Homemade Lamb Shawarma Wrap

This lamb shawarma recipe makes tasty, authentic, juicy pieces of sliced lamb shawarma! My flavorful marinade uses plenty of spices and ingredients that you could use for any shawarma meat, including chicken, beef, or pork. The secret ingredient in this marinade is lamb tallow, which tenderizes the lamb and makes it even more flavorful.  

Enhance the lamb shawarma Bright flavors of tahini yogurt sauce, pickled vegetables, and roasted tomato enhance the lamb shawarma. The roasted tomatoes mellow the char of the lamb shawarma. These flavors come together to make the perfect shawarma wrap. 

I grew up in Jordan, a country commonly known as the capital of shawarma, so I have eaten plenty of shawarma. There is a shawarma restaurant on every corner. We love our shawarma wraps! 

What is Shawarma? 

Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern dish with thinly sliced meat roasted on a vertical stick. The word shawarma comes from the Turkish word ‘severe,’ which means turning. 

Shawarma is served all over the Middle East and can be made with various types of meat, including lamb, chicken, and beef. These meats are stacked on top of each other on a spit, usually vertically, with some pieces of fat in between. The spit will rotate slowly before the flame for hours, giving it a deep BBQ flavor. Once the meat is ready, it is shaved off the stack with a large knife and dropped into a tray. It is then wrapped in lavash bread and served with various toppings and sauces. 

How to Serve Shawarma

The traditional toppings for shawarma are cucumber and turnip pickles, grilled tomatoes, sliced raw onion, tahini sauce or hummus, and some French fries or fried eggplant. Shawarma can also be served on a plate with tabbouleh, Greek salad hummus, pickles, and warm pita bread.

What Cut of Lamb Should I Use?

In this recipe, I used flat pieces of boneless lamb loin. Since lamb loin is leaner, I need some fat to make it tender. So, I used grass-fed lamb tallow cooking oil to add a little fat and deepen the flavor. You could find this on Amazon or specialty stores like wholefood. 

Tips for the Best Lamb Shawarma 

The most important is to allow the meat to marinate for 24 hours for the best result. I cut the meat thin in this recipe, then marinate it because I want the marinade to seep into every slice of lamb. You can also marinate the whole piece of meat, grill it, and then slice it thin. This makes slicing easier than if you were to cut the pieces before marinating. 

Make sure your pan is hot before adding the meat. You want the pan to be hot enough to sear the meat and thoroughly brown it. The meat should only take 3 minutes to cook on each side. 

What Bread Should I Use for Lamb Shawarma? 

The best bread for shawarma is pita bread or flatbread called lavash. This bread is light, not too thick, and absorbs all the meat’s juices. 

For the bread, I made fresh homemade lavash. I cooked it earlier and warmed it up just before serving. I used the same pan I cooked the lamb in so it could absorb all the goodness from the lamb. If you don’t have lavash bread, you could also use a piece of thin pita bread to wrap the meat. Lavash and pita bread can be found at specialty stores or international grocery stores.