Chicken Shawarma Calories: Less Oil and More Oil

By NYUS Inc. · Published 4 November 2026

The figures on this page are built from IFCT 2017 Table 1 rows and, where Table 1 has no row, USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy records. No primary table has a chicken shawarma record: IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables from ICMR-NIN, prints raw foods apart from poultry and egg (its book says all data except poultry and egg pertains to raw food, PDF p. 27; its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli), has a chicken thigh row as it lists it, and has no pita or bread row, no shawarma and no cooking oil row, and USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy has no chicken shawarma record. So this page does not quote a number. It works one plate out line by line: the chicken thigh, onion and tomato from named IFCT rows, the pita from a USDA record from named rows and the oil from a USDA record, with weights that are our assumptions and the oil shown apart so you can see what it adds, once with 5 g of oil and once with 15 g. They are estimates, shown so you can change the weights to match your pan. For a chicken roll see our chicken tikka roll guide, for a paneer roll our paneer kathi roll guide, for chicken on its own our chicken tikka guide, and for the spoon values our ghee, oil and sugar guide.

The short answer

By our working, one plate of chicken shawarma with a little oil (100 g skinless chicken thigh, 60 g white pita (one large pita of 60 g), 20 g onion and 30 g tomato and 5 g of peanut oil (about 1.1 teaspoons)) is about 424.3 kcal and 24.2 g protein, and one plate with more oil (100 g skinless chicken thigh, 60 g white pita (one large pita of 60 g), 20 g onion and 30 g tomato and 15 g of peanut oil (about 1.1 tablespoons)) is about 512.7 kcal and 24.2 g protein. Scaling the chicken thigh from 80 to 120 g (every other ingredient scaled with it) and the oil from 3 to 8 g the less oil plate runs 330.5 to 526.8 kcal, and with 10 to 20 g of oil the more oil plate runs 392.4 to 632.9 kcal. These are estimates from the weights below, not measured values, not from a chicken shawarma record and not a shop or restaurant figure. Our reading: the parts of the less oil main case rank the chicken 199.8 kcal, the pita 165.0 kcal, the oil 44.2 kcal, the onion and tomato 15.3 kcal; the parts of the more oil main case rank the chicken 199.8 kcal, the pita 165.0 kcal, the oil 132.6 kcal, the onion and tomato 15.3 kcal; and the more oil plate is 88.4 kcal above the other because only the oil differs.

Table rows used, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 Table 1 prints, per 100 g edible portion, water, protein, ash, total fat, total dietary fibre, insoluble and soluble fibre, carbohydrate and energy in kJ. We read these 3 rows from the PDF text on 4 November 2026, as the mean of the regions shown (PDF pages in the Sources); the kcal is ours (kJ divided by 4.184, to 0.1). IFCT prints no portion weights; IFCT does not state the chicken thigh row (N002) as raw (its book says all data except poultry and egg pertains to raw food, PDF p. 27), so we count the weights as the table lists them, and the weight the chicken loses on the grill or in the pan is not printed in any table, and the pita is the USDA white enriched pita record, which is not the same as every pita, roomali or kuboos sold in India.

The oil and pita bread (white, enriched): USDA SR Legacy, per 100 g

IFCT 2017 Table 1 has no cooking oil row and no pita or bread row, so those come from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy; they are US records. Energy is USDA's kcal with the kJ beside it; water, protein, total fat and carbohydrate (by difference) are in g, then fibre (g), total sugars (g) and sodium (mg), all per 100 g.

The data-type label on each USDA field, as the record shows it

USDA's record page shows a data-type label beside some fields and none beside others. This table copies what the record shows, read field by field from the nutrient table of the record page; "no label shown" means the record prints no label there, and "not printed" means the record has no row for that field. We do not interpret the labels beyond printing them. IFCT 2017 prints no such labels.

The household portions USDA prints for the USDA records

These are the entries in the records' Measures lists, as printed; the other entry is 100 g. This page counts the oil in grams and takes 1 teaspoon as 4.5 g and 1 tablespoon as 13.5 g, the oil record's own measures. The kcal in the last column is ours: the printed kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100, shown to 0.1.

