Have you ever seen such a pretty bowl of roasty-toasty, vibrantly colorful goodness?! Safe to say, this sheet pan veggie shawarma is pretty much all I want out of life at the moment.
Hearty & comforting cauliflower, sweet potato & chickpeas get tossed with shawarma seasoning (aka a total flavor bomb of warm Middle Eastern spices) & roast on a single sheet pan ’til perfectly golden brown & crisp.
Best of all, this easy vegetarian shawarma recipe is quick, flavorful & satisfying…& when it comes to weeknight cooking, I’m not sure it gets better than that. Weeknight trifecta.
Here’s the deal:
First of all, this veggie shawarma is MEGA FLAVORFUL, thanks in major part to an easy homemade shawarma seasoning blend. It’s closely based on my classic shawarma marinade recipe, which has quickly grown to be one of pwwb’s most popular recipes ever. This seasoning blend is filled with warm spices (like cumin, ginger & cinnamon) & has subtle sweetness (hello, maple syrup or honey!). The combination of warmth & subtle sweetness is completely addictive. So long as your spice rack is well stocked, it’s a totally easy way to create tons of flavor without much effort at all.
& lastly, & most importantly…these bowls are ABSOLUTELY SATISFYING. Totally fresh, but also totally comforting…the perfect September food!
…don’t you want to dive right on in??
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What is veggie shawarma?
Traditionally, shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish of thinly-sliced meat that’s seasoned with warming spices (like cumin, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, etc.) & roasted on a rotisserie. & while I love shawarma chicken, beef & lamb just as much as the next person, I reeeally wanted to create a plant-based shawarma recipe.
So that’s exactly how we got here: a delicious & satisfying veggie shawarma recipe with chickpeas, cauliflower, sweet potato, and allllllll of the classic shawarma spices. The warm Middle Eastern-inspired spices come alive in the oven, & the honey helps creates those addictively caramelized crispy bits that you crave when you think of shawarma.
& it’s seriously straight-up GOOD!
How to make veggie shawarma:
You want to know the best part about this veggie shawarma recipe?
It’s seriously EASY.
This meatless shawarma is a 40-minute sheet-pan dinner with just 15 minutes of active prep time. You can even meal prep parts of it in advance for even easier weeknight cooking (I share some thoughts on that below!).
Here’s an overview of how it comes together (note: full Recipe Directions are listed in the Recipe Card, below):
- Shawarma-ify the veggies and chickpeas. (yes, shawarma-ify is a real word in my book!) Toss the sweet potato, cauliflower, and chickpeas in my classic shawarma marinade (SO MUCH FLAVOR!!!) until all the vegetables are coated well.
- Roast. Pop the veggies & chickpeas on a sheet pan. Bake until veggies are tender with crispy, browned edges.
- Make tahini sauce. What is shawarma without tahini sauce?…I don’t even want to know. My tahini sauce is a simple sauce made with 4 ingredients: tahini, lemon juice, water & salt. The tahini and lemon juice sauce adds a bright flavor to this chickpea shawarma that you don’t want to miss!
- Serve your veg shawarma bowls. Top a bowl of quinoa with shawarma veggies, desired toppings, & a generous drizzle of tahini sauce, & dig the heck in.
Veg shawarma bowl topping ideas:
I love to serve this roasted veggie & chickpea shawarma over a bed of quinoa with a TON of toppings. Life’s all about the toppings, right?
So really, anything goes when it comes to these veg bowls, but here are my faves:
- shredded cabbage or lettuce – adds delish crunch & a little extra green never hurt anyone!
- thinly sliced cucumber – cool cucumbers pair perfectly with the warm shawarma spices.
- thinly sliced red onion – if you’re like me & raw onions are a bit too much, just soak them in ice water for 10-15 minutes…it totally takes some of that bite away. Or! Give them a quick pickle. This is my fave easy pickled red onion recipe.
- crumbled feta cheese – optional, but adds great salty flavor, but can definitely omit for a vegan option.
- chopped cilantro – i can’t imagine this veggie shawarma recipe without a little cilantro, but it’s totally optional.
- tahini sauce – adds a great creaminess to the veg shawarma bowls (and is dairy-free!)
& if bowls aren’t your style, you can totally enjoy this chickpea & veggie shawarma piled on top of a fluffy pita or in a warm naan bread sandwich. Pile on the toppings & dive into veggie heaven…
I hope you give this Veggie Shawarma Recipe a try very soon – I’m pretty sure it’ll be quick to make it to your weekly Meatless Monday rotation!
If you do give it a try, be sure to leave a comment and a star rating below. Oh! & snap a photo & tag me, @playswellwithbutter, on Instagram. One of my favorite things is seeing your pwwb creations!
