Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Cauliflower Shawarma with Green Tahini and Fried Halloumi
This quick-cooking, easy sheet pan dinner comes together in under forty-five minutes. It’s colorful, healthy, and beyond good
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas drained
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- juice of 1 lemon
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 8 ounces halloumi cheese, sliced
- 2 cups plain hummus, homemade or store-bought
- naan, arugula, and cucumbers, for serving
Green Tahini
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- juice of 1 lemon
- kosher salt
Instructions
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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
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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.
Our Favorite Recipes
Creamy Moroccan Tomato Soup.
you had me at halloumi
Haha yes! Thank you Ruth! xTieghan
I love Halloumi, but if it’s not available, I sometimes swap Queso Fresco. It has the same texture and holds up to frying. Beautiful dish, Tieghan!
Thank you so much! xTieghan
This sounds so good! The halloumi is non traditional, but a perfect addition and accent. ? Xx
Thank you so much Kelly! xTieghan
This looks amazing! Making it ASAP. One question, normally I love cilantro, but am currently pregnant and now it smells like dirty socks to me lol, is there something else you’d recommend subbing for it? Parsley maybe?
Hi! Basil or parsley should work great! I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Added chicken and doubled the spices. Served the with everything she mentioned. Absolutely delicious.
Thank you so much Brynn! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Tonight I made the Cauliflower Shawarma!! We loved it!! I substituted paneer cheese for the halloumi, it worked great. Keep the recipes coming Tieghan!
Thank you so much for trying it Jill! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This looks super good! The Instagram story includes parsley in the tahini, but don’t see it in the recipe. Can you skip it? Excited to try this!
Hi Dana! Yes, you can skip! I hope you love this recipe! Please let me know how this turns out for you! xTieghan
My tahini is really thick, doesn’t drizzle. Suggestions?
HI! Try adding 1/4 water to the tahini to help loosen it up! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Made this tonight. It was AMAZING. Really enjoyed the flavours and textures. Husband enjoyed it too. This will definitely be part of our regular meals! Thank you!
Hi Mitsuko! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Just realized you forgot the avocado in the recipe list…I was looking at the image of the completed dish while at the grocery store and saw it!
Oh so good! I hope you love this recipe, Erin! Let me know how it turns out for you! xTieghan
I skipped the halloumi to make it vegan, and it was delicious! I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks for all of the fabulous recipes!
Thank you Andrea! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
This is so good! I made it after work the other night for my son and a visiting friend – we got 4 servings from it. Ha! They loved it. Did get the Halloumi which was new to us and delicious, but I think I needed to drain it or something because a lot of moisture came out in the pan, but my son couldn’t get enough of it. Used parsley and the tahini sauce was great. Even shared your website with a friend who is vegan for health and his wife who is excited to find interesting recipes.
Hi Carol! I am so glad this turned out so well for you all! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Just made this for a late lunch. Filling and delicious!
Thank you! xTieghan
Hi Tiegan,
How did you calculate the calorie count on this? Does that include the halloumi/pita/hummus/ -!: tahini? It seems quite low
Thank you.
Hi Rebecca! It does not include the hummus or pita! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this for meatless monday tonight and it was SO GOOD. I don’t even like cauliflower very much but all the spices and the green sauce give it a ton of flavor. Swapped a generous sprinkle of feta for halloumi (couldn’t find) and it was still delicious.
That is so great to hear! I am glad this still turned out so well for you, Katelyn! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
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!
Haha I am glad you still loved this recipe, Shannon! Thank you so much for trying this! xTieghan
I made this last week, it was so good, delicious and healthy! My teenage son had three helpings!
Wow that is so amazing! Thank you for trying this Laura! xTieghan
The green tahini is AMAZING! Luckily I made a big batch.
Thank you so much Nikoline!! I am so glad you’re loving the tahini! xTieghan
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!
Thank you so much Sabrina! I am so glad you enjoyed this and I hope you continue to enjoy other recipes of mine! xTieghan
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!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this Madison! xTieghan
this is an absolute favorite- made it three times already. thank you Tieghan!
Thank you so much Lara! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
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!
Thank you so much Nicole! I am glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
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!
Thank you so much Lauren! I hope you still enjoy this! xTieghan
Oh, no! I didn’t realize I ran out of cumin and already started making the recipe….any substitute I can use? Thanks!
