Easy Vegan Mushroom Shawarma

This spicy and savory vegan mushroom shawarma is the perfect sheet pan dinner recipe. It's gluten free and comes together in less than 30 minutes. Served with a dairy free tzatziki, warm pita and all of your favorite fixings!

What is Shawarma?

Traditionally, shawarma is a dish of thin slices of slow roasted meat. It's served in a fluffy pita with all sorts of toppings. The first shawarma sandwiches included lamb. Today, however, restaurants serve chicken, beef, and even veal shawarma.

If you've ever seen a giant vertical spit packed with a cone of meat at a restaurant or street vendor, you've seen shawarma. The flavors come from Middle Eastern cuisine, which means plenty of spice. Cumin, peppers, chili, garlic, and even cinnamon are common flavorings.

We brought those same delicious savory spices to the vegan mushroom shawarma recipe. Skipping meat doesn't mean you have to miss fantastic dishes like a plump and juicy shawarma sandwich! Mushrooms are a natural meatless alternative, thanks to their meaty texture.

Ingredients

One of the great parts about this vegan mushroom shawarma recipe is that you don't need any special equipment. Just a sheet pan! No spit, rotisserie or meat necessary.

The key to deeply flavorful vegetarian & gluten free homemade shawarma is the seasoning. Here's how to build a classic shawarma seasoning blend in your own kitchen:

• Smoked paprika helps you achieve that fire-roasted flavor in your oven.
• Cumin and cinnamon bring warming spice flavors that don't overwhelm mild mushrooms
• Chili powder packs the heat
• Soy sauce brings a nice salty and umami flavor
• The shawarma mushroom glaze is sweetened with a bit of maple syrup. If you have agave or honey on hand, that works too!

This vegan mushroom shawarma recipe comes together in less than half an hour. Simply whip up the glaze, coat your portobello mushrooms, and roast them in the oven until tender and slightly caramelized.

Serving suggestions

When your mushrooms are fully cooked and nicely caramelized, it's time to assemble your shawarma sandwiches.

The pita is very important, of course. Choose the fluffiest, freshest pita you can find. Look for gluten free options if you need to. Look for it in the store, or make your own!

We recently found a fantastic gluten free and vegan store-bought pita from this brand. It gets super fluffy, chewy and warm after just a few minutes in a hot skillet.

We found it in the frozen section at Whole Foods - I highly suggest looking for it! (It's the pita pictured in these images.)

Toppings

Tzatziki sauce is a must-have to top your homemade mushroom shawarma. I like to spread a warm pita with a generous amount of tzatziki. Of course, you could also dollop it on top. Better yet, do both!

Tzatziki is the tangy, sour and bright sauce that your savory roasted mushroom shawarma needs. It's a classic yogurt sauce. We made it with a simple swap to make it vegan.

The base is plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt. We like Forager Project, which is cashew based. Use your favorite brand, just be sure it's not flavored!

Tzatziki gets its zest from freshly squeezed lemon juice. Fresh cucumber provides crunch and lightness. And, we can't forget the garlic! Just be sure to mince it finely. No one wants to bite into a big chunk of raw garlic in their sandwich.

There are dozens of toppings to dress up your homemade mushroom shawarma dinner. That's why this recipe is great for feeding a crowd.

Everyone can pick and choose their favorite toppings. We're all about DIY meals. It's the easiest way to please everyone's tastes and dietary preferences.

Here are a few of our favorites shawarma toppings to add to your dinner spread:

• Fresh chopped crunchy lettuce, like romaine
• Diced tomatoes
• Hot sauce
• Quick-pickled red onions
• Black olives
• Tahini dressing
• Plenty of fresh herbs, like cilantro and mint

More Easy Sheet Pan Dinners

If you love how quick and easy this vegetarian mushroom shawarma recipe is, give some of our other weeknight sheet pan dinners a try:

• Portobello Fajita Sheet Pan Dinner. Swap the shawarma spices for Mexican flavors in this easy and colorful plant-based dinner.
• Roasted Vegetable and Tofu Sheet Pan Dinner. Turn up the protein with this tofu & veggie-packed meal.
• Rainbow Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner. The most colorful meal you can make--all on one sheet pan!
• Potato, Asparagus and Chickpea Sheet Pan Dinner via The Simple Veganista. This looks like a great way to use up some leftover veggies!
• Crispy Tofu Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner with Thai Hummus via Full of Plants. This crispy tofu looks perfect, and I love the sound of Thai hummus!

If you make this easy vegan mushroom shawarma recipe, we'd love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram - tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you've been cooking.

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