These easy vegetarian shawarma tacos are loaded with roasted chickpeas and cauliflower, quick pickled red onions, and yogurt tahini sauce! Serve leftover chickpea & cauliflower shawarma over rice with all the toppings for an epic shawarma bowl.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss the cauliflower, chickpeas and garlic with olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix together the spices then toss them into the mixing bowl with the cauliflower and chickpeas to coat evenly.
Spread the vegetables out on a large baking sheet (or two if your baking sheet is too crowded!) and bake on the bottom rack for 20-25 minutes, tossing with a wooden spoon halfway through until cauliflower is golden brown and soft (see notes for tips).
Meanwhile, prepare the toppings, starting with the quick pickled red onion. Pour the hot water over the sugar and salt in a medium jar. Stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar then nestle in the red onion slices. Let sit until ready to serve. The pickles will get even stronger as they sit and will last a couple of months in the fridge.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt until smooth. Add water as needed until it's thin enough to drizzle/splatter on your tacos. This will vary depending on the thickness of your yogurt (traditional v greek v Icelandic) and your tahini.
When the vegetables are done baking, squeeze lemon juice over the top.
Time management: Wait to prepare all your toppings while the cauliflower roasts to save time.Tips for roasted cauliflower:
Make sure your florets are very dry before tossing in olive oil. Excess water from washing will cause your cauliflower to stem before browning
Similarly, if your baking sheet is too crowded, your cauliflower will steam before browning. Fix this by using two baking sheets on separate racks and rotate them halfway through when you toss the cauliflower.
I find that my vegetables brown best on a dark baking sheet without parchment paper.
Substitution tips:
Spices: replace cayenne with red pepper flakes or black pepper, cardamom with allspice, or smoked paprika with regular paprika.
Cauliflower: Sub in 2 additional cans of chickpeas, squash, or sweet potatoes!
Tahini: Sub in hummus and use a bit more
Garlic: Sub in ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder per clove
White vinegar: Sub in apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar
Red onion: Sub in quick-pickled shallots of thinly sliced radishes
Tortillas: Use rice instead as a shawarma bowl
Cucumbers: Sub in cherry tomatoes, sliced radishes, or avocado
Romaine: Sub in any greens - I love these with arugula too!
This nutritional information has been automatically calculated, and as such, may be incomplete or inaccurate. Please reference the specific ingredients you use for the most accurate nutritional information.