Tofu Shawarma

This Tofu Shawarma is so dang good, and best of all, it’s super quick and easy to make, perfect for a weeknight or late night dinner!

A few years ago, I made a Vegan Shawarma recipe with Soy Curls. I’ve been craving Shawarma since it’s been on my feed a lot recently, so I thought I’d make a version using Tofu since a lot of folks can’t find soy curls.

And what I love about this recipe is it’s so quick and easy! Thanks to Super Firm Tofu, we can just cook and season the tofu with my Shawarma Seasoning, then toss it in a pita with some Toum and dig in!

And of course, you can make your Shawarma however you like, but I’ll be sticking to the classic style of Pickles, Fries, Toum and Pomegranate Molasses for mine!

ingredients for Tofu Shawarma

Like I said, I highly recommend Super Firm Tofu as it has very little water and doesn’t need pressing, boiling or freezing. It really has the best texture so I would advise against anything softer.

I can find it at most major grocery stores out here in Southern California. Kroger, Sprouts and Trader Joe’s all have their own store brand as well, and a 1 pound block is usually around $3-$5 (Trader Joe’s is the cheapest in my experience)

Whole Foods has some Pressed Extra Firm Tofu, which is the same as Super Firm.

Shawarma seasoning

For the seasoning, you can make my Homemade Shawarma Seasoning, or use your favorite store-bought version!

Pickles

If you have a West Asian market near you, grab some of their dill pickles. Otherwise, some Mini Dill Pickles from a standard big box store will work too!

Toum

You can make my homemade Toum recipe, or grab something from the store if you wanna!

Fries

I’m opting for frozen fries as per usual, but you can make yours from scratch if you wish!

Pita

Use your favorite store-bought Pita. Lavash, Saj will work too! And if you really can’t find any of those, a flour tortilla will do well in a pinch!

Pomegrante Molasses

This is optional, but if you can get your hands on this stuff it’s so good in this! It’s sweet and sour and cuts through the richness of the shawarma and toum!

How to Make Tofu Shawarma

Thinly slice the tofu, don’t worry if they are perfectly the same size. You can also use a mandolin to slice them. I like to tear them to create a rougher edge that gets nice and crispy.

To make the seasoning, combine everything in a jar.

Heat some oil in a non-stick or well seasoned pan over medium heat. Add in 1/3 – 1/2 of the tofu slices. You want to avoid crowding the pan. Tear them if you want crispy edges! Cook until browned.

Then sprinkle some of the Shawarma Seasoning to your liking, as well as some soy sauce.

Remove from the pan and reserve and repeat until all the tofu is done. Then return it all to the pan to heat it back up, give it a squeeze of lemon and taste for final seasoning.

Serve with warmed Pita, Toum, Pickles, Fries, Pickled Onions, whatever you like! Feel free to pan fry the wrapped pita too!

storage

You can store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days. It reheats well, I recommend doing so on the stovetop. Add in a little water if it’s feeling kinda dry!

Other Recipes You Will Dig!

• Soy Curl Shawarma
• Tzatziki
• Vegan Gyros
• Halal Guys
• Orzo Pasta Salad
• Souvlaki
• Soy Curl Chick’n

If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!

Tofu Shawarma

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Comfort Food Classics, Sandwiches

Cuisine Lebanese

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 16 oz. Super Firm Tofu
• 2 Tbsp Shawarma Seasoning
• 1 – 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 – 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• Lemon Juice
• Salt & Pepper

For Serving

• Pita
• Toum
• Pomegranate Molasses
• Pickles
• French Fries
• Pickled Onions
• Anything You Want!

Instructions

 

• I highly recommend using Super Firm Tofu that’s vacuum sealed, you will get the best results with it! Take it out of the package, pat it dry and then slice it thin with a knife, mandoline or veggie peeler.
• I like to tear the pieces into irregular chunks, the craggily edges will get crispier.
• Heat some oil in a non-stick or well seasoned pan over medium heat. Add in 1/3 – 1/2 of the tofu slices. You want to avoid crowding the pan. Try to keep them from overlapping too much.
• Let them cook on one side for 3 – 4 minutes or until golden brown. Then flip them and cook as long as you’d like. The longer you cook them, the crispier and chewier they’ll get. I personally like to brown one side and then leave the other side less browned to get some crispiness and tenderness in each bite!
• Then sprinkle some of the Shawarma Seasoning to your liking. I will use about 2 Tbsp per pound of tofu. Stir to coat, then drizzle some soy sauce (I also use about 2 Tbsp per pound of tofu for the soy sauce).

  Stir to coat, the soy sauce will burn if you leave it too long, so do this towards the end. However, it will also caramelize a bit, so try to find that sweet spot! I'd say cook it for a minute or so!
• You can also add any other seasonings you like, Nutritional Yeast is always a good option too! Just taste and adjust to your liking!
• Remove from the pan and reserve and repeat until all the tofu is done. Then return it all to the pan to heat it back up, give it a squeeze of lemon and taste for final seasoning.

  If you end up cooking the tofu too long and it feels a little dry, just add in some water and stir to coat, it'll loosen things up a bit and add some moisture back.
• Serve with warmed Pita, Toum, Pickles, Fries, Pickled Onions, Pomegranate Molasses, whatever you like!
• You can store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days. It reheats well, I recommend doing so on the stovetop. Add in a little water if it’s feeling kinda dry!

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!