Shawarma is a dish popular in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Historically, thin slices of meat are stacked and then roasted in a slow-turning rotisserie or on a spit, then served in one of a few different styles. Shawarma on flatbread is a popular option (including in pop culture) and is probably the most common way you’ll see it if you visit a Mediterranean restaurant in the United States.
Outside of said restaurants, shawarma isn’t something you can buy just anywhere. Some international grocers carry it, as do the occasional larger stores. Trader Joe’s — which is a cousin to Aldi and which specializes in more exotic dishes — sells shawarma chicken thighs that can be cooked and paired with flatbread, diced veggies, and tzatziki sauce for a complete meal.
For something more quick and easy, I also found this shawarma flatbread wrap.
The Trader Joe’s Shawarma Chicken Flatbread Wrap can be found in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe’s. It comes in a plastic clamshell packaging. The 5.5-ounce wrap currently costs $4.99 — not cheap, but then again, this wrap is already prepared and ready to eat.
The package declares that this is “shawarma seasoned chicken meat and vegetables wrapped in a flatbread with tzatziki sauce.” It also is perishable and should be kept refrigerated. My wrap had a use-by date of about 2 months after the day I bought it, but given that it has vegetables, I probably wouldn’t wait that long to eat it. As it was, we tried it out the day we bought it.
Helpfully, the tzatziki sauce comes in a separate plastic pouch, which you simply tear the end off to pour. You can eat it with or without the sauce; we ate it with the sauce.
All of our testers liked it. The taste and texture both felt fresh. The meat is nicely seasoned, and the vegetables and flatbread complement the meat nicely. The sauce adds an additional layer of flavor, too, giving the overall package a rich, nuanced, savory flavor of meat, vegetables, and bread. It’s not a massive wrap, but it’s enough for a lunch meal, especially if you pair it with a side of some sort.
Nutritionally, it has 240 calories with the sauce, as well as 5 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 650 grams of sodium, and 28 grams of total carbs. The sandwich contains both milk and wheat.
Nutrition and ingredients, part 1. (Click to enlarge.)
Nutrition and ingredients, part 2. (Click to enlarge.)
The Verdict:
The Trader Joe’s Shawarma Chicken Flatbread Wrap is a good lunch meal. The price reflects the fact that it’s already put together for you, so if you want the convenience of a ready-to-eat shawarma meal, this is definitely worth a look.
