Chickpea Shawarma Bowl (Print Page)
Spiced roasted chickpeas with fresh veggies, pickles, and creamy tahini in a colorful plant-based bowl.
# What You Need:
→ Spiced Chickpeas
01 - 2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
02 - 2 tbsp olive oil
03 - 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
04 - 1 tsp smoked paprika
05 - 1 tsp ground coriander
06 - ½ tsp ground turmeric
07 - ½ tsp ground cinnamon
08 - ½ tsp ground black pepper
09 - 1 tsp garlic powder
10 - 1 tsp onion powder
11 - ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
12 - 1 tsp salt
→ Vegetable Base
13 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
14 - 1 medium cucumber, diced
15 - ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
16 - 2 cups shredded lettuce or mixed greens
17 - ½ cup pickled red cabbage or pickled onions
18 - ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
→ Tahini Sauce
19 - ⅓ cup tahini
20 - 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
21 - 2 tbsp water (plus more as needed)
22 - 1 garlic clove, minced
23 - ½ tsp salt
24 - 1 tbsp olive oil
→ To Serve
25 - 2 cups cooked brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice
26 - Lemon wedges (optional)
# Directions:
01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, toss the drained chickpeas with olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and salt until evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 20–25 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through, until golden and crisp.
03 - While the chickpeas roast, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, water, minced garlic, salt, and olive oil in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Add more water as needed to reach a drizzly, pourable consistency.
04 - Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber, thinly slice the red onion, and chop the fresh parsley. Set aside the shredded lettuce or mixed greens and pickled cabbage.
05 - Divide the cooked rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice among 4 bowls. Top each with roasted chickpeas, lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, pickled cabbage, and fresh parsley.
06 - Generously drizzle each bowl with tahini sauce. Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The spice blend on those roasted chickpeas is so good you will catch yourself snacking on them straight off the baking sheet before the bowls are even assembled.
- Everything comes together on one pan and one cutting board, which means cleanup is almost nonexistent on a weeknight.
02 -
- Patting the chickpeas completely dry before seasoning is the difference between crispy and chewy, and I learned this the hard way after serving soggy chickpeas to dinner guests.
- Tahini brands vary wildly in thickness, so always judge the sauce by how it pours rather than following the water measurement exactly.
03 -
- Doubling the spice blend and keeping the extra in a jar means you are ten minutes away from shawarma flavor on any vegetable or protein you have on hand.
- Warming the tahini sauce gently in your hands by holding the jar for a minute makes it pour more smoothly after refrigeration.