Shawarma-Spiced Chickpea Couscous Bowls
with Roasted Veggies, Pickled Onion & Harissa Yogurt Sauce
- Milk
- Wheat
In this hearty vegetarian riff on shawarma, our chefs ditch the meat for chickpeas and carrots, roasted with the same earthy, fragrant spices. It’s all piled into bowls with apricot-studded couscous, roasted bell pepper, tangy pickled onion, and fresh cilantro. Harissa yogurt sauce adds cooling, creamy contrast and smoky, spicy notes.
Ingredients
9 ounce
Carrots
1 unit
Chickpeas
1 unit
Bell Pepper
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
1 unit
Red Onion
1 unit
Lemon
¼ ounce
Cilantro
2 tablespoon
Yogurt
(Contains: Milk)
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon
Harissa Powder
2.5 ounce
Israeli Couscous
(Contains: Wheat)
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1 ounce
Dried Apricots
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
5 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
Sugar
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust racks to middle and top positions and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Trim, peel, and cut carrots on a diagonal into ½-inch-thick pieces. Drain, rinse, and pat chickpeas very dry with paper towels. Halve, core, and thinly slice bell pepper into strips.
• Toss carrots on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of oil, 1 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Toss chickpeas on one side of a second sheet with a large drizzle of oil, 1 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend (2 tsp for 4), salt, and pepper. (Be sure to measure the Shawarma Spice Blend—we sent more.) • Toss bell pepper on empty side with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper.
• Roast carrots on middle rack and chickpeas and bell pepper on top rack until veggies are browned and tender and chickpeas are crispy, 18-22 minutes. TIP: Check on your veggies and chickpeas after 18 minutes; if carrots finish first, remove from oven and set aside.
• Meanwhile, halve, peel, and thinly slice half the onion (save the rest for another use). Quarter lemon. Finely chop cilantro. • In a small bowl, combine onion, juice from two lemon wedges, a pinch of sugar, and salt. Set aside to pickle. • In a separate small bowl, combine yogurt, sour cream, ¼ tsp garlic powder (½ tsp for 4 servings), a squeeze of lemon juice, and as much harissa powder as you like. (You’ll use the rest of the garlic powder in the next step.) Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
• Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add couscous and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes. • Add stock concentrate, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4), remaining garlic powder, and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until couscous is tender, 6-8 minutes. Keep covered off heat.
• Once veggies and chickpeas are done, stir apricots into couscous; season with salt and pepper. • Divide couscous between bowls; arrange chickpeas, bell pepper, and carrots on top in separate sections. Drizzle with yogurt sauce. Top with cilantro and as much pickled onion (draining first) as you like. Serve with any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the complex, delicious flavors; some found it a bit overwhelming or spicy 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Several noted it was time-consuming with many steps, but most felt the results were worth the effort.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more couscous; some roasted extra onions or added chicken for extra protein.
- Portions: Some felt the couscous portion was too small compared to the vegetables and chickpeas.
- Texture: Roasted chickpeas added nice crunch; a few found them dry or preferred them less crispy.
Reviews from our home cooks
We enjoy most of Hello Fresh's chickpea bowls, but this one stood out. The Shawarma seasoning provided a great flavor profile for the chickpeas and carrots, where the pickled onion and harissa yogurt really rounded everything out on top of the apricot couscous for a smooth, sweet, yet tangy balance. It's listed that the difficulty level is medium but it didn't feel that way, so that's another great plus!
Unexpectedly good! I love the fact that most HelloFresh recipes allow you to adjust the amount of spiciness to your taste. For this one, I sprinkled a little extra Harissa spice on top of one portion and not the other. Can also reduce or increase the shawarma spice to your preference.
Absolutely delicious vegetarian meal! Every dish was thoughtfully prepared, full of fresh ingredients, and layered with flavor. Nothing felt like an afterthought-each component stood confidently on its own while complementing the others beautifully. The balance of textures and seasonings was spot on, and the presentation made the meal even more enjoyable. It was hearty, satisfying, and left me feeling nourished rather than heavy. A wonderful reminder that vegetarian food can be both comforting and exciting. Highly recommend.
Loved the roasted carrots - tasted like sweet potato. Also like the large couscous grain - that was new to me, I thought all couscous was small grain. We like stronger, bolder flavors. This seemed a little mild. It would be a 4-star meal for us if the flavors were a bit more pronounced.
Needed WAY more shawarma seasoning. I used more than recommended and I still couldn't taste it. Also, the recipe order was strange. It didn't have me start pickling the shallot until halfway through, which isn't nearly enough time to give it any flavor or texture. I basically gave it a lemon bath. And not having me cook the couscous until the end was awkward because by that point, the veggies were nearly ready to come out of the oven, and then had to sit out and grow cold while I waited for the couscous to finish cooking. I should've started the couscous as soon as the veggies were in the oven so that it could simmer while I made the sauce. That way, both the couscous and the veggies would have still been hot when it was time to serve them. Tasted okay, though.
Absolutely delicious! The roasted veggies, couscous, and harissa were the stars of this dish! I am so happy I chose this meal as I would never be able to pull this off
Love the shawarma seasoning. Could do without the "pickled" onion, as there's not enough time to properly pickle them in the time it takes to cook the meal.
This is amazing!! I roasted the other half of the red onion and added some Trader Joe's falafel and it was so delicious, and healthy, and full of veggies. I can't say enough good things about this meal ❤️
This is so good! I added Harissa paste on the side (the one from cava. Have you thought about collaborating with them to make an at home Cava bowl? If you do please pay me for this idea). I also didn't realize this had peppers (I do not like bell peppers). so I swapped them out for sweet potatoes and it's delicious !! Also I regret not pickling the entire onion. For 4 servings. I should have done that. The directions didn't state it.
This is a flavorful recipe, pickled onions, and couscous make it next level. The supplied chickpeas are inadequate, but a can from the store makes this a satisfying meal.
