Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad

Name: Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 15 oz block of extra firm tofu, drained with excess water pressed out; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon allspice; ¼ teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 2 English cucumbers, finely chopped; 1 ½ cups finely chopped tomatoes; 1 bell pepper, finely chopped; ½ cup parsley, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; Salt and pepper, to taste; Pita; Sliced red onions; Hummus; Tzatziki

March 21, 2023

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad is a delicious, nutritious and easy high protein dinner. For the tofu skeptics, this recipe is well-seasoned with crispy edges, so I have a feeling you’ll love every bite. Plus, you’ll love this “design your own plate” type of meal with many different options and fixins. Enjoy!

Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free, Egg Free, Soy Free, Sesame Free

Tofu is a part of our regular dinner rotation in our house. But usually it’s in some form of a stir fry so my husband has his “Chinese food fix.” I, on the other hand, was getting really tired of that. So I started brainstorming a new way to use tofu.

Years ago I was getting bored of chicken and tried a chicken shawarma recipe at home that we absolutely loved, so it popped into my head to try and make it with TOFU!

And the results are unbelievable!

You’re going to love this Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad because it’s…

Made with the best spice blend
Loaded with flavor
Easy to make
Satisfying
A fun part of building your own Mediterranean platter (see below)

While the ingredient list may appear longer than most of my recipes, it’s mostly spices. The only real time-consuming part of this recipe is all the chopping for the Israeli salad. Otherwise it’s pretty quick and easy!

Ingredients to Make Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad

For the tofu shawarma itself you need 2 main ingredients: tofu + spices.

The spices include:

Garlic powder
Cumin
Smoked paprika
Allspice
Cinnamon
Salt
Black pepper

Now, if you want a shortcut from measuring all of these you can do one of two things:

Buy a pre-made shawarma seasoning blend
Double or triple this recipe and store it in an airtight container so you just sprinkle it on the tofu in the future. Then you’ll only make the seasoning blend every few times you make the recipe.

I do the latter.

Let’s talk TOFU for a minute…

What type of tofu do you need?

That would be EXTRA FIRM. Extra firm tofu has the most structure, which is why I like to use it here.

How do you prepare the tofu?

The secret to cooking good tofu is to really press it. You don’t need a fancy tofu press (although cool if you have one). Just wrap it in paper towels and place something heavy on top of it. I’m pretty sure when I was making this recipe I placed the wrapped tofu in a container with a frying pan on top with one of those big containers of grape tomatoes.

How to Make Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad

The recipe itself is pretty straightforward to make.

Once your tofu is adequately pressed (about an hour – but you can do this the night before so you don’t have to think about it the same day!), crumble it onto a baking sheet.

Then drizzle olive oil on top and season thoroughly with your spice blend. Seriously – toss it together and then add more seasoning.

You’ll bake it at 400°F for 20 minutes, then pause to toss it around the pan, and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes, until the edges are crispy.

Don’t be surprised when the tofu drastically shrinks. Thanks to the high heat cooking a lot of the extra moisture in the tofu will evaporate. It’s so good!

While the tofu cooks, prepare your Israeli salad.

After living in Israel for 2 years I can confidently say that the best Israeli salad is one that is finely chopped.

So take your time and chop those cucumbers into itty bitty pieces. You’ll be so happy you did.

And use fresh lemon on the salad. None of that bottled stuff!!!

How to Serve Tofu Shawarma

One of the reasons I love this recipe is because I feed a picky family. I have 2 kids, 3 and 1 year(s) old, plus myself with food allergies and my husband. By making this main protein I can easily feed my entire picky family by making this a DIY assembly meal.

Do my kids eat the Israeli salad? NOPE. But they’re getting exposed to it by seeing us eat it.

My kids do love tofu, so they’ll gobble this up. But if your kids (or anyone else you’re cooking for) do not love tofu, you can help them fill up with other components of the meal.

I love to serve this with:

Hummus
Tzatziki
Whole wheat pita
Sliced beets
Feta cheese

You can even make pita sandwiches too, which is typically how they serve shawarma in Israel.

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need to Make Tofu Shawarma with Israeli Salad

You don’t really need any special kitchen tools to make this recipe. Some staples you’ll need are:

Baking sheet
Parchment paper (helps the tofu not stick)
Large mixing bowl for the Israeli salad
Spatula to toss the tofu