Shish Taouk
Garlicky lemon-yoghurt marinated chicken skewers, grilled.
Ingredients
- 800 g Chicken thighs
- 150 g Yogurt
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 2 Lemon
- 1 tsp Allspice
- 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
Method
- Cube the chicken thighs and blend a marinade of yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, allspice, olive oil, and salt.
- Rest the chicken in the marinade, ideally at least 20 minutes, then thread onto skewers.
- Grill the skewers over high heat, turning, until charred on the edges and cooked through.
- Serve the skewers hot with warm flatbread and a garlicky yogurt sauce alongside.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Shish Taouk
Shish taouk is the garlicky grilled chicken skewer of the Levant, a fixture of Lebanese, Syrian, and wider Middle Eastern grills and takeaway counters. The dish is defined by its yogurt-based marinade: the acidity and enzymes in the yogurt tenderize the meat while lemon, crushed garlic, and warm allspice work into every cube, so the chicken stays juicy and deeply seasoned rather than dry. Thigh meat is the right choice here, forgiving over high heat and richer in flavor than breast.
Grilled hot and fast, the skewers pick up charred, blistered edges while the inside stays tender and faintly tangy, the allspice lending a distinctly Middle Eastern warmth that sets it apart from a plain lemon-garlic chicken. It is traditionally eaten wrapped in warm flatbread with toum — the fierce whipped-garlic sauce — or served on a platter with pickles, grilled tomatoes, and rice. This version keeps things practical: a marinade you can blend in minutes and a rest of at least twenty, which is enough for the yogurt to do its work before the skewers hit the fire.
Shish Taouk: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Shish Taouk?
A serving has about 575 calories — 34.8g protein, 5.6g carbs, 45.4g fat, 0.4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 34.8g of protein, roughly 24% of its calories.
Is Shish Taouk gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Shish Taouk has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
Is Shish Taouk dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Yogurt. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Shish Taouk take to make?
About 40 minutes start to finish, but only around 20 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Shish Taouk make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.