Big, vibrant flavors define this vegan shawarma. Mushrooms are flavored and cooked with an authentic blend of shawarma spices, then served with fresh vegetables, pickles, fries, sauce, and a dollop of toum. This creates a wonderful feast, whether enjoyed stuffed in pita bread or a bowl.

open vegan shawarma wrap in a blue plate — A vegan shawarma wrap is so delicious!

Everywhere you go in Lebanon (and across the Middle East), shawarma shops fill the streets with amazing aromas that remind me of childhood flavors. I love a good shawarma roll and am thrilled to have adapted a Lebanese street food version into a vegan one.

In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make a mouthwatering vegan shawarma wrap or a bowl.

This recipe was inspired by a lovely lady named Nuha from the PBF Community Group. Feel free to join and share your wonderful food pics, questions, or just chat.

What Is Shawarma?

Shawarma, pronounced as “sha-warr-mah” in Arabic, is a quintessential Middle Eastern street food typically made with chicken, beef, or lamb which is vertically roasted on an automatic kebab gyrator.

It is usually accompanied by fresh and pickled vegetables rolled in pita bread.

Ingredients Highlight

The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.

To replace the meat found in traditional shawarma, I used fresh mushrooms. I like to use white cups, portobello, king, oyster, or brown flats. The mushrooms are marinated in specific spices for authentic flavors, which I have listed below in the next section.

A combination of Middle Eastern shawarma sauce made from tahini and homemade garlic sauce called toum creates the most delicious flavor when paired with the shawarma spices. I have linked the two recipes for these sauces in the below recipe card.

Shawarma can be enjoyed either wrapped or stuffed in fresh pita bread with all the trimmings like potato fries, fresh sliced veggies, and pickles.

Alternatively, it can be served in a bowl with the same trimmings or additional delicious pairings like fried cauliflower, spicy fried potatoes, fattoush, and hummous.

a close up of cooked mushrooms — Marinated mushrooms

Spices in Shawarma

Shawarma contains quite a few aromatic spices, this veggie shawarma recipe calls for the following to be used:

Ground allspice is an actual plant called Pimenta - it is not a mixture of many spices, contrary to the name suggestion
Ground Coriander
Ground Cumin
Ground sumac is a gorgeous red spice that is sour, it is heavily used throughout Middle Eastern cooking
Ground Turmeric - gives the mushrooms a lovely golden yellow coloring

I always have a jar of shawarma spice mix in my pantry ready to go.

french fries, lettuce, onion cooked mushroom, tomato and pickles on pit bread

Janelle's Tips

Arrange everything in a production line so you can assemble the sandwiches or bowls quickly and efficiently.

When rolling a wrap, place the filling slightly off-center. Start rolling from the edge of the bread closest to the filling, then fold the small flap to create an enclosed end and continue rolling.

Wrap the vegan shawarma rolls with thin parchment paper, twisting the ends like a bonbon wrapper. This helps the roll hold together and makes handling easier.

If you love this recipe then you will definitely love my tantalizing tofu shish kebobs.

Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.

Recipe

Vegan Shawarma

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Course: lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1

Servings: sandwiches

Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

Shawarma Seasoning

1 tablespoon Allspice
1 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Sumac
1 tablespoon Ground Coriander
1 tablespoon Turmeric
½ tablespoon Cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Salt to taste

Mushroom Shawarma

4 cups Mushroom Sliced
3 tablespoon Cilantro fresh coriander
3 cloves Garlic crushed
3 tablespoon Avocado Oil or extra virgin olive oil

Trimmings and Sauces

1½ med Tomato thinly sliced
5 servings Fries try one medium potato per serving
1 med White onion thinly sliced
Toum (garlic sauce)
5 pieces Pita bread
½ small Lemon freshly squeezed (optional)
⅓ small Iceberg Lettuce head shredded
Middle Eastern Pickles
Shawarma sauce

Instructions

Prepare Mushrooms

In a large bowl, mix mushrooms with all the spices, cilantro, oil and garlic. Cover and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
1 tablespoon Allspice, 1 tablespoon Cumin, 1 tablespoon Sumac, 1 tablespoon Ground Coriander, 1 tablespoon Turmeric, ½ tablespoon Cracked black pepper, 1 teaspoon Salt, 4 cups Mushroom, 3 tablespoon Cilantro, 3 cloves Garlic

Prepare Veggies

Thinly slice all vegetables. Chop iceberg lettuce to fit in a sandwich or bowl. Set these aside. Drain pickles and set aside.
1½ med Tomato, 1 med White onion, ½ small Lemon, ⅓ small Iceberg Lettuce head, Middle Eastern Pickles

Prepare Air Fryer French Fries and Mushrooms

Prepare air fryer french fries and set aside - see ingredients for recipe. Whilst the fries are cooking, cook mushrooms in oil, in a hot frypan over medium - high heat until completely wilted. Drain any excess water and set mushrooms aside.
5 servings Fries, 3 tablespoon Avocado Oil

Assemble

If using Lebanese pita bread, seperate each loaf into two and layer on top of each other. Smear garlic sauce (and or tahini sauce) all over the bread and add a little bit of everything. Roll into a wrap and enjoy immediately.
If using regular pita bread, smear toum into the inside of the pockets, stuffed with trimmings, vegan shawarma and top with a drizzle of shawarma sauce.
Or for a bowl, simply add a bit of every ingredient on a bed of lettuce and enjoy with a dollop of toum, a drizzle of sauce and freshly squeeze lemon juice.
5 pieces Pita bread, Toum (garlic sauce)

Notes

There may be leftovers with this recipe, store veggie shawarma in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Nutrition

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

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