Tempeh shawarma meal-prep bowl with edamame and lemony cauliflower rice
18 min · 38 g protein · 481 cals / serving
Cubes of tempeh fried crisp with red pepper and onion in a warm shawarma spice mix and lemon, over lemony cauliflower rice and edamame with cucumber and red cabbage, and a garlicky tahini soy-yogurt sauce. A vegan bowl with a real bite to it.
Ingredients
Shawarma spice
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 medium red onion, sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
- 3 tbsp lemon juice, divided
- 2 (12 oz) bags cauliflower rice, frozen
- 1 2/3 cups edamame, frozen shelled
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 large cucumber, diced
- 2 1/2 cups red cabbage, bought shredded
Tahini yogurt sauce
- 1 cup unsweetened soy yogurt, plain
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
Steps
- Toss the tempeh cubes with the oil, all the spices, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Heat your largest nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and fry the tempeh 4 minutes, turning once, until it starts to brown. Add the onion and red pepper and fry everything together 5 minutes more, stirring now and then, until the tempeh is deep golden and the vegetables catch at the edges. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice.
- Meanwhile microwave the cauliflower rice for 5–6 minutes and press out the water, then the edamame with a splash of water for 3 minutes. Stir both together with the parsley, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of the remaining lemon juice, and divide among four containers.
- Top with the tempeh and peppers, and pack the cucumber and red cabbage in one corner.
- Stir the soy yogurt, tahini, garlic, the rest of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt into a sauce, thinning with a spoon of water if needed, and pack it in four small pots. The bowls keep 4 days.
Good to know
My tempeh tastes bitter.
Some brands do. Simmering the cubes in water for 5 minutes before frying takes the bitterness out, at the cost of a few minutes; a good char and the lemon at the end hide most of it anyway.
Can I add chickpeas?
Yes: a drained can of chickpeas stirred into the cauliflower rice makes it a heartier bowl, with more fibre and more carbohydrate.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 79
- Protein
- (31%)
- 6 g
- Fat
- (40%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (29%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 122 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1923 kcal goes into the pot and 2553 g of ingredients comes out as about 2440 g of food: 79 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.