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Street food inspired Roasted Cauliflower Pitas with Zhug and Garlic Tahini. Roasted crispy cauliflower stuffed inside fresh pitas with all the “extras”. Delicious herby green sauce, Zhug, garlic lemon tahini sauce, spicy mango harissa, and all of the desired toppings you love. This loaded pita is SO GOOD and makes for a fun, delicious, and different weeknight dinner. Serve each pita with homemade fries for a meal that everyone will truly love – and have fun eating too.
Keeping Monday fun with some stuffed pitas! Pretty sure I said this when I made chicken gyros, but street food inspired recipes are so much fun. Especially in the late winter when you’re searching for more color, more fun, and honestly, probably travel too.
Actually, I just explained my current state of mine. So this is how I’m feeling. In an effort to not get too bored, I’m loving trying out some fun middle eastern-inspired recipes. These pitas are inspired by chicken shawarma, which you guys know we love around here, but made vegetarian, with cauliflower.
Shawarma is one of the most popular middle eastern street foods you’ll come across. As well as one of the most well-loved. Traditionally, Shawarma is made with roasted meat cut into thin slices. Originally lamb was used, but it’s now often made with chicken, beef, or pork. The meat is seasoned with spices, marinated, and then roasted vertically, rotisserie-style. It’s usually served inside a pita, or on a plate with hummus.
The thing that’s so incredible about shawarma is that when it’s served up in a pita, it’s also served with multiple toppings and sauces. I wanted to recreate that style of pita, but with roasted cauliflower!
Start with the roasted cauliflower
I kept it simple but loaded up on the spices. Lots of paprika, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, and then garlic and lemon too.
Nothing fancy, but when roasted up with the cauliflower, it’s such a delicious, hearty combination. Even some of my brothers (hello Kai and Red), really loved it! Creighton stuck with chicken, but I’ve given up on changing his ways.
The Zhug, or herby spicy green hot sauce
Zhug is a popular hot sauce throughout Israel. It can be either red or green, but either way, it’s spicy. The green version is made with herbs, chilies, and spices– mine uses cumin and turmeric.
It’s fresh and super flavorful over top of the roasted cauliflower.
Fun fact, this sauce is straight out of my new cookbook, HBH Every Day. So just a little sneak peek for you!
The “extras”
The tahini. We all love a little tahini sauce and it is so simple to make in just minutes. I usually do mine with roasted tahini, lemon, garlic, and a small amount of honey. Creamy and perfect when drizzled over the cauliflower.
And lastly, sometime last year, I read about a mango sauce called Amba, in Eden Grinshpan’s Eating Out Loud, which sounds truly like an incredible addition. Apparently, you can now buy it at Trader Joe’s? Has anyone seen it?
Basically, it’s a spicy mango hot sauce. Since I don’t have Trader Joe’s, I blended harissa with fresh mango and pickled jalapeños. It sounds super odd, but you guys, it’s super delicious. This is of course totally extra, but if you want a lot of sauce, try this, so yummy!
My recommendation is to make all the sauces and add all the toppings. Make your weeknights fun!
Looking for other easy dinners? Here are some favorites:
Sheet Pan Greek Garlic Butter Chicken and Potatoes
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Sheet Pan Chicken Gyros with Feta Tzatziki
Spinach and Artichoke Pita Grilled Cheese
Lastly, if you make these Roasted Cauliflower Pitas with Zhug and Garlic Tahini 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!
Roasted Cauliflower Pitas with Zhug and Garlic Tahini
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 713 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon smoked or sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- juice from half a lemon
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- kosher salt black pepper
- 4 fresh naan or pitas, warmed
- pickled red onion and lettuce, for serving
- lemon tahini and mango harissa (recipe in notes) (optional)
Zhug (herby green sauce)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 large jalapeño, seeded if desired
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. 2. On a baking sheet, tossed together the cauliflower, olive oil, paprika, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, cayenne, lemon, garlic, and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes, toss and bake another 15 minutes, until lightly charred.3. To make the zhug. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped. If the sauce is too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time to thin. Taste and add more salt as needed. 4. To assemble, stuff/spread each pita with zhug, then lettuce, roasted cauliflower, and red onion. Drizzle over more zhug. Add tahini and harissa, if desired (recipes in notes).
Notes
Lemon Tahini: Combine 1/2 cup tahini, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon honey, and 1/4 cup water in a blender and blend until smooth. If needed, add water to thin the sauce as desired. Season to taste with salt.
Mango Harissa: In a blender, combine 1/2 cup red harissa sauce, 1 cup diced mango, and 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños, blend until smooth.
