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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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
All kinds of meat can be used to make shawarma, generally it is chicken or beef, but goat, lamb and turkey are also used. They are all prepared and served in a similar way to this beef recipe.
Shawarma and gyro are similar in many ways, but the main difference is that shawarma is marinated in herbs and spices for a more flavorful meat. Gyros originated from Greece and shawarma from the Middle East.
Homemade shawarma is a lot healthier than a takeout one as it’s not cooked in a lot of fat. You can also load it up with tons of veggies!
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
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!
Beef Shawarma Wrap
Ingredients
Beef Shawarma
- 2 pounds flank steak cut into strips
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1 lemon juiced and zested
- 2 tablespoons Shawarma seasoning*
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion sliced
- 3 bay leaves
Tahini Sauce
- ½ cup Tahini paste
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- To make the marinade, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, shawarma seasoning and garlic until well combined in a large bowl.
- Add steak strips to the bowl, sliced onions, and bay leaves, and toss to fully coat the beef with the marinade. Let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours
- When ready to cook, transfer to a bottom-heavy saucepan and cook until beef is cooked though, about 8-10 minutes
- To make the tahini sauce, place all the ingredients except for the water, together in a food processor or bowl and blend until well combine. Slowly add the water to reach desired consistency.
- Assemble the beef shawarma with pita, tahini sauce and vegetables of choice.
Notes
- 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
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
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!
I’m assuming the zest goes in with the lemon juice? The recipe says zest in the ingredients but the instructions don’t say zest. Thank you
The lemon zest is optional. You can toss it in with the rest of the marinade ingredients, sprinkle it on top of the beef while it marinates, or add it to your wrap as a topping. Hope that helps!
Well I made it and it was absolutely delicious. I threw the zest in with the marinade. We thought of all kinds of other vegetables to throw in with it when we serve it. We just did yellow tomatoes the first night. My wife loved it. She said it’s a keeper.
Aww, love that!! Yay! So happy you and your wife loved the recipe, Greg!! Thank you!
Every time I do your beef shawarma we just fall in love with it again & again
Yay, I love that! Thanks so much, Rima—I’m so happy you enjoy it every time!!
Amazing! I find myself always ending up on your page for amazing, well-prepared and flavourful food that brings me right back home to Palestine and Lebanon. Thank you 🥰
Aww, that makes me SO happy to hear—what a compliment!! Thank you so much, Hanan! I’m so glad my Middle Eastern recipes remind you of home, that’s amazing!!
I’m very happy to uncover this page. I need to thank you for this fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and I also have you bookmarked to look at new things on your blog.
Thank you so much, Rocky! I hope you enjoy the recipes!!
This recipe is amazing! Thank you so much for developing these authentic, easy and delicious recipes and for presenting them in such an easy-to-follow-along way!
Disgusting, we had to throw out, non edible
So sorry to hear this didn’t turn out well for you. I’d love some more info on what you felt went wrong so I can help you to troubleshoot.
Hello Yumna
I was looking for meat shawerma recipe and my search engine brought me to your place again.
The family loved this recipe, but I was asked to add cheese to it for next time. Have you tried with cheese? If yes, any recommendations?
Thank you
I was always terrible at cooking until I met you Yunma. I’ve been making all your recipes one by one. Cucumber salad, egg salad, avocado toast…and this shawarma, omg! I thought I would never be able to make homemade shawarma and this one tastes just like the restaurants ones. The tahini sauce…good lord!!!! Thank you for your generosity!
Aw, thank you so much for making my recipes! I appreciate the sentiment, but it is you who made the food taste amazing sounds like your inner cook was there all along!
So delicious. We used to frequent a restaurant to get our shawarma fix but their prices have doubled and their quality has gone down. So I decided to make some myself. I figured I’d try a few recipes before settling but nope, tried just this one and it’s a winner. Made it with carne asada or flap meat. I also added some more lemon and salt while it was cooking, maybe like 1/4 cup of juice. Thank you for this! I’m off to check your other recipes
So glad you enjoyed it, Vee! Can’t wait to hear what you think of my other recipes.
