Middle Eastern Salmon & Chickpea Bowls
with Spiced Basmati Rice & Garlicky White Sauce
- Fish
- 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. 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 hot sauce and a creamy, garlicky white sauce over the top, then prepare to be totally bowled over.
Ingredients
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Red Onion
1 unit
Chickpeas
4 tablespoon
Sour Cream
1 unit
Lemon
4 ounce
Grape Tomatoes
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
1 clove
Garlic
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
½ cup
Basmati Rice
10 ounce
Salmon
(Contains: Fish)
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and cut onion into ½-inch-thick wedges; mince a few wedges until you have 2 TBSP (4 TBSP for 4). Peel and mince or grate garlic. Drain and rinse chickpeas; dry thoroughly with paper towels. Roughly chop cilantro. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a small pot (use a medium pot for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add minced onion, half the garlic, 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 (1½ cups for 4), 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 until ready to use in step 5.
• 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. (For 4 servings, divide everything between 2 baking sheets; roast on top and middle racks, tossing veggies and swapping rack positions halfway through roasting.) • Roast on top rack, tossing halfway through, until veggies are tender and lightly charred and chickpeas are crispy, 18-20 minutes. (It’s natural for chickpeas to pop a bit while roasting.)
While everything roasts, pat salmon dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper. Once veggies have roasted 10 minutes, carefully push to one side and add salmon, skin sides down, to same sheet. Roast until salmon is cooked through, 8-10 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, 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 half the cilantro and ½ TBSP butter (1 TBSP for 4 servings). 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 cilantro. Top with lemon juice to taste; serve with any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Serve salmon atop rice.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the delicious mix of flavors, especially the chickpea seasoning. Some found it a bit bland; consider boosting spices.
- Ease of prep: Most found it tasty, though a few felt it was more challenging to make than other recipes.
- Suggestions: Try adding pistachios for crunch, or golden raisins for sweetness. Consider reducing onions if you find them overpowering.
- Portions: Some wanted more veggies or rice; others found it satisfying. Adjust quantities to your preference.
- Protein options: While many enjoyed the salmon, some preferred it with chicken or as a vegetarian dish.
Reviews from our home cooks
Best bowl so far. The salmon was a nice change from a vegetarian chickpea bowl.
Spices were not as bright as in other recipes. Would have been tastier to pan-cook the salmon.
Very yummy we enjoyed the flavors salmon was well done at 8 mins
Had this for a 2nd time. Adding the salmon was a great touch to the meal. Definitely will be getting a 3rd time.
Chick peas are not my favorite... but the spices and ingredients were top notch
Great mix of flavors and textures! Took one star off as this recipe felt harder to make than the others so far.
The rice was a little on the hard side but it was tasty, that is the only thing disappointing about this meal!
Not enough sauce to really go over the whole dish. Great taste though, so we wanted more.
Unfortunately the tomatoes we received were soft and mushy (as if they'd been frozen and defrosted) so we didn't get the full impact of the dish. We felt the onion was overpowering and would reduce this. It was a tasty and satisfying meal.
This was good. Needed a little something crunchy. I added pistachios.