Roasted Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Veggie Shawarma Bowls
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: salad, mains
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Lebanese
Description
Sheet pan veggie shawarma bowls with roasted cauliflower & sweet potato – this EASY veggie shawarma recipe is the ultimate sheet-pan veg shawarma dinner!Â
Ingredients
for the bowls:Â
- 1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1 small head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets
- 1 sweet potato, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- for serving: quinoa, shredded cabbage or lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber, thinly sliced red onions, tahini sauce (below), etc. Â
for the shawarma seasoning:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1Â lemon, juiced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or honey
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
- â…› teaspoon cayenne pepperÂ
- water, as needed
for the tahini sauce:Â
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- water, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up. Set aside. Spread the drained & rinsed chickpeas over a couple of paper towels and pat dry. Seems annoying, I know, but water is the enemy when it comes to crispy roasted chickpeas…patting them dry is key. Set aside.Â
- Prep the shawarma seasoning:Â Add all listed ingredients to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Depending on how juicy your lemon is, you may want to add in a splash of water to loosen the seasoning up enough to coat all the veggies & chickpeas. Set aside, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.Â
- Shawarma-ify the veggies & chickpeas:Â To the large bowl with the shawarma seasoning, add the chickpeas, cauliflower florets & diced sweet potato. Season with the salt and ground black pepper. Toss to coat the veggies & chickpeas with the shawarma sauce, ensuring everything is coated evenly. Transfer the shawarma veggies & chickpeas to the prepared baking sheets, arranging everything with enough room around it to roast up nicely.Â
- Roast the shawarma chickpeas & veggies for 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through, until the cauliflower & sweet potato are tender with crispy, browned edges. Remove from the oven & squeeze the lemon juice over top. Set aside.Â
- Make the tahini sauce:Â Meanwhile, as the veggies & chickpeas roast, make the tahini sauce. Combine all listed ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking to combine. Add a splash of water to loosen the tahini sauce to your desired consistency. Set aside, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.Â
- Serve! Pile the crispy shawarma veggies & chickpeas over top quinoa, shredded cabbage or lettuce, & top with thinly sliced cucumber & red onion, crumbled feta cheese, chopped cilantro, & tahini sauce as desired. Enjoy!Â
Notes
- Shawarma: The shawarma seasoning used here is based on my popular shawarma marinade recipe. If you love the spice blend, definitely check out the marinade…& maybe make yourself a chicken shawarma hummus bowl…you can thank me later!Â
- Adaptations:
- Make it vegan: Simply swap the honey in the shawarma seasoning with pure maple syrup & omit any cheese in your final dish.Â
- Make it dairy-free:Â Omit any cheese in your final dish.Â
- Meal prep: Shawarma bowls are super meal prep friendly. Depending on how much time you have, here are 2 plans of attack:
- 10-minute meal prep:Â Chop the cauliflower & sweet potato. Prep the shawarma seasoning according to Step 2 of Recipe Directions. Store everything separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. At dinner time, all you have to do is preheat the oven, toss & roast the shawarma veggies & prep the tahini sauce.Â
- 15-minute meal prep:Â Do 10-minute meal prep & add the tahini sauce to your list. Store everything separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Dinner will be mostly inactive since all you have to do is toss & roast the shawarma veggies & chickpeas! EASY!
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Not sure what I was doing wrong, but my tahini kept seizing up when adding the lemon juice, so I gave up on attempting to make the tahini sauce and just added the lemon juice to my rice instead and drizzled the tahini on top by itself, which worked for me. I did green bell peppers, red and golden potatoes, and riced cauliflower for my veggies as it’s what I had and felt would appeal to my taste, and it did! I definitely should’ve added water to loosen up the shawarma spices on everything as it felt a bit drying after it was all baked, but tasted great. I’ll definitely have to get cauliflower florets and sweet potato to try this recipe as written at some point (and maybe figure out what happened with my tahini and lemon juice).
So sorry to hear about your struggles with the tahini sauce, Sam! But happy to hear the shawarma bowls still turned out great for you! 🙂
This is a GREAT RECIPE! Have been making this since it was posted. A BIG thank you for sharing this AMAZING RECIPE! Everyone you have to try this!! Trish approve!!
So glad you love this one as much as we do, Trish! 🙂
This was delicious with homemade flatbread. Could you include the nutritional information?
So glad you loved these bowls, Austin! You can find the nutrition facts in the recipe card 🙂
Amazing!!! Loved everything about this! So yummy! Thank you!
Ps. I don’t think people that did not follow the recipe should give ratings as it totally different with the substitutions (broccoli..🙄) lol
Thanks so much for your kind review, Sara! We’re so glad to hear you loved these bowls! And we definitely agree that substitutions can make a huge difference in how a recipe turns out!
