To me, this is heaven in a bowl! If you've been paying close attention you've seen I've been on a bowl kick over here at hot for food.
I now present to the easy vegan grain bowl dinner winner... a vegan chicken shawarma bowl with farro as the base, kale tabbouleh, pickled onions, and a maple tahini dressing.
The chicken shawarma is made from soy curls, which are an inexpensive source of plant protein. However, they do require a lot of work when it comes to seasoning, but in this case I figured it out for you. What you have is a super scrumptious, chewy, and spiced up chicken shawarma that tastes just like the real thing.
Watch the video below to see how this one all comes together or keep scrolling for the recipe.
vegan chicken shawarma bowl
This vegan version of chicken shawarma is totally satisfying and has just the right combo of spices and seasonings to trick the senses!
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Servings: to 3 bowls
Ingredients
pickled red onions (makes about 1 cup)
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ to 1 C water
vegan chicken shawarma
- 1 C butler soy curls (or TVP pieces)
- 1 teaspoon reserved water from soaking the soy curls
- 2 teaspoon vegan beef flavored bouillon paste (or chicken flavored)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or olive oil)
farro grain bowl
- 1 C / 185 g farro
- 2 C / 500ml water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 C diced cucumber
- ½ C cherry tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
- ½ C whole kalamata olives
- whole mint leaves, as garnish
kale parsley tabbouleh (makes about 3 cups)
- 3 C thinly sliced dino kale, stems removed
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 C packed flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- ½ C packed mint, finely chopped
- ¼ C thinly sliced green onion
maple tahini dressing (makes about ¾ cup)
- ¼ C roasted tahini
- ¼ C water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- To make the pickled onions, combine vinegar, sea salt, and sugar in a bowl or large jar. Add the onions and fill with water to submerge and cover all the onions. Refrigerate for as little as 2 hours, but overnight is best if you can prepare ahead.
- To make the vegan chicken shawarma, preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, add soy curls and cover with water and hydrate for at least 10 minutes. Using your hands squeeze out the moisture from the soy curls. Reserve 1 teaspoon of the residual water and drain the rest.
- In another bowl, add reserved soy curl water, vegan beef flavored bouillon, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, dried oregano, turmeric, ground black pepper, and vegetable oil. Add the drained soy curls and coat evenly in the paste using your hands.
- Place soy curls on a baking sheet lined in parchment paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway to roast the other side.
- To prepare the farro, rinse farro grain under cold water to remove the starch until the water runs clear. Add it to a sauce pan with the water, over medium heat. Add olive oil, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Once it begins to simmer, cover the pot with a lid and lower heat to continue simmering for 25 to 28 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the grains are tender and cooked.
- To make the tabbouleh, add lemon juice, red chili flakes, and sea salt to bowl. Then add kale. Massage the kale using your hands to soften its texture. Then add parsley, mint and green onion and toss well to combine.
- To make the maple tahini dressing add tahini, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, garlic powder, and sea salt to a blender and combine until smooth. If you don’t have a blender, use warm water to whisk up the tahini until smooth, before adding the remaining ingredients.
- To assemble the bowl, place 1 cup of farro for each serving. Top with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, kale tabbouleh, pickled onions, and vegan chicken shawarma. Drizzle with maple tahini dressing.
Notes
The maple tahini dressing is adapted from the falafel sliders recipe. If you want the onions to be darker in color, prepare them 1 day in advance. Overnight is best. Pickled onions should be consumed within 2 weeks.
tc_gal
Soy curls were overwhelmingly salty. Other flavors were good. Will try again without the salt, and maybe cutting the amount of broth concentrate.
Erin
Everything came out perfect!! Super easy to make. I doubled the recipe to have leftovers for the week and left out the salt in the soy curls. The tahini maple dressing is amazing. Would totally make again and again!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Rachel
So delicious!! I've made this recipe three times in the past week because I cannot get enough of it. I agree with other commenters that the soy curls do not need salt because the bouillon already has enough. The recipe is so simple to make, and is incredibly filling and yummy!
Dean
this looks amazing! i have a question, i'm from canada as well, where do you find soy curls?
Anna
I'm in BC and we have a store called Vegan Supply in Vancouver which is where I have found it. I imagine you can find it at Whole Foods, or a better stocked grocery store (depending on province my suggestions would be Save-On or Fortino's... definitely not like a Food Basics or FreshCo.)
And when in doubt... Amazon.
Tracy Silva
I highly recommend buying directly from Butler Foods, I assume they ship to Canada but if you have a Natural Grocers they have it as well
tatiana
is the vegan chicken crunchy or chewy?
Tracy Silva
It is chewy as long as you don't over cook it, know your oven and check it after 5-8 minutes, I found 10 minutes in my oven was plenty
Kathy Heiss
Delectable!!!! You’ve done it again 👍
Aja
I'm obsessed with the soy curls spice rub! I ate it for dinner last night and lunch today and am thinking the rub would be tasty on roasted cauliflower and potatoes, or really anything. I also didn't add salt based on reviews and because the bouillon is quite salty (I just used organic vegetable better than bouillon). This bowl comes together perfectly.
Tracy Silva
OMG this recipe is beyond phenomenal!! I had never tried farro or the kale before and now I am hooked! I make this with a vegan tzatziki and its my favorite recipe I try to make at least once a week!