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Keeping things healthy and delicious with this Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi. Middle eastern seasoned cauliflower, roasted with chickpeas, and served up bowl style with hummus, fresh naan, arugula, and even some fried Halloumi cheese. This quick-cooking, easy sheet pan dinner comes together in under forty-five minutes. It’s colorful, healthy, and beyond good. Incorporate this into your weekly dinner rotation or prep ahead of time and enjoy for lunch throughout the week.

overhead photo of Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi

Happy Monday! Hoping you’ve all had an amazing weekend. It’s March, it’s a new week, I’m off to LA tomorrow, and we have such a delicious recipe to be talking about today! Can you tell I am excited? I’ve personally had some harder days recently (as have some family members). All is fine, it’s just life running its day to day course, but it’s been a mix of emotions over here. That said, I’m coming off of a couple of good days and feeling my confidence slowing building itself back up. I’m a little anxious about all the upcoming travel and time away, but certainly nothing new there. I guess I’m learning to live with being uncomfortable a bit.

Now, moving onto today’s recipe. It’s almost vegan, extra delicious, easy to throw together, and what I’m calling the ideal Monday night dinner. And you guys? This is how cauliflower should taste. It should be seasoned up perfectly with middle eastern spices, roasted until crispy, and finished with a little extra salt. And then…add in all the other extra-delicious elements to this bowl.

It’s as close to perfect as it gets…and honestly, it’s just another way to enjoy a bowl of hummus and middle eastern-inspired “street food” for dinner.

Plus, it’s healthy too!

Cauliflower and chickpeas on baking sheet before roasting

Here are the details.

Shawarma is a middle eastern street food made with roasted meat. Originally lamb was used, but it’s often made with chicken, beef, or pork as well. The meat is then seasoned well and usually served inside a pita, or on a plate with hummus. There is no meat involved in today’s Shawarma, but instead, we’re using a head of cauliflower and a can of chickpeas.

Is this traditional? No, not at all. But is this delicious and a fun vegetarian twist on classic street food? Yes, absolutely.

This dinner comes together quickly and is made almost entirely on one sheet pan. Add the cauliflower and chickpeas and season them well with plenty of garlic, smoked paprika (very important for flavor), cumin, and lemon. Next, add in sesame seeds and toss in olive oil. Yes, toss, toss, toss. Then roast in the oven until the cauliflower is charred and the chickpeas are extra crisp.

While the cauliflower is in the oven, make the tahini. Literally all you need to do is toss everything into a blender and blend until smooth. It’s a mix of nutty creamy tahini, fresh cilantro, and lemon juice. Next add in some honey for a subtle sweetness and then a pinch of salt to tie it all together. Simple, fresh and so good.

Cauliflower and chickpeas on baking sheet after roasting

Next…you need to add some fried Halloumi.

Yes, you do. What is Halloumi you ask?

Halloumi is a salty grilling cheese commonly used in Mediterranean cooking. I love incorporating it into dishes like spicy peanut soup, vegetarian tacos, and my peanut noodles. It adds such great flavor and gives the perfect crispy, salty bite. And honestly, what’s better than pan-fried cheese? Not much.

If for some odd reason you can’t find Halloumi. First I would recommend asking your grocery store to special order it for you. They should do this free of charge and trust me, this cheese is worth the extra effort.

Second, if you really can’t get your hands on some Halloumi, swap in feta. Still delicious.

overhead close up photo of Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi

Once you have everything together, assemble…

Swirl the hummus in the bottom of a low bowl and then layer in the cauliflower and chickpeas. Add fresh arugula, avocado, and cucumbers. Generously drizzle on the green tahini and finish with naan. You know you can’t forget the naan.

It’s kind of like eating at a middle eastern restaurant, but vegetarian style, and in the coziness of your own home. Personally, I am all about this.

So much color, so much flavor, incredibly healthy. And so, so, SO GOOD!

Oh, and fast and easy too. I mean, come on, you gotta agree…best Monday Recipe!