The portion sums: 171410 1 tbsp (13.5 g): 884 × 13.5 / 100 = 119.34, so 119.3 kcal; 171410 1 cup (216 g): 884 × 216 / 100 = 1909.44, so 1909.4 kcal; 171410 1 tsp (4.5 g): 884 × 4.5 / 100 = 39.78, so 39.8 kcal; 174915 1 pita, large (6-1/2" dia) (60 g): 275 × 60 / 100 = 165.00, so 165.0 kcal; 174915 1 pita, small (4" dia) (28 g): 275 × 28 / 100 = 77.00, so 77.0 kcal. By the same arithmetic 5 g of oil is 44.2 kcal and 10 g 88.4 kcal.

Worked example 1: chicken shawarma with a little oil

Every weight here is our assumption for one plate, counted as the table lists them: chicken thigh pieces (100 g) cooked in oil with a little chopped onion (20 g), wrapped with tomato (30 g) in one large pita (60 g), counted as one wrap from the weights as the table lists them (our assumptions); the oil is what goes on the grill plate or in the pan for the chicken. Each IFCT line is the kJ divided by 4.184, times the grams, divided by 100, to 0.1 kcal; each USDA line is the printed kcal per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100; protein is the table's protein per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100. Salt and spice powders are not counted.

The grid varies the chicken thigh per plate (80, 100, 120 g, with every other ingredient scaled by the same factor and rounded to 0.1 g) and the oil (3, 5, 8 g); the weights in the table above are the 100 g main case.

Worked example 2: chicken shawarma with more oil

Same method and the same 100 g skinless chicken thigh, 60 g white pita (one large pita of 60 g), 20 g onion and 30 g tomato; the 5 g of oil becomes 15 g. This is our assumed recipe, not a measured plate.

The grid varies the chicken thigh per plate (80, 100, 120 g, with every other ingredient scaled by the same factor and rounded to 0.1 g) and the oil (10, 15, 20 g); the weights in the table above are the 100 g main case.

The two main cases side by side

These are the single examples used in the short answer; each follows from the tables above and from the weights in the cell.

What stands out in the numbers

• Less oil, part by part: the chicken 199.8 kcal, the pita 165.0 kcal, the oil 44.2 kcal, the onion and tomato 15.3 kcal. Skinless chicken thigh, as IFCT lists it (N002), is 199.8 kcal per 100 g, white enriched pita 275 kcal per 100 g (USDA 174915) and the oil 884 kcal per 100 g (USDA 171410).
• More oil, part by part: the chicken 199.8 kcal, the pita 165.0 kcal, the oil 132.6 kcal, the onion and tomato 15.3 kcal; against the less oil plate the oil is 88.4 kcal higher, and that is the whole difference between the plates.
• Size against oil: on the less oil plate the chicken thigh weight (80 to 120 g) moves it more than the oil (3 to 8 g): 152.1 kcal against 44.2 kcal; on the more oil plate the chicken thigh weight (80 to 120 g) moves it more than the oil (10 to 20 g): 152.1 kcal against 88.4 kcal. Each 5 g of oil is 44.2 kcal.
• Protein: about 24.2 g in either plate (the oil adds none).
• These are estimates: no chicken shawarma record exists, the weights are ours, and a different weight of any ingredient in the tables above will change them.

Why these are estimates, not your chicken shawarma

• No record exists for the dish. IFCT 2017 prints raw foods apart from poultry and egg and no cooked dish, and the USDA SR Legacy searches found no chicken shawarma record (0 results for chicken shawarma, 0 results for shawarma). There is no SR Legacy shawarma record (0 results for each); the pita record used is the white enriched pita bread, one of 4 pita results (the others are white unenriched pita, whole-wheat pita and pita chips), and it is not the same as every pita, roomali or kuboos.
• The weights are assumptions. No table prints how much of each ingredient or of the oil a plate takes; ours are stated so you can replace them.
• Raw weights. No table prints the weight of the chicken shawarma after cooking, so the page counts the weights as the table lists them and cannot give a per 100 g or per plate figure.
• Only the oil in the pan is counted. Oil used any other way, or left in the pan, is not counted unless it is in the oil weight.
• US data. The oil row and the pita bread (white, enriched) row are US records; IFCT Table 1 has no oil row.
• Labels are printed, not judged. Calculated and Assumed zero are USDA's words on the record; we print them and draw no conclusion from them.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log it by parts. Weigh the raw ingredients once for your usual pan, and log the oil by its own weight (weight × figure ÷ 100); our ghee, oil and sugar guide has the spoon values.
• Say how much oil. It is an input this page cannot know; 5 g of oil is 44.2 kcal.
• Say how the pan was divided. The page gives one plate from the weights as the table lists them; divide the pan's total by the portions you actually made.
• Say what else went in. Anything not in the listed ingredients is not counted.