This was a huge hit! Amazing for lunch leftovers, as well. Thank you for the recipe, it’ll definitely be a regular in our house.
Thanks so much, Ruth! We’re so glad you loved these veggie shawarma bowls & that they could become a new go-to recipe!
WOW! This was SO GOOD! I served this over quinoa and shredded dinosaur kale and omitted the cheese. I will be making a wrap with the leftover tomorrow. I wish I had doubled the recipe!! Thank you!
So glad to hear it, Camille! & so glad to hear that you have leftovers for an easy lunch today as well – enjoy!!
Wow. This was good. Really good. I made it with Brussel sprouts because I didn’t have cauliflower. Will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation! Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Anna! Thank you so much for sharing!! We love that you were able to use what you had on hand, they are super customizable!
Can I just say… I made this a few nights ago for myself, and I’ve had the leftovers everyday for lunch this week. It is THAT GOOD. A note: this is also FABULOUS served cold over shredded kale or spinach. I made a little extra tahini drizzle and used as a dressing.
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit, especially with added fresh greens, cucumber, feta and the tahini sauce. My daughter’s carnivore boyfriend declared it one of the best meals he’s ever eaten.
Love to hear it, Karen! The combo of fresh greens, cucumber, feta, & tahini with this veggie shawarma sounds perfect – thank you for sharing!
Do you think this would work without any sweeteners? Would a little extra oil help?
Hi Christine! We’ve never tested the shawarma seasoning without the added maple syrup or honey – it isn’t overly sweet in flavor when paired with the other spices. If you do choose to omit you shouldn’t need to add additional oil, the mixture should still coat the veggies. If needed you can add in a splash of water to loosen up the seasoning just a touch & help coat the veggies & chickpeas completely.
I have never made this before. I am thinking my family may like this.
Hope you give it a try! They are super customizable & a total crowd-pleaser! 🙂
It was good…like 6 or 7/10. We made a few substitutions bc we didn’t want to go out in a snow storm to get additional ingredients.
-Subbed in broccoli
-served over brown rice
It also took about double the time to make sure the sweet potatoes were done, but as someone who had roasted vegetables before, I knew this.
And it was okay. Don’t know if I’d make it again, but edible.
Hi Ashely – Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your shawarma bowls more. Given the spice blend at play in the shawarma seasoning, I don’t know that broccoli would be my first choice as a sub for the cauliflower – I’d guess that its ‘green’ flavor probably competed with the spicy-sweet notes in the rest of the dish. Something to consider if you choose to try it again – thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.
This had potential, but if I’m being honest it fell way short of our expectations. I think the greatest fault was the sweet potato: when you’re eating shawarma, you’re not expecting a burst of sweet! If I were to recommend a change, it would be to substitute a regular potato (Yukon gold or red skin). Not sure whether I’m going to make this again.
Hey there! One of the nice things about this recipe is that it is easily customizable – if you’d prefer regular potatoes you can certainly swap them out. Just be sure to dice & it shouldn’t even affect roasting time. Hope you’ll give it another try!
Yum! This was delicious! Maybe I had a large head of cauliflower, but I had to double the shawarma marinade recipe…I wanted to really make sure the veggies were shawarmafied! I discovered too late that my tahini had gone rancid, so subbed in some tzatziki sauce and served them in pitas with cucumber and feta. Sort of like a Mediterranean taco. 😋
This is absolutely fantastic. Cauliflower is generally just ok in my opinion, but this recipe takes it to another level. The seasoning and flavors are so spot on, it vastly exceed my expectations. I crave this recipe all the time and it’s part of my regular meal prep rotation.
Hey Victoria! So glad to hear that you loved the recipe & that it’s a go-to meal for you! Thank you so much for the comment!
This meal is such a hit! My husband and I have made this multiple times and just can’t get enough of it. We even made for his non-vegan mom while she was visiting and she was thoroughly impressed. Thank you!
Thanks Amber!! If you liked this one – try our Roasted Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Veggie Tacos next!
AH – Mazing! I stumbled upon this the other night with great interest and realized I had everything I needed to make this happen. I ate mine as a bowl and hubby put his in tortilla wraps (it’s what we had). I topped the shawarma with red cabbage, diced tomatoes, feta and baby cucumber slices. The tahini sauce adds a nice touch of flavour without fighting with the spice blend. I will be making this again for sure. My house smells absolutely heavenly after roasting the veg. Thank you for putting this out for all to enjoy.
Hi Lori! We LOVE when a meal can come together so easily like that & are so glad to hear that both you & your husband enjoyed!!