Name: Vegan Shawarma with Soy Curls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces soy curls ((about half a package)); 1 teaspoon neutral-flavored oil; 1 green bell pepper (sliced); ½ onion (sliced (about ½ cup)); Pinch of sea salt; ½ teaspoon cumin; ½ teaspoon turmeric; ½ teaspoon paprika; ¼ teaspoon ground ginger; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ¼ teaspoon coriander; Pinch cayenne; 1 Not-Chick’n vegan bouillon cube ((or 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon)); 4 whole wheat flat-breads or pitas (warmed); 2 cups mixed greens; 1 tomato, sliced; 1 small cucumber (sliced (about ½ cup)); ¼ cup sliced pickles; ½ cup dairy-free Thousand Island Dressing

Grab a napkin, because things are about to get messy! Made with Soy Curls, loaded with vegetables, and drizzled with sauce, Vegan Shawarma is lunchtime perfection. Enjoy this vegan wrap for lunch at home on the weekend or pack them up and take them with you to the office. They travel well, and they’re just as delicious when served cold. They make a terrific light dinner, too!

Let me start by saying that I’ve never had non-vegan shawarma. I was my 20s the first time I saw that not-very-appetizing shank of meat revolving behind the counter of the Mediterranean food stand in the mall where I had a part-time job at the bookstore. I was vegetarian, and it was the best place in the mall to grab a bite to eat after leaving my day job as a graphic designer, before starting my shift at the store. My two regular dishes were the falafel sandwich and something they called the Greek peasant vegetarian dinner, which was made with spiced roasted vegetables and pita wedges. That revolving meat always gave me the heebie jeebies, but I ate there twice a week.

Vegan Shawarma

Fast forward to last year. Cedar Ridge Café, a local veg-friendly lunch spot took meat off their menu and created an expanded line of vegan and vegetarian items. (Woo-hoo! Let’s home more restaurants follow suite.) I spotted Seitan Shawarma on the menu and wanted to give it a try. It consisted of a flat bread loaded with spiced seitan, peppers, greens, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickles, and it was smothered in dairy-free thousand island dressing. It was incredible. So good, that I have a difficult time ordering anything else when Dennis and I got there for lunch, so I haven’t tried too many of the other new menu items. The last time I had it, someone walking in the door came over to me and asked what it was, because she wanted it, too.

Last month, we were in the middle of a deep freeze here in New Jersey. I found myself with a hankering for vegan shawarma, but it was just too cold to get bundled up and go out. The fridge was full, so maybe I could recreate it at home. I had most of the ingredients on hand, with the exception of the seitan. What could I replace it with? I had just stocked up on soy curls, that I order in bulk from Amazon, and they have a meaty-texture that’s similar to seitan. Why not give them a try?

Soy Curl Shawarma

I cooked the soy curls with sliced peppers, onions, and some shawarma spices. Traditionally, shawarma spices include cinnamon and cardamom, but I don’t like cinnamon in savory foods, and Dennis doesn’t like cardamom, so I left them out. If you don’t mind them, feel free to add ¼ teaspoon of each to the pan when you add the rest of the spices.

I also crumbled a Not-Chick’n vegan bouillon cube into the pan. Often, I’ll add them, or a Not-Beef bouillon cube, to a soy curl dish to give it a little more flavor. No Chicken Better than Bouillon works really well, too.

I loaded lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickles onto flatbread along with the cooked soy curl mixture. I had made tempeh Reubens the day before, so I had half a jar of Thousand Island Dressing in the fridge. Since the café serves their vegan shawarma with thousand island, I decided to go with it. Shawarma is traditional served with a yogurt sauce, but I didn’t have any non-dairy yogurt on hand. The thousand island dressing works really well with this sandwich, but if you want to go with something a little closer to the traditional option, you can top yours with Lemony Tahini Dressing, which makes for an equally delicious wrap.

I almost always have soy curls on hand since I order them in bulk from Amazon, but if you can’t find them, you can use seitan instead.

You can Make Vegan Shawarma Can in Less than Half an Hour!

First, you cook the onion and pepper in a large pan over medium high heat.
Then, you add the soy curls and spices and cook them until they’ve browned and are slightly crispy.
Next, you pile flat breads high with the soy curls, mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, and pickles.
Finally, you drizzle on the dressing.

The measurements for the vegetables and pickles in this recipe are approximate. Because it’s a sandwich, you won’t mess things up if you use less cucumber and more dressing.

Lunchtime Favorite

Since my original at-home recreation, vegan shawarma has become a lunchtime favorite. I’ve made it many times, usually using soy curls, but I’ve used seitan as well. Sometimes I use thousand Island dressing, and other times I’ll use tahini, depending on what I have on hand.

These hearty wraps are best eaten while the soy curls are warm, but they’re delicious when cold, too. They can be packed up and taken to the office for lunch. They’re messy, so make sure you have a napkin or two at the ready!