make shawarma wraps by placing some beef strips in the center of a piece of pita bread, drizzling with tahini sauce, and toppings like sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, pickles, and chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Dionne says
I think I am ready for a party now. This shawarma is absolutely amazing!
Farah Abumaizar says
Thanks so much Dionne! It really is great!
Shashi says
So love that you shared this recipe so shawarma can be enjoyed at home any day – and ooh that tahini sauce! It sounds wonderful!
Farah Abumaizar says
That tahini sauce works on everything! So yum!
Mahy says
It is definitely THE EASIEST shawarma recipe that I have seen. Fantastic instructions and are very easy to follow.
Farah Abumaizar says
Thanks so much Mahy! So glad you liked.
kushigalu says
What a delicious meal. I love shawarma, and this sounds great. Thanks for sharing.
Farah Abumaizar says
It’s my pleasure! Thanks for the comment!
Mairead says
I love trying out new international recipes and this one was so easy and delicious. My family really loves this beef recipe.
Farah Abumaizar says
SO glad to hear that! Thanks Mairead!