If you love Middle Eastern food, then you'll love this tofu shawarma. The tofu is seasoned with a few spices that give it so much flavor without making it spicy. Bake until crisp, then serve with a generous drizzle of dairy-free creamy lemon garlic sauce. This tofu is amazing over rice to make shawarma bowls, tucked into a pita, or used as a topping for salad.
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Easy tofu shawarma
This recipe literally couldn't be easier. Toss all the seasonings into a bowl, add pieces of tofu, coat all over, and let it sit. The tofu absorbs the flavor from the delicious Middle Eastern seasonings: coriander, cardamom, cumin, paprika, fresh garlic, lemon juice, etc.
When you're ready to cook (whether that's in 30 minutes or the next day — this recipe is flexible!), simply spread the tofu on a baking sheet and bake until heated through a lightly browned. Or air fry it. Your tofu shawarma is ready to eat!
Make vegan shawarma bowls, make tofu shawarma pitas, use the tofu as a salad topping (basically, shawarma bowls over lettuce), make Middle Eastern tacos.... the possibilities are endless and delicious!
The list of seasonings below might seem like a lot, but TRUST ME that's where the flavor comes from! I sometimes make a large batch of this seasoning by mixing ¼ cup of each seasoning into a large jar (since it's all in equal proportions!) and having it ready to use without needing to open up a million jars. Or simply buy yourself some shawarma seasoning (make sure to add salt if it's unsalted). It's a great time-saver.
More vegan dinner bowls to try: Vegan Black Bean Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
For the tofu shawarma:
- 14-16 ounce block extra firm tofu, pressed to remove water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ - 1 teaspoon cayenne powder (to taste, or omit for no spice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
Time saving tip: Use 2 tablespoons of this shawarma seasoning + 1 teaspoon salt instead of all the dry seasonings above.
For the garlic sauce:
- ½ cup plain vegan yogurt (unflavored and unsweetened)
- 1 clove garlic, grated or pressed
- 1-2 teaspoon lemon juice, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (or parsley leaves)
- salt and pepper, to taste (about ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon each)
- optional: water to thin out sauce, if needed
For serving:
- Fresh diced tomato
- Fresh diced cucumber
- Pickled red onions (see below for my recipe)
- Cooked rice or pita
- Hummus or chickpeas
- Fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
Equipment
- Tofu press
- Large baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Lemon juicer
- Measuring cups and spoons
Instructions
This recipe has a marinating time of at least 30 minutes but can be marinated up to a day in advance, so be sure to plan ahead.
If you're serving tofu shawarma with rice or pickled onions, get those going so they're ready for dinner time. To make quick-pickled red onions, combine ½ cup water and ½ cup apple cider vinegar (you can go for the cheap stuff here, not the "with the mother" stuff) with 1.5 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat. Add 1 sliced red onion, stir to submerge the onion in the liquid, and let cool. You might need to stir a few times to make sure all the onions are covered in liquid. The onions are ready to eat once cooled to room temperature.
Slice the tofu into 1-inch strips, then use your hands to break them into 1-inch pieces. Breaking up the pieces gives the seasonings more surface area to hold on to, resulting in extra-flavorful pieces.
In a medium-large bowl, combine all the seasonings for the marinade (olive oil through pepper) and mix well. The mixture should have the texture of very wet sand. Place the tofu pieces into the marinade and use your hands to gently coat all the pieces. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. If marinating for over 30 minutes, place the tofu in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking dish with parchment paper. (Now is a good time to make rice if you haven't yet!).
Spread the tofu onto the parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.
While the tofu is baking, prepare the sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. Give it a taste and adjust the flavor with salt, pepper, or lemon juice, if needed. If you want a thinner sauce, stir in a teaspoon or two of water.
Serve the tofu shawarma hot. If making vegan shawarma bowls, place the tofu pieces over rice, along with chopped veggies, a dollop of hummus, some pickled onions, and a drizzle of garlicky yogurt sauce.
