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.

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.
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.
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
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.
Prepare Veggies
- Thinly slice all vegetables. Chop iceberg lettuce to fit in a sandwich or bowl. Set these aside. Drain pickles and set aside.
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.
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.
Notes
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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Ahida
thanks for veganizing this meal! the flavours are super flavourful and spot on! everyone loved it at dinner!
Maggie
Oh yum! Yum! Yum! Made this for dinner.
Jerome
Wow! this vegan shawarma in a plate was amazing!:) YUM!!
Anth
such a delicious recipe! love it wrapless. so good!
Audrey
My family loved this veg shawarma recipe.
Chantry
YES!! I am so glad I found this veggie shwarma recipe! The flavors are exactly what I was looking for. I will be making this again and again! Thank you
Brittany Watson
This looks so delicious, but what are the pinkish purplish thingys? I read the ingredients twice and I don't see it mentioned.
Janelle
Hi Brittany,
It's pink pickled turnip. You should be able to pick it up at your local Middle Eastern or Meditteranean grocer. Or you can use pickled Armenian cucumber (the very long cucumbers). I have now fixed this up to show this in the vegan shawarma recipe section.
Enjoy.
J
Janelle
Done 🙂
Nancy
I tried all of the recipes for mushroom shawarma on the internet, including Jamie Oliver's and I found this to be the hands down best. Between her proportions, her spice mix, the pro tips and instructions on how to build the sandwich, you will arrive at a show-stopping delicious treat so much so that a non-cooking, non-vegan, friend of mine the heck out of me by insisting I that give him the recipe!! (I suspect he will ask his niece to make it for him). The point is that he and everyone else who tastes it, will want to eat it again. It's THAT delicious!! Thank you Janelle, you are one of the internet's true treasures!!
Janelle
Hi Nancy,
Your comments have made my week! YAYAYAY! I am thrilled you and your friend enjoy this vegan shawarma recipe. I love that non-vegans are also enjoying it, when this happens in my circle of friends, it gives me so much joy!
J x
ella
another amazing vegan lebanese meal i made from you. i ate it with and without a wrap.
Janelle
It's one of my favourite meals, mushroom shawarma is full of flavour.
Eating it without a wrap is a great idea