This vegan, gluten-free Rice Bowl with savory shawarma mushrooms and chickpeas is filled with warm spices and fresh veggies! It is sure to become your new favorite Mediterranean-inspired rice bowl.
How to make a Shawarma Chickpea Rice Bowl?
For this rice bowl recipe, we started with our Crazy Good Shawarma Spice Mix and things just got better and better! Our homemade shawarma seasoning blends to perfection with Sautéed shiitake mushrooms, portobello mushrooms and chickpeas. Add your favorite veggies and bring it all together with our Spicy Tahini Dressing!
Ingredients for this Vegetarian Rice Bowl
- Basmati rice. You can also use brown rice, jasmine rice, long-grain white rice, or specialty rice. You can even use cauliflower rice!
- Black Sesame Seeds.
- Shawarma Spice Mix. Homemade or store-bought.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Shiitake Mushrooms or Portobello Mushrooms: seasoned mushrooms are so flavorful! Use your favorite kind.
- Canned Chickpeas.
- Vine Ripe Tomato, grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- Persian Cucumbers.
- Corn Kernels.
- Spicy Tahini Sauce. You can use any of your favorite dressings to change things up. I also enjoy a lemon tahini dressing.
Make it a Vegetarian Shawarma
You don’t have to eat chicken or any other meat to get your favorite shawarma flavors! We used our classic Crazy Good Shawarma Spice Mix to bring the spice to chickpeas and mushrooms. Chickpeas are an excellent plant-based protein, while mushrooms have vitamins B and D.
Are Rice Bowls Healthy?
Yes! Rice is the base of this vegan bowl, and all of the toppings are plant-based. This is giving you a boost of energy and all of the important nutrients from the veggies! It’s a nutritious meal that will fill you for hours.
How to Build a Rice Bowl
Start by cooking fresh rice. When the rice is nearly ready, sauté the mushrooms and chickpeas with any other vegetables you want cooked, tossing it with the shawarma spices right at the end. If you love garlic, add them during this cooking process. Once everything is cooked and prepped, build your bowl with all your favorite ingredients!
Spicy Vegan Bowl
This is a gluten-free, vegan bowl that is flavored with all of our favorite spices! Of course, you can customize it in any way your family prefers, but this recipe as a base is very allergy-friendly.
More Rice Bowl Options
You can make this spiced bowl your own! Instead of shawarma spice mix, you could try it with our easy Homemade Garam Masala Spice Mix. This is a flavorful, warm spice that awakens the flavors in the bowl! This rice bowl is exceptionally good served with Spicy Tahini Dressing and Schug.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I prepare my rice bowl ahead of time?
Yes. Meal prep any or all of the ingredients and reheat as needed.
Can you eat a rice bowl cold?
Yes. All of the ingredients in our rice bowl can be eaten cold.
Are rice bowls gluten-free?
Yes. None of the ingredients in our recipe contain gluten. If you are purchasing a rice bowl at a restaurant, you should check whether or not the soy sauce they use (if any) is gluten-free.
Tips for Prepping Rice Bowls
I recommend preparing any or all of the cold ingredients ahead of time. Anything you want warm, such as rice and protein, is best prepared at the moment. However, all ingredients can be reheated and assembled at any point to form a rice bowl. What I like to do is rinse, chop, peel, dice, or prepare all of the ingredients I want cold and then refrigerate them in separate containers so that they do not get soggy.
What to Serve on a Rice Bowl with Shawarma Chickpeas
Any of your favorite bowl fillings would be delicious here! The sky is truly the limit. You can meal prep ahead of time and keep these ingredients ready for a whole week's worth of rice bowl meals and change it up with each bowl. What can you put in a rice bowl? Rince, chop, peel, or prepare any or all of the following:
- Tomatoes, fresh or roasted tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Corn fresh or roasted
- Artichokes
- Spinach
- Kale
- Roasted butternut squash
- Bell Peppers fresh or roasted
- Avocado
- Raw or roasted veggies
- Cilantro
- Tofu
- Salsa
- Broccoli
- Carrots raw or roasted carrots
- Black Beans
- Sweet Potatoes (diced and roasted.)
- Shredded Cabbage.
- Tempeh Bacon
- Snap Peas
- Green Onions
- Sunflower Seeds
More Bowls We Love
- Tahini Miso Eggplant Bowl
- End of Summer Buddha Bowl
- Immune Booster Vegan Ramen Bowl
- Harissa Roasted Chickpeas & Cauliflower Bowl
- Warm Purple Kale Farro Salad Bowl
- Bamboo Rice Bowl
- Burrito Rice Bowl
- Black Beans and Rice Bowl with Plantains
- Rice Bowl with Braised Veggies and Lemongrass
Did you like our Shawarma mushroom and chickpea Rice Bowl?
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
Print
Rice Bowl with Shawarma Spiced Mushrooms and Chickpeas
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 bowls 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan, gluten-free Shawarma Chickpea Nourish Rice Bowl is filled with warm spices and nourishing vegetables! It is sure to become your new favorite homemade Middle Eastern dishes.
Ingredients
For the Rice
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tsp black sesame seeds (optional)
For the rice bowl
- 2 tsp shawarma spice mix ( homemade or store-bought), divided
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 large portobello mushroom caps or 2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 large vine ripe tomato, diced
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- ½ cup corn kernels
- Spicy Tahini Sauce (or your favorite dressing)
- Schug (optional)
Instructions
Making the Rice
- Heat olive oil in a deep skillet for which you have a lid. Add rice and sauté for 5 minutes. Add 1.5 cups of water, ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Cover the skillet, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Mix in the sesame seeds.
Making the rice bowl
- Add shawarma seasoning and ½ teaspoon salt in a small bowl and mix well.
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms and 1 teaspoon of the shawarma spice, and cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, or until all the water the mushroom releases cooks out. Stir often and set aside once cooked.
- In the same skillet, heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Add the chickpeas and one teaspoon of spice and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, tossing constantly
- To arrange the bowl add 1 cup of rice per bowl, place mushrooms, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn on top, and drizzle with spicy tahini sauce or your favorite dressing and Schug for extra flavor and heat.
Notes
- You will have some leftover rice, you can either add it to a bowl or save it for later use. The calories are based on one cup of cooked rice per bowl.
- Use our spicy tahini dressing or your favorite salad dressing.
Other suggested veggies and toppings for your rice bowl
- Roasted tomatoes
- Preserved Lemons
- Corn Salsa
- Artichokes
- Spinach
- Kale
- Roasted butternut squash
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Avocado
- Roasted vegetables
- Cilantro
- Tofu
- Mango Salsa
- Broccoli
- Roasted carrots
- Black Beans
- Sweet Potatoes (diced and roasted.)
- Shredded Cabbage.
- Tempeh Bacon
- Snap Peas
- Green Onions
- Sunflower Seeds
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl without dressing
- Calories: 746
- Sugar: 23.2
- Sodium: 361.9
- Fat: 23.4
- Saturated Fat: 3.2
- Unsaturated Fat: 17.4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 119.9
- Fiber: 19
- Protein: 24.3
- Cholesterol: 0
Raquel
I love this vegan take in the classic shawarma. The spices really make it feel like I’m eating the real thing 🙂
Jen
The photo has a green sauce but I don't see that in the recipe. It looks like pesto?
Vicky and Ruth
The green sauce in the picture is Schug