I love shawarma but EGGPLANT SHAWARMA?! Yes, please! I’m always looking for a vegetarian option to sneak into my diet a couple times a week and this one is a keeper for sure!
This recipe is packed with flavor, healthy and just a fun twist on a chicken shawarma. This is also perfect for winter or summer. The eggplant can be roasted in the oven or done on the grill if you’ve got nice weather.
Tips for Eggplant Shawarma
- Make the seasonings ahead of time. It’s good for 6 months (at least) in your cupboard so just make yourself a batch to use whenever you need. This also helps you save time the day of.
- Make the schug 1-3 days ahead of time. I like the flavor a little more after the schug sits for 1 day. This will also help you save time the day you’re making eggplant shawarma.
- Cut your eggplant a couple hours ahead of time into planks and sprinkle kosher salt all over it. Let it sit 30 minutes and wipe off all the water and salt. Turn the pieces over and repeat. This helps draw the excess moisture out of the eggplant and takes away some of the bitterness. Cut your eggplant into 3/4 inch cubes afterwards and proceed with the recipe.
- If you’re looking to save any extra time you can slice the cucumbers for the shawarma and dice the cucumbers for the tzatziki sauce 1 day ahead of time. You can also slice the tomatoes and red onions for the shawarma 1 day ahead of time.
- Go pretty heavy with the shawarma seasoning on the eggplant. It will look like more than it actually is.
- Taste and season as you go! I cannot stress this enough. If you don’t taste your recipe until the end of making it, chances are it might not be great. Salt is your best friend (if you’re on a diet that allows for that). But also, you can adjust any of the seasonings as you go. Taste, taste, taste.
Making the shawarma seasoning
Simply mix all the dried spices together in a bowl with a whisk. Store for up to 6 months in a double ziplock bag or a Tupperware container.
Make the chickpea seasoning
Place all the dry spice ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Ta da!
Making the schug
Toast your caraway seeds to bring out the flavor in them. You can do this in a 350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes or in a sauté pan over medium heat swirling and flipping the seeds around until lightly browned and aromatic. Rip the parsley and the cilantro bunches off where the leaves end. Don’t worry about pulling all the leaves off the stems. Cut the very tops off the jalapenos, don’t deseed them. Peel your garlic cloves. Add all the ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor and blend while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Occasionally when I buy jalapenos they are not very spicy. Feel free to add more or less jalapenos depending on the spice level you’d like to achieve. Throw in some serrano peppers if you really like some heat like I do!
Making a delicious Tzatziki sauce
Tzatziki sauce on Eggplant Shawarma is soooo good! Very cool and refreshing to go along with the spice from the schug sauce. It is also very simple. Grate half of the cucumber and dice the other half. Add the remaining ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. Taste it and check the salt level, add more if needed.
Roasting the chickpeas
These seasoned and roasted chickpeas make a nice little addition of flavor and protein to the eggplant shawarma. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the chickpeas, sprinkle on the seasoning and toss until full coated. Roast the chickpeas at 400 degrees Fahrenheit 10 minutes until the start to lightly brown but don’t actually get crunchy.
Roasting the eggplant
You will want to heavily season the eggplant chunks and roast in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 8-10 minutes. While the eggplant is roasting, heat up the naan in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat until the naan starts to brown a little. Place your naan on a plate and build the Eggplant Shawarma once the eggplant comes out of the oven. Layer the eggplant, cucumber, red onion, tomato, olive, feta, cilantro, Tzatziki and schug. Enjoy your delicious Eggplant Shawarma!
Check out more of my Dinner recipes!
Eggplant Shawarma
Equipment
- oven
- stove
- food processor
Ingredients
Making the shawarma and chickpea spice blends
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1.25 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp ancho chile powder
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp fennel seed
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 tbsp salt
Making the schug
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds toasted
- 5 jalapeno tops cut off
- 1 cup cilantro fresh
- 1 cup parsley fresh
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt tt
- 1/8 tsp cardamom ground
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
For the eggplant
- 2 eggplant large
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp lemon juice fresh
Tzatziki sauce
- 1 english cucumber half grated, half small dice
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
For the toppings
- 1 english cucumber sliced
- 1 tomato sliced
- 1/4 red onion thin sliced
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives
- 1/3 cup feta crumbled
- 8 sprigs fresh cilantro
Warming the naan
- 4 pieces naan
- 1 drizzle olive oil
Instructions
Making the shawarma and the chickpea spice blends
- Add the first 7 dry spices to a bowl and mix well with a whisk. That is the shawarma spice blend. Add the last 10 dry spices to a bowl and mix well with a whisk. That is the chickpea spice blend.
Making the schug
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Put the caraway seeds on a baking sheet and into the oven for 5-8 minutes or until they start to lightly brown and become aromatic. 3. Cut the top stem off the jalapenos. 4. Cut the bottom portion of the cilantro and parsley off where the leaves end. It's not necessary to take all of the stems out.5. Peel your garlic. 6. Place all schug ingredients into a food processor except the olive oil. Start blending and slowly drizzle the olive oil in while blending. Blend until all large chunks are gone.7. Taste and check your salt level. Add more if needed.
Prepping the eggplant
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.2. Cut the ends off the eggplant and slice into planks. Lay the planks flat on a baking sheet and salt them with 1/2 tsp salt. Let the eggplant sit 30 minutes before wiping all moisture and salt off with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Repeat with the other side of the eggplant.3. After drawing the excess moisture out of the eggplants, cut them into 3/4 inch chunks.4. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the eggplant. Mince your garlic. Add garlic, lemon juice and season them with a good amount of the spice blend. Roast the eggplant for 8-10 minutes.
Making the tzatziki sauce
- Grate 1/2 the english cucumber and drain the liquid off. Dice the other half of the cucumber.2. Add drained cucumber, diced cucumber, greek yogurt, garlic, red wine vinegar, fresh dill and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
Slice toppings and warm naan
- Slice the english cucumber, red tomato and red onion into thin slices. 2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and add the naan. Turn them over one time after the first side starts to get a light brown coloring all over. Do the same thing with the second side. 3. Build your eggplant shawarma. Smear the schug and tzatziki onto the naan. Add the eggplant, cucumbers, tomato, red onion, olives and feta. Enjoy!
Is the eggplant peeled or not? Thank you
That is up to you! I don’t peel mine because I enjoy eating the skin but if you don’t particularly like it then you can peel it and cook the same way!
I made this and it was delicious! Easy and quick to make. I will add this to my meatless meal nights!
That makes me so happy to hear! Thanks for trying it!