Middle Eastern Chickpea Bowls
with Savory Pistachio Rice & Garlicky White Sauce
- Tree Nuts
- Milk
We swoon for shawarma. For this veggie-centric spin, we swap the traditional spit-roasted meat for roasted chickpeas, onion, and tomatoes, but keep all the same aromatic, warming spices. It’s all served over ultra-flavorful, spiced basmati rice that’s studded with pistachios. If you’re anything like us, one of our favorite parts about shawarma is the sauce selection—and don’t worry, we didn’t skimp. Drizzle over hot sauce and a creamy, garlicky white sauce, then prepare to be totally bowled over.
Ingredients
1 unit
Red Onion
¼ ounce
Cilantro
½ ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
½ cup
Basmati Rice
13.4 ounce
Chickpeas
4 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Lemon
4 ounce
Grape Tomatoes
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon
Olive Oil
2 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. • Halve, peel, and cut onion into ½-inchthick wedges; mince a few wedges until you have 2 TBSP. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Roughly chop pistachios. Drain and rinse chickpeas; pat very dry with paper towels. Roughly chop cilantro. Zest and quarter lemon. • 4 SERVINGS: Adjust racks to top and middle positions. Mince a few onion wedges until you have 4 TBSP.
• Melt 1 TBSP butter in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add minced onion, half the garlic, half the pistachios (save the rest for serving), half the Shawarma Spice (you’ll use the rest in the next step), and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. • Stir in rice, ¾ cup water, stock concentrate, and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Keep covered off heat. • 4 SERVINGS: Use 2 TBSP butter, a medium pot, and 1½ cups water.
• Meanwhile, toss onion wedges, tomatoes, and chickpeas on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil, remaining Shawarma Spice, pepper, and a few pinches of salt. • Roast on top rack, tossing halfway through, until veggies are tender and lightly charred and chickpeas are crispy, 18-20 minutes. • 4 SERVINGS: Divide everything between 2 baking sheets; roast on top and middle racks, tossing veggies and swapping rack positions halfway through roasting. • TIP: It’s natural for chickpeas to pop a bit.
• While veggies and chickpeas roast, in a small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining garlic to taste. Season with salt. Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Fluff rice with a fork; stir in 1 TBSP butter and half the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. • Once veggies and chickpeas are done, remove from oven and toss with lemon zest.
• Divide rice between shallow bowls. Top with veggies and chickpeas. Drizzle with garlicky white sauce and hot sauce to taste. Sprinkle with remaining pistachios and cilantro. Top with lemon juice to taste; serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the complex, delicious flavors, especially the shawarma spice and garlicky sauce 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Customers found it easy to make, with some noting the prep took longer than expected.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more veggies like roasted carrots or peppers for extra texture and nutrition.
- Leftovers: Several mentioned it reheats well, making great leftovers for lunch the next day.
- Portions: Some felt the serving size was small; adding more rice or vegetables could make it more filling.
Reviews from our home cooks
Wow, props to whoever created this recipe. It is the epitome of perfect balance. It manages to somehow be both fresh with the lemony taste and hearty with the combination of chickpeas and rice. The textures balance the heavier, creamier texture of chickpeas with the crunch of pistachios and veggies. Then, of course, the garlicky white sauce - just sublime. Seriously in love with this dish.
I have yet to find fault or flaw with any of the chickpea bowls -- yet each one is so unique and satisfying. Loved the shawarma seasoning and added treatment given the rice base. Roasted vegetables came out beautifully and rounded out the meal in perfect form. Aroma during prep was intoxicating, we rushed in without the garlic white sauce and never looked back! Never to be wasted, of course -- had a pretty sweet falafel sandwich the next day with a good 12-hrs added pungency... so good!
SO good! So far I've loved all the Middle-Eastern-inspired recipes I've received, but I think this one is the best of all of them. The red onion added a nice bite and the crunch of the pistachios was a nice touch, too. Will definitely be making this one again!
This was one of my favorite meals. It was the perfect ratio of ingredients to create the best flavor. Loved the garlicky white sauce! The pistachio rice was also very good and original--I hadn't seen it in a recipe before.
I'm usually not overly impressed by chickpeas, but roasting them first was such a good idea. The rice is incredibly flavorful and the sauce was surprisingly packed with flavor even with how simple it was. I do feel like this dish could have served 6 if a side salad was paired with it.
The rice was amazing! The spices were nice on the chickpeas and red onions. However, the tomatoes were an odd vegetable to have roasted. Would've been nicer with zucchini or eggplant, some other veg. The sauces were also really odd. The garlic and sour cream didn't come together to make a sauce. Sour cream and hot sauce felt odd for a middle eastern dish.
KILLER YUM!!! I quadrupled the garlic. Amazing rice recipe and the roasted chickpeas were hearty. Will try more veg recipes now.
Always good to have different, tasty ways to dress up chickpeas and rice! One modification -- add lemon juice to the garlic sauce! Yum!
Absolutely delicious, all the spice, citrus and garlicky flavors came together and the pistachios+tomato added a needed crunch to the meal. Also an easier recipe to get together.
Was not sure how a chickpea bowl was going to be (I just assumed hummus) but boy were these good! I will forever be making my rice like this. Too good!!