What is the name of the wrap you’re using? It looks like a thin, large pita. I have made your chicken shawarma recipe several times, even perfecting a vegan version with tofu. I would love to find a recipe for the wrap as the only pita I have is small & thick.
It’s a thin type of Mediterranean-style pita that you’d have to get at a Middle Eastern market or online.
I found you website a few months ago. It is my favorite! I grew up in Dearborn and find that your recipes are seasoned just how I remember them. I’ve never had beef shawarma before, but I knew I couldn’t go wrong following your recipe. It was fantastic! I picked up some cod yesterday to try your Sayadieh recipe this week. I can’t wait! 😋
I am so happy to have you here! That is amazing! Hope you enjoy the Sayadieh recipe too!
Wow! So amazing! My entire family loved this recipe!! Thank you
Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear it!
Hello, I would like to ask, regarding the marinated beef, if I’m going to transfer it in a ziplock and store it in the freezer what’s the life span of the beef meat? Your response would be highly appreciated. Thank you!
Typically, you can store beef for around 3 months in the freezer.
Very good it actually does taste like beef shawarma
Perfect! Thank you.
Thank you so much for this absolutely delicious Beef schwarma! My entire family and friends just loved this fabulous meal. It was a big hit!
You’re so welcome! I love that!
Thank you for your recipe. Since years ago, I have used red wine in the marinade, instead vinegar; and a good 7 Spices, or the one wich I made, with a high proportion of cinamon. The mese wich I use is hummus-tahine, babaganuch and laben. Another thing, important, which teach me a lebanese cooker, is to soak the parsley pieces in water, during half an hour, in orden to eliminate the bitter flavor of the parsley. Nevertheless you are muslin or not: alshalam ealaykum.
You’re so welcome! That sounds delicious. Yum!!
I have falafel spice mix do you think this would be an ok substitute as I don’t have the all spice or cardomom on hand to make the substitute mix.
Thanks!
It could work! I’m not sure what the falafel spice mix is made of, but let me know how it goes.
I just watched three of your videos for authentic Lebanese dishes (Kafta, Shish Tawook, and Beef Shawarma) and I’m very excited to try them all. I was raised on this food but no one ever passed down the recipes. Your videos are quick and to the point but include all the important information. I live in Dearborn and would like to know where you shop for these spices. Do you have a video on how to make Kibbee?
I can’t wait for you to give them all a try! Thank you so much. I buy them at Fresh Thyme or online. I have three kibbeh recipes up on my website (Baked Kibbeh, Lebanese Kibbeh Balls, Kibbeh in Yogurt Sauce).
Hello! For the shawarma spices, I have chicken shawarma spices but I plan on making beef regardless. Or I have Lebanese 7 spices. Which do you feel would work best?
It really depends on what’s in the chicken shawarma seasonings, so I would stick with the Lebanese 7 Spice seasoning.
Thank you so much!!!!
What sort of heat do you use to cook it? Low, medium, medium/high, etc? Please advise. Excited to try this!
Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the beef is cooked through! Hope you enjoy!!
Hi Yumna
I’m excited to try this recipe tomorrow!
A few questions:
– what kind of vinegar should I use?
– I don’t have shawarma seasoning so I’ll be substituting it with the spices you listed. Since the recipe requires 2 tablespoons of shawarma seasoning, should I be doubling the substitute seasonings below?
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
Thank you!
Can’t wait to hear what you think! I used distilled white vinegar. No, you should not double the substitute seasonings – it should be good as is! Hope that helps!
What are the pink things inside the wrap in the pictures? I don’t see that listed in the recipe? Is it pickled turnip?
Yes, it’s pickled turnips!
This recipe is amazing! The best sandwich we ever had!!! Even my kids loved it!