SUCH a good recipe. Adding it to our meal rotation. We actually used Naan instead of Pita and highly recommend 🙂
Hi Alyssa,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Knocked it put of the park again! This recipe is absolutely delicious and comes together really quickly! We will definitely be eating this many times in the futurw! Thank you so much for creating and giving this recipe to us!
Hey Jaime,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! ☘️xx
Sooooo good! Made all of the sauces and they were perfect. Also made a batch with chicken for the meat eaters in the house, but the cauliflower was just as good.
Hi Tamara,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Made this tonight, with homemade pitta. Really good – thank you! ?
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for trying it out!! xTieghan
This was awesome and the sauce was Yum! Definitely making again.
Hi Kristen,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Oh-m-gee! These were fantastic. Definitely don’t skip the sauces they were divine and great for dipping fries. I don’t repeat recipes often but this one may just need to become a monthly (or weekly) recipe. So good!
Great recipe!! Bursting with so much flavor and goodness. Have been looking for an excuse to make zhug and paired with the mango harissa – they were a perfect combo. Will definitely make again. Thanks, Tieghan
Hey Stephanie,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend:) xT
Hi Lauren,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend:) xT
It never surprises me that Tieghan’s recipes are good, but this one was a stunner. I tasted the mango sauce and was doubting how the entire recipe would come together, but with the zhug, the mango sauce really popped. I didn’t even make the tahini sauce because those two (plus the spice mix/pickled onions) were such a good combo.
I added sweet peppers and cannellini beans to the roasted cauliflower.
Also, my harissa must be spicy AF, because I only used a tablespoon or so, so I would caution people to taste that first!
Anyway – my vegetarian husband was even impressed with this one. Very creative and flavorful!
Hey Rose,
Happy Friday!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go:) Thanks so much for your kind message! xTieghan
This is one I will repeat very often!!! So delicious!! I felt I was sitting right there enjoying in the restaurant!! Hard to believe I did this!! Thank you so much❤
p.s.I made the Zhug sauce?
Hi there,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend:) xT
Do I need to remove the stems from parsley and cilantro?
Hey Natalie,
You totally can, but since they are blended up you don’t have to. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give the recipe a try!! xTieghan
I made this for dinner last night and it was so easy and SO DELICIOUS! Lots of flavor and I added a little extra heat cuz I like a lot of spice. My husband wants to eat healthier and this one definitely got his approval for a vegetarian dish and he used butterhead lettuce instead of the pitas.
Hey Lorelei,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
This recipe is amazing! I used naan instead of pita because that’s what I had and I didn’t make the mango harrissa. I also used thawed cauliflower florets instead of buying a head of cauliflower.
The pickled red onion (I made some just for this) made the recipe!
Definitely putting this one in my mask rotation!
Hey Claire,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
This looks so good and I can’t wait to make it Saturday night. What I really want to know is how do you make french fries that look like the ones in the pictures?
Hey Sarah,
Here is the recipe for the fries:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chicken-meatball-pita-bowls/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this last night and it was delicious! The sauces collectively took a bit of work but were totally worth it- especially the mango harissa! Every component of this meal went together so well- my husband and I both commented on how this will become a staple in our dinner rotation.
Hey Katie,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
Flavor galore! Couldn’t have been better. I enjoyed the cauliflower,
but for my hard core carnivores I replaced the cauliflower with ground lamb, used the same spice mix. And I had frozen mango on hand for my smoothies, so I used that in the harissa sauce which made it a little easier. Will make again. I was a little intimidated by all the sauces, but it went quickly and was totally worth the effort. Thank you for all of your creative recipes. Can’t wait for the new cookbook!
Hi Ashley,
Happy Friday!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go:) xTieghan
These look delish! Do you think frozen mango would work for the harissa, and is harissa sauce and paste the same thing?
Thanks 🙂
Hey Jessica,
Yes, thawed, frozen mango would be great to use! Yes, harissa sauce and paste are the same:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Thank you!
We had this for dinner last night and it was delicious! Thank you for another yummy recipe!
Hi Shabe,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan
YUM!! Looks incredible!!
Trader Joe’s used to carry Amba- it got discontinued of course ?
Hi Kristiana,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan
So, the cauliflower. It’s charred, and tasted pretty good, but I wouldn’t call it crispy, by any stretch. Am I missing something?
Hi Jan,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, you can pop the cauliflower under the broiler to help it crisp up a little more. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Love the look of this one ?xx
Thanks so much!!
This Pita version is amazing !
Miki x
https://www.littletasteofbeauty.com/
too bad you cant report the spam comments, to make them go away. i have seen this beauty “page” posted before
Thanks so much!!
This looks delicious but I can’t stand the taste of cilantro. Can I just eliminate it? Thanks!
Hey Katy,
Yes, totally fine!! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT