Beef Shawarma Wrap

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Beef shawarma is the ultimate mediterranean street food like falafel and hummus, that is widely popular even outside of the Middle East. But what you may not know is that beef shawarma is surprisingly really easy to make at home with very minimal ingredients and effort. I grew up eating my mom’s homemade shawarma and I’m going to show you how to make it too!

What is shawarma?

It’s a street-food classic that’s basically grilled beef or chicken heavily marinated in olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and warm spices, cooked on a revolving pit and then shaved off for sandwiches. Shawarma is one of the world’s most popular street foods, but especially popular in the Middle East. It can be served on a plate with accompaniments or in a sandwich or wrap, which is more common.

The spices I use for my Chicken Shawarma can also be used for Beef Shawarma, but at the Mediterranean grocery store I shop at, they have different pre-mixed Shawarma spices so I buy one of of each. Specifically, the beef shawarma spices included all spice, black pepper, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sumac.

How to make beef shawarma wrap

Well, I definitely don’t have a revolving pit in my home kitchen! But all you need to do is buy sirloin beef, cut into strips against the grain, marinate the beef and then cook.

RECIPE VIDEO TUTORIAL

Make shawarma seasoning

I’m lucky to find this seasoning pre-made from Middle Eastern stores near me. However, it’s really easy to make your own. For the 2 tablespoons of shawarma seasoning I use in this recipe, you can substitute with the following:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon All Spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon oregano
•  ½ teaspoon paprika

Marinate beef shawarma

The goal with this dish is to tenderize the beef with the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, fresh garlic, and the spice combination and let it marinate for 1-2 hours. Don’t marinate for longer than two hours since the acidity may toughen the meat. You can also toss some sliced onions and lemon zest on top, but this part is optional.

And this is what it looks like when it marinates for about an hour. You can see that the the beef gets coated in the spices and the sauce.

Cook the beef shawarma

When you’re ready to cook the beef shawarma, transfer it to a saucepan or pot large enough, and cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the beef is cooked through. You’ll notice that the meat will look very tender and almost cooked, so it really doesn’t need a long time to fully cook.

Serving Suggestions

Then it’s up to you how you serve it, roll it, wrap it or top it. We like to serve it on a large plate surrounded by colorful vegetables including tomatoes, onions, pickles, turnips and parsley.

A lot of people will agree that the most important part of a beef shawarma wrap or sandwich is the tahini sauce that it goes with it. I make mine super simple by whisking freshly minced garlic with lemon juice and tahini paste and once it’s all blended, I add the water to get it to the consistency I like. It is EVERYTHING in this recipe!!

For the toppings and/or accompaniments if you’ve having this over rice or as a salad, use whatever you like! Traditionally, there’s tomatoes, pickles and red onions in addition to parsley and pickled turnips. But you can also added shredded lettuce, banana peppers, roasted red peppers, olives, lemon zest and really make it your own way!

Tips for making this recipe

1. Pick beef with some fat included. The fat in the beef will enhance the flavor of the shawarma when cooked. You can use flank steak, strip steak, ribeye or any other cut of steak you like.
2. Don’t cut the beef too small. Keeping the strips about 3-4 inches in length and at least ½ inch in thickness will allow for the beef to stay juicy when you cook it. Otherwise it may dry out too quickly.
3. Marinate the beef for at least an hour but no more than 2 hours. Marinating allows the fat to break up and tenderize the meat properly for juicy and moist results. But if it’s too long, the acidity may toughen the beef too much.
4. Don’t use very tender or very tough beef. Don’t go for something tough like chuck meat or something tender like the tenderloin. You want something that can handle being marinated without softening too much. I recommend flank or sirloin steak.

Frequently asked questions

Now you can emulate your favorite beef shawarma wrap at home with this easy homemade recipe. All you need is the right cut of beef, some spices and time to allow the beef to marinate. It’s makes for tender juicy meat that is perfect when wrapped in a warm pita with tahini sauce and vegetables.

More Lebanese recipes

• Chicken Shawarma Salad
• Falafel Recipe
• Shawarma Pita Pizza
• Chicken Shish Tawook
• Zaatar Manakeesh

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Beef Shawarma Wrap recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

This beef shawarma wrap post was originally created on May 17, 2018. It has been updated to include improved new step-by-step images. Here’s the original image!