You’re going to love my tofu shawarma recipe, trust me! Baked until golden brown with deliciously crispy edges, it’s perfect for adding to dinner bowls, tucking into wraps, tossing onto salad, and more! This is one of those vegan dinner ideas you’ll want to make again and again.
With a jar of my delicious homemade shawarma spice mixture in hand, you can make this easy sheet pan crisp and chewy tofu in no time. Exactly the tasty main dish you want to pair with your favorite mediterranean side dishes like hummus, green tahini sauce, falafel, chopped Israeli salad, tabbouleh, cabbage salad, pickled onions, baba ganoush, dairy-free tzatziki or eggplant salad, and served with fresh pita.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Tofu: look for small batch, extra firm, organic brands with minimal ingredients, and pay attention to the serving size on the label when comparing nutritional information between brands.
- Arrowroot powder: will help the edges of the tofu crisp up. It’s a healthier alternative to cornstarch. You can find arrowroot powder at most grocery stores.
- Salt: optional…but helps to give a “meaty” flavor component. Use kosher salt or coarse sea salt. If you purchased already made shawarma spices, read the label because they often already contain salt (my shawarma spice mixture has no salt), so you can skip this ingredient.
Step by Step
First you’ll want to drain and press the tofu. You can use a tofu press or, wrap your block of tofu in a clean dish towel or paper towels and place a heavy object on top.
I like to place the towel wrapped tofu on a sheet pan to collect any extra liquid. If you’re using extra-firm tofu, it won’t take long. By the time you’ve made the shawarma marinade, it will be ready to use.
While the tofu is pressing, gather the marinade ingredients, preheat your oven to 400 and line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- In a small bowl or pitcher, whisk the olive oil with fresh lemon juice.
- Press the garlic right over the small bowl.
- Sprinkle on the shawarma seasoning, arrowroot powder and salt and then whisk until it forms a smooth paste.
Use your hands to rip the pressed tofu into bite sized pieces and place in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Rather than cutting the tofu into cubes, I like the way a ripped piece gives the crispy, chewy edges in this recipe.
Pour marinade over the tofu and mix with your hands so that all tofu pieces are coated in the spice mixture.
Roast tofu in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, then flip and continue to cook for 10 more minutes.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Drain and press the tofu! It is critical to get out as much water as you can for the right texture and for the tofu to absorb the shawarma spice mixture. Your prep matters more than the brand of tofu you buy. Trust me, I’ve tried to short cut this step and the results were less than crispy!
- TO MAKE AHEAD: Press the tofu, break into pieces and place in a medium bowl. Pour marinade over and mix well. Cover and place in the fridge for up to a day, then place the marinated tofu onto the prepared pan and bring to room temp before proceeding.
- One of my favorite ways to enjoy shawarma is inside of a pita wrap with chopped red peppers and cukes with some quick no boil pickled red onion and you’ll have a perfectly spiced high protein lunch.
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📖 Recipe
Crispy Sheet Pan Tofu Shawarma
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz extra firm tofu
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic pressed or finely grated
- 1 tablespoon shawarma seasoning blend
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Press Tofu: You can use a tofu press or just wrap tofu in a clean dish towel or place onto a few sheets of paper towel and then place a heavy object (like a cast iron skillet) on top. This step is crucial for drawing out the moisture from the water the tofu is packed in.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Make the marinade: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, seasoning and arrowroot in a bowl or small pitcher. I like to use a small pyrex measuring cup.
- Tear/crumble pressed tofu into bite sized pieces and place on prepared baking pan.
- Pour the marinade over the tofu and then use your hands to toss around until all the tofu is evenly coated.
- Bake tofu in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Valerie
Hi – My browser isn’t showing me the instructions. Could you check to see if something needs fixing? Thanks!
Debra Klein
I’m sorry to hear that….all looks good at my end. I will email you the recipe with instructions.
Valerie
Thanks! The instructions are showing now, so maybe it was just one of those Internet burps. Thank you for e-mailing the recipe to me — I appreciate it!