How to serve tofu shawarma
My favorite way is to make tofu shawarma rice bowls where you pile everything onto a big bowl of rice, like described above in the last step of the cooking instructions.
Another option is tofu shawarma pitas: toast or microwave the pitas to soften them, spread some hummus in the center, then top with tofu shawarma, veggies, pickled onions, herbs, and a drizzle of sauce. Wrap in parchment paper to prevent a huge drippy mess and enjoy!
Make Middle Eastern tacos: place all the toppings mentioned above into a tortilla and serve! Try this cabbage salsa on the tacos for a nice crunch.
You can also add these tofu pieces to salad, or make a platter with hummus, pita wedges or pita chips, tabbouli salad, and fresh veggies.
Recipe tips
→ For a crisp and firm tofu, press as much water as you can out of the tofu. You can do this with a dedicated tofu press, or by placing the block of tofu between two large plates and carefully balancing 1-2 cans of beans on top. Drain out the water as it collects on the bottom plate. However, for this recipe I sometimes get lazy and only press the tofu for an hour or two. This results in softer tofu, which is OK because it is SO flavorful and tasty that it doesn't matter if it's crispy.
→ You can air fry the tofu shawarma for a crispier tofu. 400F for 10-15 minutes, shaking the tofu or flipping it halfway through.
→ If you don't have cardamom, you can skip it—it's probably not worth buying some if you never cook with it, even though it is very aromatic and is great in homemade chai.
→ Try experimenting with different spice mixtures, like adding a pinch of ground cinnamon and ginger, turmeric, sumac, white pepper instead of black pepper, dried herbs, etc.
→ Save time by using a shawarma spice mixture. I love this one because it's salt-free so I can control the amount of sodium. Instead of the dry seasonings, use 2 tablespoons of this mixture + 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste).
Recipe
Tofu Shawarma with Lemon Garlic Sauce (Vegan)
Ingredients
For the tofu shawarma:
- 14-16 ounce block extra firm tofu, pressed to remove water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ - 1 teaspoon cayenne powder, to taste, or skip for no spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
For the garlic sauce:
- ½ cup plain vegan yogurt, unflavored and unsweetened
- 1 clove garlic, grated or pressed
- 1-2 teaspoon lemon juice, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, or parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste (about ⅛-¼ teaspoon each)
- water , to thin out sauce, if needed
For serving:
- fresh diced tomato
- fresh diced cucumber
- pickled red onions, see notes below for recipe, start these while the tofu is marinating
- cooked rice or pita
- hummus
- fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
Special equipment
- Large baking pan
Instructions
- Slice the tofu into 1-inch strips, then use your hands to break them into 1-inch pieces.
- In a medium-large bowl, combine all the seasonings for the tofu shawarma marinade (olive oil through pepper) and mix well. Add the tofu pieces and use your hands to gently coat all the pieces. If needed, add a drizzle of olive oil to help spread out the seasonings. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. If marinating over 30 minutes, place the tofu in the fridge.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking dish with parchment paper. (Now is a good time to make rice if you haven't yet!).
- Spread the tofu onto the parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the tofu is baking, prepare the sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. Give it a taste and adjust the flavor with salt, pepper, or lemon juice, if needed. If you want a thinner sauce, stir in a teaspoon or two of water.
- Serve the tofu shawarma hot. If making bowls, place the tofu pieces over rice or chopped lettuce, along with chopped veggies, a dollop of hummus, some pickled onions, and a drizzle of garlicky yogurt sauce.If making pitas, warm up the pita to make it soft, spread some hummus on it, then assemble with all the toppings and drizzle with sauce.
Notes
Quick pickled red onions:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar (use the cheap stuff here, not the "with the mother" vinegar)
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon organic sugar
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
Nutrition
Kate
I think this might be my favorite way to eat tofu! Enjoy these tofu shawarma bowls!