Best Shawarma Seasoning Spice

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Are you ready for a simple and easy way to whip up show-stopping recipes, that is makes your kitchen smell aaaaaaaazing while you’re cooking? Then this fragrant homemade Shawarma Seasoning is for you.

This recipe and a gazillion tips further down answers all your burning questions like what is shawarma seasoning, how to store it, and more.

P.S. I looooove using this homemade seasoning in this Air Fryer Shawarma Cornish Hen.

Plus this may convince you to skip the store-bought spice blends and make your own. It is so simple to make and there are no extra additives or msg in this. What you see is what you get. However, if store brought seasonings are your jam for easy cooking, then keep with them.

What Is Shawarma?

Shawarma is a well loved traditional Middle Eastern street food. Just imagine fragrantly spiced marinated piece of chicken, lamb, pork cooking and continually rotating on rotisserie stick.

These are then sliced off and served wrapped up in flatbreads and stuffed with pickles and hummus and or an awesome garlicky sauce. And now you can easily recreate this taste at home with this shawarma spice mix.

Relate Link => Blackened Seasoning.

What Is Shawarma Seasoning

This easy-to-whip-up DIY spice made with a mix of spices aka ingredients you already own in your spice cupboard = authentic shawarma flavor. Just think fragrant, smoky, warming, middle eastern flavors in one jar. Thanks to smoked paprika, cinnamon, cumin, and more.

And best of all, you only need to pull out your ingredients, measure out a few tablespoons and mix it all together to end up with a fabulous dry rub. And it all takes under 5 minutes with no spice grinder insight. #easypeasy right?

Bonus is that just like my easy Steak Seasoning and it is super affordable and highly adaptable so you can swap and or mixing in ingredients to your taste.

Tools

• Measuring cups.
• Measuring spoons.
• Handy mixing bowls.
• Whisks.
• Mason jars for storing.

So What Ingredients Do You Need?

There are a few everyday ingredients in this DIY spice blend which include:

• ground cumin
• ground coriander
• smoked paprika 
• ground ginger 
• ground allspice (pimento) 
• ground cinnamon
• ground cloves or ground cardamom
• ground nutmeg
• ground turmeric
• black pepper
• Salt

However, everyone has their own little variations. Sometimes I love using cloves or cardamom and every now and then I add in dried oregano too. Use this as a base recipe, but feel free to adapt to your taste.

Note=> Full recipe and instructions further down in the recipe card.

How To Make Shawarma Seasoning

1. Measure out all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
2. Next, mix with a dry spatula or whisk.
3. Then transfer the seasoning into an airtight spice jar or a mason jar (if you make a large quantity).

Recipe Tips

Here are a few tips to help you make the most of this homemade Shawarma Spice blend.

• Mix up the salt. You can use pink Himalayan salt, Kosher salt, or even the regular table variety. BUT you will need to adjust the ratios of the ingredients you use.
• Vary spices. Feel free to add a teaspoon more or less of the ingredients to your taste. Add-ons I have used include ground cardamom or dried oregano. Delish!
• Awesome rub. This makes an awesome rub and works great on chicken (of course), other meats, and fish which you can then cook up in a skillet, Instant Pot, Air Fryer or oven.

• Make a big batch. Double or triple the recipe depending on how often you use this.
• Make a paste. Sometimes it is easier to mix the seasoning blend with some oil and make a paste before rubbing on meat, veggies, etc.
• Suitable for various diets. This is suitable for vegan, gluten-free, paleo, low carb, Keto, and Whole30 diets.

How To Use This Seasoning

I use it to flavor almost anything and everything such as:

• A rub for meats and fish – this works great as a chicken shawarma seasoning rub as well as a rub for lamb and pork.
• A marinade – mix with olive oil as a marinade.
• All the veggies. Sprinkle liberally over vegetables for roasting.
• On the grill – season your chicken, kebabs, and other meats before you grill them.

How Much Seasoning To Use

If it is the first time you are using this start with less than you think you need and add more to taste. I recommend you start with 1-2 tablespoons of seasoning for a recipe that serves 4 the first time and then adjust up or down to your taste.

Seasoning Substitute 

Don’t have all the seasoning mix ingredients to hand? Worry not, you got this. First thing is to see which ingredients you have and then simply use a mix of these to flavor your food. Alternatively, scan through your spice cupboard and see what other spice blends you can use.

How Long To Store It?

Feel free to store this for up to 6 months in an airtight spice jar or mason jar for larger quantities. Just remember to keep it in a cool place and out of direct sunlight.

This homemade spice mix can actually last for a rather long time, but the freshness and vibrant flavor diminishes over time. I suggest you only make only enough to last you for up to 6 months at any one time. After that simply make a new batch.

Use For Edible Gifting

This easy shawarma spice blend makes for a super unique DIY gift. Mix up a couple of batches, decant into cute spice jars or mason jars, add a ribbon and a label and hand out to all your foodie friends. #bestfriendsforever.

Recipes You Can Use This Seasoning Mix With

• Air Fryer Chicken Shawarma Bowl {this is a must-try, folks!}
• Instant Pot Chicken Breast. {works wonders}
• Instant Pot Chicken Thighs.
• Easy Instant Pot Pork Chops.
• Air Fryer Pork Chops.
• Instant Pot Pot Roast.
• Grilled Lamb Kabobs

Other Homemade Spice Mixes And Seasoning Recipes

• Caribbean Green Seasoning.
• Tuscan Seasoning.
• Jamaican Curry Powder.
• Poultry Seasoning Mix.
• Fajita Seasoning Mix.
• Stone House Seasoning.
• Greek Seasoning.
• Creole Seasoning.
• Steak Seasoning.
• Blackened Seasoning.
• Italian Seasoning.

Weight Watchers Points

This Homemade Seasoning Mix contains 0 (yeap, zero!) Blue Plan SmartPoints.

Thank you for reading my Shawarma Seasoning Mix recipe post. And please visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, Homemade Seasonings, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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