Hi Sandhya,
You can use ground coriander. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions!
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 🙂
Thank you so much Laura! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Amazing, the green tahini sauce is out of this world…so good. Would definitely make it again. Thanks Tieghan xx
That is so great to hear! Thank you so much for trying this Angela! xTieghan
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!
Thank you so much Whit! That is really great to hear! xTieghan
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!
Haha I am really glad you all enjoyed this one! Thank you! xTieghan
Yum! I love the way that you plate the food you make. Mine doesn’t look as fancy, but still delicious!
Aw thank you so much Angela! xTieghan
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!
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
This cauliflower shawarma is just out of this world! I don’t know how You come up with these recipes, but well done You!!! I only recently found Your blog and i have to say that this is one of my favourite recipes here! I don’t even like plain tahini that much, but the green tahini – just sooooo delicious! Again – well done! Thank You for this amazing recipe and for many others.
Thank you so much Elena! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Is haloumi available anywhere here in Summit?
Hi Erika! It should be available at Whole Foods! xTieghan
Hi, Can you propose an alternative sauce without tahini?
Hi Catherine,
In place of tahini you could use mayo or greek yogurt! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was great! Totally forgot to add the chickpeas, but it still totally worked. 10/10 would make again!
Thank you so much Charlotte! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
That was so delicious!
Thank you Jennifer!! xTieghan
this was great! love all the flavor combinations in this dish.
Thank you so much Amy! xTieghan
I liked it…but the combo of cauliflower, chickpeas, tahini and hummus is about the most fart-tastic combo I can imagine! 😀
Thank you so much Sarah! xTieghan
I actually forgot to serve with the tahini dressing, and it was still absolutely delicious!! The chickpeas were so crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the saltiness of the halloumi was perfect. Thank you Teighan!
Thank you for trying this one, Mackenzie!! xTieghan
My husband and I loved this – was a bit too strong for the kids. We used lots of halloumi and had left overs as a salad the next day.Thanks for a great receipe!
Thank you so much for trying this Laura! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Beyond delicious! No halloumi for my non-dairy self (sigh), but it was lovely and full of flavor. So easy to cook, served over homemade hummus, with Mediterranean pickles and some greens… perfect!
Thank you so much Sarah! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Very good but a little more time consuming than indicated. Great mix of flavours.
Thank you Heather! xTieghan
Probably should remove this from the vegan section cheese and honey aren’t vegan.
Hi Joy! Sorry about that! xTieghan
This recipe was delicious and the tahini sauce was amazing. But your calorie counting is EXTREMELY misleading. The cauliflower and chickpeas alone are 200. If you make the recipe you suggest in the ingredients list it’s about 900 calories per serving. As someone who watches what they eat, It being delicious almost made it more disappointing, because I can’t actually eat it and stick to my plan.
Good flavor as separate components but the green sauce and cauliflower made for way too much cumin in my opinion.
Hey Jay,
So sorry you did not enjoy the sauces, let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
Excellent food
beckandbulow
Delicious! I had some locally made halloumi and this was the perfect way to use it!!
Hey Megan,
Thanks a lot for giving the recipe a go, I am so delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I made this and it was fabulous! Any idea what to eat the leftover green tahini sauce with? How long will the sauce last?
Thanks again for a wonderful recipe
Hey Emma,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, the sauce would also be great with this recipe:
https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/sesame-falafel-melts/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
SO good. This is going into my regular dinner rotation.
Hey Randi,
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a go! I am thrilled it was enjoyed. xTieghan
Too much liquid for the cauliflower and chickpeas which wash away the flavor of the spices. Also, the cook time is not remotely close to accurate and leaves a crunchy under done texture. Maybe 450F at 20 mins and skip the lemon but drizzle once baked.
Hey Andrew,
Sorry you had issues with the recipe, let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I’ve never left a comment before but it’s about time I said THANK YOU for all the lovely recipes! I made this last night with your homemade naan and we loved it, so flavourful! But really, I have no idea how you come up with a new recipe everyday, and every one I’ve tried has worked. That’s so rare on recipe blogs. So thanks! You’re really great at what you do! :))) x
Thank you so very much Elsa❤️❤️