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Veggie or Vegan Shawarma is delicious spice rubbed veggies, with an easy tangy cucumber tzatziki sauce. This meal can be made vegan if needed and it’s ready quickly.
Why Make This Veggie Shawarma
This meal is banging! It’s spiced to perfection with delicious roasted veggies that are bold with flavor. You can make Vegan Shawarma with this recipe as well for those who need it. Because this meal is easy, you can have it ready quickly and it’s great to meal prep with. Customize it a bit with the veggies to your liking if needed, you will love this meal. If you are looking for a lighter vegetarian meal, try my Chickpea Salad Sandwich recipe. It’s so tasty!
Ingredients Needed
Cauliflower. This is the base of the veggie Shawarma. It makes for a great vegan alternative and it pairs great with the spices.
Chickpeas. Canned, cooked chickpeas are best for this. They will be roasted up with the cauliflower and spice.
Red Bell Pepper. Any color bell pepper will work, I enjoy the crunch and color it offers to the meal.
Seasoning. Dried oregano, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, cayenne peper, red pepper flakes.
Oil. I use a high quality olive oil for this, it’s to roast and crisp the veggies up a bit.
Tzatziki Sauce
Plain Greek Yogurt. This is the base of the sauce, it adds a nice tang. You can also use vegan sour cream to make this vegan shawarma.
Lemon. Fresh lemon juice adds a great citrus brightness to the tzatziki.
Cucumber. English or regular cucumber will work.
Fresh Herbs. Fresh dill and fresh cilantro brighten up the sauce and add lots of flavor.
Salt/Pepper. Just a pinch of each.
Toppings & Sides For Veggie Shawarma
Pickled Onions. Pickled onions work wonderful with this meal. I make my own with a really easy brine (White & apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, red onions). You can also regular sliced red onions.
Tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are best, they have the most flavor in my opinion.
Rice. I like to serve this dish over a long grain white rice. You can serve it over greens as well, I find that rice makes it more filling.
Romaine Lettuce. Fresh, crunchy romaine pairs great.
Cucumber. Extra cucumber slices for garnish.
Hummus. I use my creamy hummus recipe, but you can also use store bought.
Recipe Variations For Veggie Shawarma
Cauliflower. You can substitute zucchini if you aren’t a fan of cauliflower.
Canned chickpeas. Black beans will also be tasty.
Plain Greek Yogurt. Sour cream, or vegan sour cream will work well.
Rice. You can use any grain of choice, quinoa would be wonderful or you can just serve it over a bed of lettuce.
Pickled Onions. Use raw red onions, sliced in place if needed.
How To Make This Meal
Step One. Preheat oven to 450º. Chop cauliflower and add to a large mixing bowl. Drain and rinse chickpeas, use a clean towel to dry them a bit. Add them to the baking dish. In a small bowl add all seasonings. Whisk together.
Step Two. Sprinkle seasoning mix over the cauliflower mix. Drizzle olive oil over it and gently mix everything together with your hands. Using your hands will prevent the chickpeas from breaking apart.
Step Three. Place the spiced cauliflower on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start rice. Chop red bell pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the cauliflower/chickpeas after 20 minutes of cooking (mix the bell pepper in and cook with the veggies for the remaining 10 minutes).
Step Four. While everything is cooking, prep toppings. Chop tomatoes in half, shred romaine lettuce, chop leftover cucumber and prepare tzatziki sauce.
Steps To Make Tzatziki Sauce
Step Five. To make tzatziki sauce, add lemon juice, salt/pepper, greek yogurt to a bowl. Use a cheese grater to grate the cucumber an add the flesh and juice to the sauce. Finely chop the cilantro and dill, add to sauce and whisk well.
Step Six. Once rice and cauliflower mix is finished cooking, add rice to a bowl and top with roasted veggie, fresh toppings, hummus and a generous drizzle of tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQ’s
Raw zucchini, roasted red peppers, asparagus would be a great addition.
If you want to make a vegan shawarma, simply substitute a vegan sour cream in place of the greek yogurt. You can also use a vegan plain yogurt but I enjoy a vegan sour cream more.
You can save 75-110 calories per serving by skipping the rice and using extra romaine instead.
Other Yummy Vegetarian Dishes
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Veggie Shawarma
Equipment
- baking sheet
- bowls for mixing
Ingredients
Veggie Shawarma
- 1 medium cauliflower head about 5-6 cups
- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 bell pepper
Tzatziki Sauce
- ⅓ cup plain greek yogurt *see notes to make vegan shawarma
- ¼ cup cucumber, grated
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 3 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1½ Tbsp cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup lemon juice *about one lemon
Toppings
- 4-6 Tbsp hummus *see notes
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup cucumber, sliced
- ¼ cup pickled onions *see notes for quick recipe
- 1 cup long grain rice *uncooked
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450º. Chop cauliflower and add to a large mixing bowl. Drain and rinse chickpeas, use a clean towel to dry them a bit. Add them to the baking dish. In a small bowl add all seasonings. Whisk together.
- Sprinkle seasoning mix over the cauliflower mix. Drizzle olive oil over it and gently mix everything together with your hands. Using your hands will prevent the chickpeas from breaking apart.
- Place the spiced cauliflower on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start rice. Chop red bell pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the cauliflower/chickpeas after 20 minutes of cooking (mix the bell pepper in and cook with the veggies for the remaining 10 minutes).
- While everything is cooking, prep toppings. Chop tomatoes in half, shred romaine lettuce, chop leftover cucumber and prepare tzatziki sauce
- To make tzatziki sauce, add lemon juice, salt/pepper, greek yogurt to a bowl. Use a cheese grater to grate the cucumber an add the flesh and juice to the sauce. Finely chop the cilantro and dill, add to sauce and whisk well.
- Once rice and cauliflower mix is finished cooking, add rice to a bowl and top with roasted veggie, fresh toppings, hummus and a generous drizzle of tzatziki sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- 1 large red onion
- 2 cup white vinegar
- 2 cup water
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp salt
Everyone make this stat! My boyfriend and I made it last night and it was sooo good
This was really great! I made the homemade hummus you suggested with it and that was excellent too!
A beautiful recipe. Really enjoyed
My kids are very picky eaters, and they even enjoyed this. The taziki sauce was great as well.
This was amazing. It was a perfect weeknight meal that made everyone happy. Can’t wait to make this again!!