Wow, thank you so much! Glad you all enjoyed!
Yumna, Are the pickles you use regular dill pickles like you’d eat on a hamburger or a special Middle Eastern pickle? I live in NJ but we do have many Middle Eastern stores nearby that I can go to if that’s the case.
They are special Middle Eastern pickles made with small cucumbers and different spices. Yes, definitely check out the Middle Eastern stores and you’ll see so many varieties and the taste complements the wrap better! Enjoy!
Me and my bf we made shawarma yesterday and was sooo good 🥰
I love that! What a fun bonding activity too!
I don’t eat meat but would love to try this. Could this recipe be used with something like Beyond Beef, do you think?
I think it might be worth a try, but I haven’t tested that yet!
Awesome recipe
Thank you!
Absolutely excellent!
Thank you.
Yay! You’re so welcome!
Hola feliz noche. Podrías decirme con que especia está aderezada la cebolla en juliana que se ve en el plato?
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
Muchas graciasssss, lo prepararé. Eres lo máximo
Made this today, it was awesome everyone loved it 🤩
This recipe is a must try. It is even kids friendly. All my kids loved it!! The meat felt so tender and full of flavors. Keep impressing us with your creative recipes.
Thank you Yumna!!!
I’m so happy you all enjoyed it! Thank you!
This is my third time making this recipe; everyone loves how flavorful it is, how soft the meat and at the same time how it feels like street food, eaten at home.
Thanks for sharing! Delicious
That makes me so incredibly happy to hear! Thank you!!
I’m Lebanese, and this is by far one of the best meat shawarma I’ve had!! It was SO tender and super juicy. The flavor was spot-on! I made my own shawarma seasoning using your recipe and I wouldn’t have done it any other way! Served it with your tahini sauce, fries, hummus and a mix of onions/sumac/parsley 🥰🥰🥰😋😋
That’s the best compliment ever! Sounds incredible. Thank you so much!!
I saw this on your Instagram yesterday and I made it for lunch today. It was delicious even though I skipped the lemon juice and lemon zest in the marinade.
Thank you Yumna!
I’m glad it still turned out great! Thank you, Sara!!
Hello Yumna,
Do you think I can make this in an Airfryer?
Hey yumna,
Which vegetables did you use? I see pickles, onions, tomatoes but what’s the pink pickled stuff and the fresh herb?
It’s pickled turnips and parsley!
Absolutely delicious and very easy to make. My husband loved it!! So did I. I used tzatziki sauce since I didn’t have Tahini on hand. Next time I’ll make the Tahini. We used soft tortillas which worked well and not too heavy. Thanks Yumna
Yay! I’m glad to hear it! Let me know what you think when you get a chance to try it with Tzatziki.
Can you substitute chicken for beef using the same marinade? I now have Tahini so I can make the sauce. Anxious to make it again!!
Yes! All kinds of meat can be used to make shawarma, generally it is chicken or beef, but goat, lamb and turkey are also used. They are all prepared and served in a similar way to this beef recipe. I also have a specific shawarma recipe for chicken if you want to check that out!
What spices can I use to make the beef very soft while cooking?
You can just add more of the spices I listed and the vinegar really helps to tenderize the meat.
Such an easy and delicious recipe!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Amazing marinade! So easy to make and the steak turned out so tender and full of flavor. This recipe is a keeper . I’ll definitely use it in the future when i crave steak shawarma.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you!
I just made this recipe tonight and it was perfect! So flavorful and juicy. My husband and 2 year old daughter loved it too. We enjoyed it with Shirazi salad (no pita) and some rice for my daughter. It was a winner and will be on the weekly menu! Thanks Yumna!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Love this recipe so happy this has become a regular item on our weekly meal plan. Keep up the great work!!!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. Thanks so much!