And the final added bonus? This cauliflower shawarma is perfect for meal prepping and I’ve included all the steps for doing so in the recipe. Enjoy!

overhead photo of Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi and spoon full of green tahini in bowl

Lastly, if you make this cauliflower shawarma with green tahini and fried Halloumi, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 871 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Green Tahini

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
    2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the cauliflower, chickpeas, 1/4 cup olive oil, paprika, garlic, cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, lemon, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Add the sesame seeds and gently toss. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and lightly charred.
    3. Meanwhile, make the tahini. Combine all ingredients and 1/4 cup water in a blender and blend until completely smooth. If needed, add water to thin the sauce to a drizzling consistency.
    4. To cook the halloumi. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the halloumi and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet.
    5. To serve, spread the hummus into bowls and top with the cauliflower, chickpeas, arugula, cucumbers, avocado, and fried halloumi. Drizzle on the tahini. Serve with naan. Enjoy! 

TO MEAL PREP

  • 1. Prepare as directed above through step 2. Let the cauliflower and chickpeas cool. Divide the cauliflower and chickpeas among 4 storage containers. Add the arugula on top.
    2. Make the green tahini and keep in a glass container or jar.
    3. Alternately, you can store the hummus, cauliflower, chickpeas, and greens in separate containers and assemble when ready. Food will keep in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
    4. Before serving, warm each bowl, if desired, and top with hummus, cucumbers, avocado, and fried halloumi. Serve.
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Comments

  1. I went grocery shopping based on the ingredients list. Unfortunately, avocado is not listed there. When I got to the serving section and it mentioned that should be an addition, I was disappointed to not have it. If it could be added to the above near naan, cucumbers, hummus, etc. that would’ve helped!

    1. Hi Emma! I am really sorry about that! I will update the recipe. I hope you still loved this one if you tried it! xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    Yum! I love the way that you plate the food you make. Mine doesn’t look as fancy, but still delicious!

  3. 5 stars
    So good! I’ve made this twice already. I emit the chipotle chili and red pepper flakes because my kids can’t hang, lol, still tastes amazing!

  4. 5 stars
    We used dill in the green tahini because I’m one of those cilantro-tastes-like-soap people and our grocery store was out of parsley. It actually turned out to be a great substitution and the whole recipe was amazing! Thank you for sharing!

  5. Amazing, the green tahini sauce is out of this world…so good. Would definitely make it again. Thanks Tieghan xx

  6. 5 stars
    This recipe was every bit as good as it looks! Oh my goodness, just finished and it was delicious and we are stuffed. I’m not a cilantro person so swapped it out for parsley + basil as recommended and the tahini dressing ended up being my favorite part!
    We couldn’t find halloumi and made it with paneer, which was okay but a little bland for me. I would maybe recommend salting. Otherwise, this was a total hit! Looking forward to leftovers 🙂

  7. Oh, no! I didn’t realize I ran out of cumin and already started making the recipe….any substitute I can use? Thanks!

    1. Hi Sandhya,
      You can use ground coriander. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions!

  8. Just a heads up you didn’t include avocado in the ingredients list (so I missed it when I went shopping.. oops!) looking forward to seeing how this tastes in about 5 min 🙂 yay!

  9. 5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious and beautiful! I didn’t love the cauliflower and chickpeas on their own, but once I added the green tahini (to which I added a lot more lemon) and the peppery arugula and heavenly, pillowy naan bread…WOW…AMAZING! Thank you!

  10. 5 stars
    This recipe is so perfect i think it’s becoming my new go-to when I’m stumped on what to make for dinner! Tonight was my first time incorporating the halloumi into the recipe and WOW i thought this dish was great before but DAMN with the halloumi..NEXT LEVEL delicious! The halloumi browns oh so nicely in a cast iron pan with olive oil. A vegetarian dream!

  11. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious and filling. Super simple with fresh ingredients. Loved it and will definitely be making it again. Your recipes are everything!

    1. Thank you so much Sabrina! I am so glad you enjoyed this and I hope you continue to enjoy other recipes of mine! xTieghan

  12. 5 stars
    I probably don’t have the best review since I followed the recipe pretty loosely, but I just stuffed my face and oh my gosh, it was SO good.

    I didn’t have a chance to get any halloumi so I skipped it. I will definitely be doing it again next week with the halloumi! I just grilled some chicken breasts in the same seasonings as the caulliflower, and used that. Skipped the chickpeas because my husband isn’t a huge fan of them, so I went with caulliflower and sweet potato. Wasn’t sure if the sweetness of sweet potato would work, but we were both surprised by how delicious it was all together!

    Is there any occasion where naan isn’t good? I definitely cheated, and used some of Trader Joes frozen garlic naan (my go-to when I don’t feel like making naan from scratch), and it was absolutely deeeelicious!