Next Post
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
SO delicious and so hard to eat just one. The flavors blend beautifully–I made the zhug and tahini sauces, and added some cherry tomatoes. A wonderful dish that has such complexity in the textures and flavors, yet is simple to make!
Hey there,
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for making the recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! Have the best week:) xxT
Bursting with flavor. I made a few alterations due to ingredients on hand and cooked in the air fryer. Turned out great! I will absolutely be making this again and again. Best cauliflower I have had in a long time!
Hi Victoria,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xx
Loved it! The thug was so fresh with the heavy flavours on the cauliflower. Added chickpeas to the pan for a bit of protein!
Hey Amanda,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend:) xx
Oh my gosh! Absolutely delicious! I used low carb flour tortillas and charred them–added all the goodness as listed–I had to stop myself at 3 but wanted to keep going they were so delicious! Thank you for this flavor bomb!! Looking forward to trying your other recipes 🙂
Hey Laura,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xxT
SO. GOOD. My family could not stop raving. My only regret is that I didn’t double the cauliflower so that we could have it again tonight! Will definitely make again!
Hey Jennifer,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
All I have to say this was so delicious. I’m not a huge vegetarian eater but I do like Middle Eastern food. It was amazing. My mango harissa sauce was too thick any suggestions on how to thin it out? Do you have any other suggestions for a fruit for the harissa sauce because I like to keep a little more keto. But the other two the green and the lemon tahini was delicious. I also pickled the red onions like you suggest it made a great. I would definitely make this again with all the sauces and everything it totally made it. I’m following the keto diet and used low carb tortillas instead of the pitas and they worked wonderful. I can’t wait to try another recipe of yours they’ve been amazing.
Hey Amy,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed. You could add some olive oil to thin the harissa next time. Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
hi Tieghan
thank you for the suggestion on the harissa one. Do you know any other than mango for the harissa one? Do you suggest to use fresh or frozen fruit for the harissa one?
Fresh or frozen is great, just thaw the frozen, you could use pineapple in place of the mango:)
Oh my HEAVENS! This recipe is absolutely phenomenal and SO full of flavor. The time to make the sauces was completely worth it. I even pickled onions and jalapenos for this, and I’m so glad I didn’t skip anything. I also roasted chickpeas and tossed them with the cauliflower before serving. I could eat this for DAYS. Amazing as always, Tieghan!
Hey Stacey,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for trying it out!! xx
Ooommmmggg wowzers! Sorry that’s How good this is. I mean I felt like I was eating in the Middle East somewhere and it was just so yummy!
Hi Lisa,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xx
Oh my this is delicious! I had to improvise and substitute a few things in the mango harissa because I didn’t have any harissa but I think I got the flavors. All the sauces amd cauluflower were great!
Hi Monica,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! ?xTieghan
This was SO delicious. I made this for a vegetarian friend recovering from a kidney transplant. The second time I made it I put the cauliflower in the airfryer and I love the crunch it gave to the cauliflower. Will definitely keep this in regular rotation!
Hey there,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was a winner:) ?xx
This recipe had a lot of great flavor and was so nutritious. My only draw back was it wasn’t very filling. It needs some type of protein to fill you up more…I’m going to be brain storming what else to add.
Hey Rayanne,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was a winner:) ?xx
My husband was skeptical of this first, but ended up LOVING it. So many flavors. Make sure to make all the sauces, especially the mango one. I ended up roasting some chickpeas as well for some extra protein. Delicious!
Hey Betsy,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! ☘️xx
Wow!!! Worked great as a pre-prep meal for guests, as you can make the sauces in advance and the rest—roasting cauliflower, assembling, is easy to do! The sauces take a little time to make, but there is very little cooking involved afterward, so I found it to be a relaxing meal to prep overall. So glad I didn’t skip the mango-harissa—it was phenomenal, simple, and great for leftover lunch wraps with rotisserie chicken. Only thing I would change for next time is cooking more cauliflower for leftovers. Would make this again!
Hey Lindsey,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Love this recipe for an adventurous weeknight meal. I did not make the mango harissa sauce this time, but will plan to next time! The other two sauces came together perfectly while the cauliflower cooked.
Hi Siobhan,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx
For the WIN!! Meat loving husband ate double! Sauces are all on point! Will double the cauliflower next time for leftovers ?
Hi Elise,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx
Wow! Made this for lunch today and my husband and I ate all of it! I made some crispy roasted chickpeas to go with it and we both agree, this will be a regular on our menu! Thank you for another fabulous recipe: )
Hi Steph,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx