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Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

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LIZ DELLA CROCE

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The most flavorful beef shawarma you’ll ever have! Yogurt, lemon, and warm spices tenderize the meat to create a delicious and succulent Middle Eastern dish. 

Forkful of beef shawarma with cucumber yogurt sauce.

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! 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 meat.

Ingredients

  • Beef sirloin: A sirloin steak is a cut of beef that isn’t very fatty, but has enough marbling to still add great flavor. You could also use skirt steak or flank steak!
  • Plain yogurt: Yogurt slowly and gently tenderizes meat, making for steaks that you can almost pull apart.
  • Lemons: The acidity aids in tenderizing the meat, while also adding bright flavor.
  • Cinnamon: Warm, sweet, and also spicy flavor, a little goes a long way in balancing out rich flavors.
  • Allspice: Also known as Jamaican pepper, it’s a warm spice that is often compared to that of nutmeg, fennel, cloves, and cinnamon.
  • Nutmeg: Another warm and nutty spice that blends well with the others to create a delicious, savory flavor.
  • Garlic: Spicy and nutty, garlic goes well with anything and adds delicious, pungent flavor to the meat.

How to Make Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Start your beef shawarma by cutting your sirloin into thin strips.

Then in a medium to large bowl, mix the yogurt, fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, garlic, and salt & black pepper.

Once yogurt marinade is mixed well, add the sirloin. Cover and let marinate for at least two hours in the fridge, but preferably overnight. You could also put it all into a resealable bag.

Once you’ve let the beef marinate, either grill or pan-fry over medium-high heat.

While the beef is marinating or cooking, mix up your cucumber yogurt sauce.

Beef shawarma with cucumber yogurt sauce.

Serve together garnished with parsley, paired with some pita bread or pickled red onions, and enjoy your Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce!

Shake Things Up

  • Serve with a different sauce. If the cucumber yogurt sauce isn’t your jam, then try serving it with a tahini sauce instead!
  • Change the protein. This marinade works great on chicken, lamb, or shrimp as well.

Frequently asked questions

What is the origin of shawarma?

It’s a popular Middle-Eastern dish that originated in Lebanon.

Do I have to cook the meat on the grill?

You can also cook the meat under the broiler in your oven, or on the stove.

What is traditionally served with shawarma?

It’s usually served as a wrap using pita bread. I’d recommend serving it with a chickpea salad or tabbouleh.

More Lebanese Recipes

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Did you try this shawarma recipe? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your meal.

Liz eating beef shawarma with cucumber yogurt sauce.

An easy dish to prepare days in advance, or make day of, my Beef Shawarma is sure to please you and your family.

Your fork is waiting.

a plate of meat and vegetables

Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Liz Della Croce
4.21 stars average
The most flavorful shawarma you'll ever have! Yogurt, lemon and warm spices tenderize the beef to create a delicious and succulent Middle Eastern dish. 
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
CourseMain Dish
Serves4

Ingredients
 
 

  • 20 ounces beef sirloin cut in thin strips
  • 2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
  • 2 juiced lemons about 1/2 cup
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons allspice
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 4 cloves garlic grated
  • ½ tablespoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions
 

  1. Place sirloin strips in a glass bowl or resealable plastic bag.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients (yogurt through pepper) and pour over the beef strips.
  3. Marinate 2 hours or overnight if possible.
  4. Grill over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.

Nutrition

Serving: 4ounces beefCalories: 244kcalCarbohydrates: 9.9gProtein: 35gFat: 6.7gSaturated Fat: 2.7gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 983mgFiber: 1.2g

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Let us know how it was!

4.21 from 29 votes (22 ratings without comment)

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41 responses to “Beef Shawarma with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce”

  1. Diedra Avatar
    Diedra

    Looks Delicious! But I have to use non dairy yogurt. I hope it is just as good.

  2. Cathy Beier Avatar
    Cathy Beier

    Where does the sodium come from? 983 mg in one serving puts it out of reach for me

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Unfortunately, most things have some sodium. You can cut it down by checking how much sodium is in the brand of plain yogurt and allspice you use, as well as not add any extra salt.

  3. Joshua Walcott Avatar
    Joshua Walcott

    This was a great recipe and everyone loved it. They said it was as good as the shawarma they had in Qatar. Thanks

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I’m so happy to hear that!!

      1. Liz Avatar
        Liz

        Do you think this recipe could be made with boneless skinless chicken breast?

        1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
          Liz DellaCroce

          YES! Great idea!

  4. Asma Sheikh Avatar
    Asma Sheikh

    Hi 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.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I’m so glad Asthma! My son loves it too and he’s 7!

  5. Debra Daniel Avatar
    Debra Daniel

    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 ? 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

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      I Don’t but that’s a GREAT idea!! Please report back!

  6. Angela Avatar
    Angela

    Hello, 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.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Hi 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

  7. Shawarma Lover Avatar
    Shawarma Lover

    How many ml is the “2 Juice of lemons”?

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      It’s about 1/2 a cup if that helps!

  8. Kayla Johnson Avatar
    Kayla Johnson

    Do you have a recipe for the cucumber yogurt dip?, or did you buy it?

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      It’s linked in the recipe but here it is!! https://thelemonbowl.com/cucumber-laban-lebanese-yogurt-sauce/
      My kids LOVE it!

  9. AJ Avatar
    AJ

    Too 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.

    1. Liz DellaCroce Avatar
      Liz DellaCroce

      Hi 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!