Where NYUS fits (our app)

We make NYUS, so read this as ours. NYUS is an AI fitness and nutrition coach in early access on Android, with no ads and no data selling. You log foods yourself by searching 8,900+ Indian and global foods or by barcode, and a weekly check-in adjusts your calories, macros and step goal once enough is logged. Barcode coverage of Indian packaged foods is not complete, so search by name when a scan finds nothing.

What this page leaves out

• A measured calorie figure for chicken shawarma as a dish: no primary record prints one, so every figure here is an estimate from stated weights.
• A calorie target, and any claim about what the ingredients or the oil do to your body: we have not looked up any for any person, so we give none. If you have a medical condition or are pregnant, ask your doctor or dietitian.
• Other versions and add-ins, such as garlic sauce or mayonnaise, hummus, fries in the wrap, a plate with rice and a street-stall or restaurant shawarma: not counted here; log them from their own rows (a chicken roll in our chicken tikka roll guide, a paneer roll in our paneer kathi roll guide, chicken on its own in our chicken tikka guide).
• Other fats: ghee, butter and other oils were not looked up for this page.
• Shop, restaurant and packaged chicken shawarma: no table prints a weight or oil use, so we give no such figure; read the pack for packaged ones.
• Per 100 g and per plate figures: no table prints a cooked weight, so none is given here.
• Nutrients beyond energy, water, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, total sugars and sodium: not covered here.

Sources

• ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), Table 1, per 100 g edible portion, mean of the regions shown (read from the PDF text 4 November 2026): N002 Chicken, poultry, thigh, skinless (6 regions, 836 kJ, PDF p. 58); G017 Onion, big (6 regions, 201 kJ, PDF p. 54); D075 Tomato, ripe, hybrid (6 regions, 79 kJ, PDF p. 48). IFCT 2017 prints raw foods apart from poultry and egg (its book says all data except poultry and egg pertains to raw food, PDF p. 27; its few cooked rows are boiled and omelette eggs and roasted vermicelli), has a chicken thigh row as it lists it, and has no pita or bread row, no shawarma and no cooking oil row (PDF text searched on 4 Nov for shawarma (0 matches), wrap (0), mayonnaise (0), kebab (0) and pita as a word (0); the rows used are N002 poultry chicken thigh skinless (PDF p. 58), G017 big onion (p. 54) and D075 hybrid tomato (p. 48)).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171410 (Oil, peanut, salad or cooking): Energy 884 kcal (3699 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 100 g, carbohydrate by difference 0 g, fibre 0 g, total sugars 0 g, sodium 0 mg per 100 g; labels as printed: kcal Calculated, carbohydrate by difference no label shown, total sugars Assumed zero (Insignificant amount or not naturally occurring in a food, such as fiber in meat); portions used: 1 tbsp (13.5 g); 1 cup (216 g); 1 tsp (4.5 g) (read 4 November 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 174915 (Bread, pita, white, enriched): Energy 275 kcal (1151 kJ), protein 9.1 g, total fat 1.2 g, carbohydrate by difference 55.7 g, fibre 2.2 g, total sugars 1.3 g, sodium 536 mg per 100 g; labels as printed: kcal Calculated, carbohydrate by difference Calculated, total sugars Estimated formulation based on ingredient list; Linear program used to estimate ingredients; Analytical data; portions used: 1 pita, large (6-1/2" dia) (60 g); 1 pita, small (4" dia) (28 g) (read 4 November 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy searches run on 4 November 2026 (control 'roll dinner' 11 results): chicken shawarma 0 results, shawarma 0 results.
• nyus.in, the NYUS landing page, read on 4 November 2026 for the app statements in the NYUS section and the CTA.

The ingredient weights, the scaling, the kJ to kcal conversions, the line values, the sums, the grids, the portion kcal, the rounding, the comparisons and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own assumptions, arithmetic or opinion, not from USDA or IFCT. The totals add the rounded line values, so a total can differ from the unrounded sum by a rounding step. The IFCT values are the means printed in IFCT 2017 Table 1; the USDA values, data-type labels and Measures-list portions are exactly as shown on the USDA record page. The names in the first column are the tables' own names.

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