If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would! I have made this numerous times now for different people and they all loved it. I didn’t have access to the premixed shawarma spice so I made my own using the recipe. Also, I’m not much of a garlic person so I always put half the amount of garlic. Still tastes amazing. Thank you for this recipe! It is added to our dinner menu rotation for sure!
Aww that’s the best feedback!! Thank you so much!! I appreciate it 🙂
Sounds and looks so good. Is the calories with or without the pita?
Thank you in advance! ?
Calories don’t include the pita unfortunately 🙂
This came out so good! I was craving delicious middle eastern flavors and this recipe did not disappoint. I never made anything like this more but so glad I tried it out. Thanks to the commenter above to find McCormick seasoning blend.
So glad to hear you made it and enjoyed it! Thank you!!
This came out delicious. I never made beef Shawerma. Always chicken. I made it with top sirloin steak instead of flank steak. Since that’s all I had in my freezer. Will definitely make this again. My Husband loved it.
Yay! So glad to hear it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Can I use flank steak for this recipe? Can’t wait to make it !!!
Yes! And I actually updated the recipe to say mention flank as the top choice because it’s more widely available and works really well in this recipe. Hope you like it!
Thanks for this recipe. As a Texas pitmaster I added a bit of flare to it by smoking it in a cast iron skillet on post oak. As predicted the post oak flavor was very dominant but I kind of knew that going in. It turned out delicious and I took pictures!
As someone had mentioned earlier, I also did not know the amount of spices for the seasoning. I had to take a guess. Turned out I went too heavy on the black pepper and not nearly enough on the allspice and coriander. I ate a beef shawarma wrap just now from a restaurant and it was much heavier on those two spices.
Thanks again.
Thanks so much for your feedback and for sharing your experience! I’m going to add more information around the spices to the post. Thank you!
Please can I add milk to shawarma ?
I would not recommend adding milk to it.
Hi there! Thank you for this blog. I am planning to put up a shawarma business here in Manila and Im glad I have stumbled on your blog! Thank you!
Awesome! So glad to hear it!
Recipe flavors and tips are great. I have now cooked this 3 times in 5 weeks. Each time the flank steak gets alil tough and chewy. I marinated for 2 hours the first round, and over night the others. Pan seared on medium and played with the timing in each batch. Is there a tip you can share?? Thanks
I would recommend trying sirloin strip to see if that cut of meat is less chewy. It’s possible the meat you used was too tough. And I would also try marinading for less time like 1 hour and being careful not to over cook the meat. Let me know if that helps!
Hey,
Thank you for shawarma recipe, I really really like the way you explained it, Me and my family like shawarma when we ate it in asian restaurant so i’m going to try this one in upcoming weekend where we set together once in a week so this will be amazing can you please tell me if i use persian saffron in it ? this will be perfect or not give me some suggestion
Thanks
Debra
Hi there, I’m so glad you found it helpful! As for the saffron, you can certainly add it to the shawarma spices but it’s not generally common as part of the authentic Lebanese shawarma recipe that I’m sharing here. Hope that helps and enjoy!!
Do you have an actual seasoning recipe? I don’t have a place here with “shawarma seasoning”, unfortunately.
Hi there, I’ve actually never made my own seasoning, but the beef shawarma spices is basically a combination of all spice, black pepper, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sumac. I would do more of the all spice, black pepper and coriander and less of the cinnamon, nutmeg and sumac. I will also try making my own and update this recipe with that information! Thank you!
Walmart.com has shawarma seasoning.. it’s a McCormick brand.
That’s really great to know!
Oh my goodness, this was delicious!! I made this for my husbands family tonight and everyone gobbled it up and kept saying how the meat was melting in their mouths. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
That makes me so happy to hear Muna! Thanks so much!! 🙂
Your Shawarma sandwich looks so good. Made it yesterday. Was a success. Super delicious.
The tarator or tahini sauce and all those vegetables call for : make me more.
Looks delicious, I should not be on your page while fasting, it’s making me hungry!!!!