Chickpea Shawarma With Crisp, Spiced Chickpeas in Warm Pita
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It is 7:10 on a Thursday, the pantry has two cans of chickpeas and a bag of pita, and you are tired of explaining dinner to anyone. This chickpea shawarma takes about 25 minutes and mostly runs itself in the oven. The chicken is not invited to this one, and the table does not ask.
Crisp, spiced chickpeas stuffed into warm pita, with no skillet to scrub.
The method is almost insultingly short. You drain and rinse 2 cans of chickpeas and pat them dry. They get tossed with olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper, spread on a baking sheet, and roasted at 425F for 20 minutes until crisp. While they roast, you warm 4 pitas for 2 minutes. Then the chickpeas get stuffed into the pitas and you eat.
What you need
- 2 cans canned chickpeas
- 4 pita bread
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
How to make it
- Drain and rinse 2 cans chickpeas, pat dry.
- Toss chickpeas with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Spread on a baking sheet, roast at 425F for 20 minutes until crisp.
- Warm 4 pita breads for 2 minutes.
- Stuff roasted chickpeas into pitas and serve.
Notes
Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. Chickpea shawarma is crispest the day you make it, because the crunch fades as they sit and soak up moisture. Reheat them on a baking sheet in a hot oven to bring some of it back, and keep them out of the microwave.
Spread the chickpeas in a single layer with a little space between them. Piled on top of each other they steam, and you end up with soft chickpeas with a spice coating instead of crisp ones. Use a large sheet pan, or split them across two.
Give the sheet a shake or a stir partway through the 20 minutes so the pieces brown evenly.
The filling is a good base for add-ins. Thin onion strands and red pepper roast well on the same tray, though they may need less time than the chickpeas.
SwipeCart angle: a dinner this simple is the one you swipe into the Thursday you suspect will be a mess. The agent adds the chickpeas, the pita and the smoked paprika to your cart, so you do not find out about the missing spice at 7:10.
The recipe serves four, so one pan of chickpeas goes into four pitas. If your pitas are small, fold them rather than stuffing them, and let the chickpeas spill onto the plate. It looks casual, and it is honest about how this dinner works.
Seasoning deserves a taste at the end. Salt goes on before roasting, but the oven concentrates the spices, so try a chickpea or two when they come out. Add salt if they need it, and a squeeze of lemon if they taste heavy.
Warm the pitas last, so they are soft when the chickpeas come out. The method gives 2 minutes, which is enough to make them pliable without drying them out. Wrap them in a towel until you are ready to stuff.
Swaps that actually work
Leave the smoked paprika alone. It gives the chickpeas the smoky, almost grilled note that makes them taste like shawarma, and swapping it for regular paprika gives a duller result.
Everything else in this chickpea shawarma can move. The ground cumin can be adjusted to taste, and garlic powder can give way to a clove of fresh garlic, though fresh garlic can burn at 425F, so toss it in for the last few minutes. If you want more spice, add a pinch of cayenne or a little ground turmeric.
Pita can be swapped for flatbread, a wrap or a bowl of rice. Warm whatever you use, since cold bread dulls the whole thing.
The recipe has no sauce, and a chickpea sandwich without a sauce can taste dry. Stir plain yogurt with lemon juice and salt, or spoon in some hummus or tahini. It rounds the bite. Put the yogurt and lemon in the week's cart and the SwipeCart agent buys them quietly, so the sauce does not turn out to be the one guest who never showed. If you want it fresh, add sliced cucumber, tomato and a handful of parsley.
Canned chickpeas are the shortcut. Dried chickpeas work if you cook them first, but then it is no longer a 25-minute dinner.
If it goes wrong
The chickpeas are soft, not crisp. They were wet when the oil went on, or the pan was crowded. Drain and dry thoroughly, spread them out, and give them another 5 minutes in the oven.
They taste bland. The spices did not get enough contact. Toss them well so each chickpea is coated, and add a pinch of salt after roasting. A squeeze of lemon wakes it up.
The spices taste burnt or bitter. The oven ran hot, or the chickpeas roasted too long. Pull them as soon as they are crisp and deep gold, and next time check at 15 minutes.
The pita tears. It dried out in the oven. Warm it for the 2 minutes the method gives it, wrap it in a clean towel and fill it gently.
What to serve with it
The default chickpea shawarma is the stuffed pita, eaten warm. A better version adds a creamy sauce, some cucumber and tomato, and a few pickles or olives. If there is a lemon in the fridge, squeeze it over everything.
As lunch the next day, keep the chickpeas separate from the pita, and put them together at the last minute. Cold leftover chickpeas are also good over a salad.
A final note: this is a meatless shawarma that does not apologize for it. The cumin, smoked paprika and garlic do the heavy lifting, and the crisp texture takes the place of the meat. Give it one honest try before you decide it is a compromise.
Why this one earns its place
A meatless dinner does not have to feel like a sacrifice. This one is crisp, smoky and warm, and it comes together from cans and a spice rack. It is the low-pressure date you can have at home: easy, a little surprising, and good enough that you will want to see it again.
Swipe this chickpea shawarma in, then pair it with Chickpea Curry, Chicken Fatteh, and Meal Planning and Food Waste for ways to use what is already in your pantry.
More like this: all Middle Eastern recipes in Crave Corner.