Shawarma-Spiced Chickpea Bowls
with Pistachio Rice & Garlicky White Sauce
- Tree Nuts
- Milk
We swoon for shawarma. For this veggie-centric spin, we swap traditional spit-roasted meat for roasted chickpeas, onion, and tomatoes, but keep all the aromatic, warming spices. It’s served over ultra-flavorful, pistachio-studded, spiced basmati rice. One of our favorite parts about shawarma is the sauce selection—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
Red Onion
1 clove
Garlic
½ ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
1 unit
Chickpeas
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Lemon
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
4 ounce
Grape Tomatoes
½ cup
Basmati Rice
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
2 teaspoon
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
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. Roughly chop pistachios. Drain and rinse chickpeas; pat very dry with paper towels. Roughly chop cilantro. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Melt 1 TBSP butter in a small pot over medium-high heat (use 2 TBSP butter and a medium pot for 4 servings). Add minced onion, half the garlic, half the pistachios (save the rest for serving), half the Shawarma Spice Blend (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 to a low simmer. 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 Blend, a few pinches of salt, and pepper. (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 veggies and chickpeas roast, in a small bowl, combine sour cream with 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. Season with salt and pepper. • Toss veggies and chickpeas with lemon zest.
• Divide rice between shallow bowls or plates. 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 any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the shawarma spice blend, praising its complex and aromatic flavors 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Some found it time-consuming, but most agreed it was straightforward to make with clear instructions.
- Suggestions: Consider adding chicken or shrimp for extra protein; roast chickpeas longer for more crunch.
- Portions: Several wished for more rice and sauce; some found the chickpea-to-rice ratio too high.
- Texture: Some enjoyed the variety of textures, while others found the roasted chickpeas too dry or chewy.
Reviews from our home cooks
I really liked this recipe but felt the rice to chickpea ratio was a little off. I have way too many chickpeas and not enough rice. I love the flavors of the shawarma spice mixture. It was delicious. I love how simple it was to make the garlic sour cream drizzle.
I LOVE the shawarma dishes and any rice that we cook with veggies or pistachios. I especially loved the sour cream sauce. All the flavors together were fantastic.
Delicious. Onions and the garlic sauce were great with the chickpeas and shawarma rice
Unfortunately, we received this meal without the Shawarma spice blend! So we added a tablespoon of curry powder to the onions instead, and later sprinkled the onions/tomatoes/chick peas with a cajun blend we had on hand ("Slap Ya Mama" Cajun Seasoning). We could not believe how tasty it was! My wife and I must have said "Wow this is good!" 10 times during dinner.
Enjoyed using the lemon zest, and lemon in all stages of cooking. Next time I'll probably add a diced sweet potatoes to go with the roasted onion and chickpea, I think it will help to balance the flavors. The rice was delicious! Loved the pistachios in the rice, such a great flavor.
I've never tried shawarma seasoning before and this wonderfully crafted dish made me love it! Although, a little spicier than I expected, I would definitely get this dish again. I have found so many new foods that I love thanks to Hello Fresh.
I love a lot of the shawarma bowls but this one is my least favorite. Too many onions and not enough white sauce. Also too tangy
I love these chickpea bowls so much. Very filling and full of flavor. They do take longer but we always have plenty of leftovers to enjoy the next day.
This was so good. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. My son isn't into the abundance of flavors in the shawarma bowl so this was all for me. I loved it. It was so much easier to make with Hello Fresh providing everything rather than trying to get all the groceries myself.
I wasn't sure how I would like this, as I never have had anything with shawarma spices. I also wasn't sure how my significant other would like it as they like meat centric meals, but I prefer veggies. This was amazing!! I was wishing I had more for leftovers. Would definitely get this meal again.
