Yogurt, lemon and warm spices tenderize the beef to create a delicious and succulent Middle Eastern dish.
In my Middle Eastern family, we are no strangers to adding spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg to savory meat dishes.
In fact, these warm spices are one of the many reasons I love Lebanese food so much!
One of my all time favorite examples of this unique flavor combination is green beans and beef simmered in a cinnamon, tomato broth served over rice.
Today I’m sharing my version of the street-side classic: beef shawarma. Lean sirloin gets a major flavor boost from a marinade full of various warm spices, plenty of lemon and garlic and of course plain yogurt to ensure a tender, delicious result.
Busy week ahead? Throw this together a few days in advance and let the meat soak up the marinade. The longer, the better.
Want to turn it into a tasty lunch? Try a Beef Shawarma Pita with Creamy Tahini Dipping Sauce. My boys love this sandwich and request it at least once a week!
If you’re looking for the perfect cucumber yogurt dip to accompany this try my Lebanese laban cucumber sauce.
Looking for a slow cooker version? Take a look at this post
Your fork is waiting.
Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place sirloin strips in a glass bowl or resealable plastic bag.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients (yogurt through pepper) and pour over the beef strips.
- Marinade 2 hours or overnight if possible.
- Grill over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Serve with cucumber mint yogurt sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Want more Lebanese Recipes? Check out my Pinterest board!
Asma Sheikh
March 18, 2019 at 3:32 pmHi DellaCroce,
This looks delicious and healthy. My 6 years old son love Shawarma a lot. Hope he will love your recipe.
And thanks for the awesome one.
Liz DellaCroce
March 19, 2019 at 2:43 pmI’m so glad Asthma! My son loves it too and he’s 7!
Debra Daniel
January 8, 2019 at 3:32 amHey,
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 ? Because i have purchased saffron in good saffron price that is why thinking to make a twist in it, this will be perfect or not give me some suggestion
Thanks
Debra
Liz DellaCroce
January 8, 2019 at 4:18 pmI Don’t but that’s a GREAT idea!! Please report back!
Angela
November 10, 2018 at 10:14 amHello, I tried making this beef shawarma recipe and it turned out very bitter and dry, almost like bitter beef jerky. Could you tell me what you think I did wrong? I feel like it might have been the lemon juice and yogurt in the marinade that made it so bitter and I may have definitely overcooked it on the grill adding to the beef jerky consistency. I am wondering what will happen if I omit the lemon juice and/or the yogurt in the marinade. What would that do to the flavor of the beef? Thanks.
Liz DellaCroce
November 10, 2018 at 1:29 pmHi Angela,
Thanks so much for writing in! I just made this last week and my boys and husband devoured it so I’d love to help you troubleshoot where you may have gone wrong. To be clear, the lemon and yogurt acts as tenderizers breaking down the muscle tissue which is why it always turns out super tender. Did you make any substitutions to the recipe? Perhaps the type of meat or amount or type of ingredients? Let me know and we can go from there! xo Liz
Shawarma Lover
October 25, 2018 at 7:19 amHow many ml is the “2 Juice of lemons”?
Liz DellaCroce
October 25, 2018 at 4:36 pmIt’s about 1/2 a cup if that helps!
Kayla Johnson
September 7, 2018 at 3:19 pmDo you have a recipe for the cucumber yogurt dip?, or did you buy it?
Liz DellaCroce
September 7, 2018 at 4:44 pmIt’s linked in the recipe but here it is!! https://thelemonbowl.com/cucumber-laban-lebanese-yogurt-sauce/
My kids LOVE it!
AJ
June 8, 2018 at 1:49 pmToo much cinnamon, I would cut it back by at least half a tablespoon if not more, you don’t want your shawarma meat to smell like a cinnamon bun. Didn’t work out for my family and I, search continues.
Liz DellaCroce
June 8, 2018 at 4:25 pmHi AJ,
I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for your family! We make this all the time and my kids love it. Did you make any other changes to the recipe? For example, did you use two cups of yogurt? Would love to make this a win for you!
John Fyn
June 30, 2017 at 8:03 amLots of times I eat beef shawarma with different kind of sauces. 3 weeks ago I tried beef shawarma with cucumber yogurt sauce which gives a unique taste to the dish. From that day I only eat beef shawarma with this sauce. Thanks for telling this sauce combination.
Liz DellaCroce
June 30, 2017 at 8:22 amThat sounds so good!! I hope you love it John!
Lexi
June 18, 2017 at 6:12 pmCrazy question. But do you wash off the yogurt mernera before grilling or just grill with all of the yogurt on it?
Liz DellaCroce
June 19, 2017 at 2:00 pmMost of it stays in the bag but you don’t need to wash it off no!!
Lexi
June 19, 2017 at 4:32 pmYikes that makes it for a messy grill and cleanup after the fact.
Jackie
October 24, 2016 at 4:23 pmdo you have a slow cooker version of this one? Thanks!
Cassandra
June 30, 2016 at 10:39 pmI love this shawarma recipe! So simple and a great disg with ride and grilled Veges. Thank you
Liz DellaCroce
July 4, 2016 at 1:49 pmI’m so glad you enjoyed it Cassandra!
Mei
January 14, 2015 at 9:46 amHi.. I’m from Indonesia. I like this food very much when I lived in Manchester for a year. I’m very surprised when i find this recipe from you. I really do wanna try it but there’s one thing that I would like to ask you, what the meaning of all spice. Pls let me know. Thank you
Liz DellaCroce
January 15, 2015 at 8:24 pmHi There – Allspice is a spice that you can buy, similar to nutmeg or cinnamon. If you can’t find it try cloves or just skip it! :)
Stephanie
November 10, 2014 at 9:05 pmDid you cut the sirloin into thin strips before marinating & cooking?
Liz DellaCroce
November 10, 2014 at 9:06 pmYes I do – that way it gets even more flavor!
Michelle
February 28, 2014 at 8:12 pmMy husband was so happy when I found this recipe….he LOVES shawarma! And it’s so easy and he is so happy when I get this together….. This is so yummy…. Thanks you!!!!
Liz DellaCroce
March 1, 2014 at 8:21 amMy pleasure!
Renee Coughlin
February 21, 2014 at 11:57 amSounds so yummy! Too much snow outside to grill (and no indoor grill pan), can it be broiled instead?
Liz DellaCroce
February 22, 2014 at 4:48 pmYes absolutely!!! Just a few minutes per side.
Nikki
November 20, 2013 at 6:19 amThank you for this recipe, we just had it for dinner & it was perfect.i didn’t have enough yoghurt for sauce so served it with homemade hummus & tabouli.will check out your recipes if this is anything to go by.thanks again
Liz DellaCroce
November 20, 2013 at 9:30 amOh I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Hummus is perfect!
Mama B @ My Edible Journey
March 8, 2013 at 12:00 pmI just came across this on Pinterest, and it looks so simple and delicious. Grill season is not far off. Thanks for sharing.
Liz DellaCroce
March 8, 2013 at 3:32 pmThank you so much! I hope you enjoy!
[email protected]
July 30, 2012 at 5:14 pmLove the sound of that cucumber yogurt sauce!
The Lemon Bowl
July 31, 2012 at 8:22 amI love it – great on ANYTHING!!
Fiona
July 30, 2012 at 2:24 pmThis looks really good – I love spicy beef dishes.
The Lemon Bowl
July 30, 2012 at 2:25 pmThanks so much – it is so tasty and easy! Let me know what you think!