Description
Grilled Chickpea Veggie Pitas – za’atar spiced chickpea filling, stuffed into whole grain pitas then grilled until the outside is crispy. High protein, high fiber, and highly nutritious meal that will keep you satisfied.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, divided
- 1, 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 4 oz of mushrooms, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 tsp za’atar
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 whole grain pitas
Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened vegan Greek-style yogurt or your favorite thick vegan yogurt
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic, crushed or finely grated
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely minced
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, optional
Instructions
- Place your chickpeas in a bowl and roughly mash them with a fork to crumble it, then set aside.
- To a sauté pan over medium heat, heat up a tablespoon of oil then add in the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. Give the mixture a quick toss and let it sit for 2-3 minutes to release some of the moisture. Add a pinch of salt and continue to sauté until the mixture has cooked down and most of the liquid has cooked off.
- Add the garlic and sauté till fragrant, then add the tomato paste, mashed chickpeas, soy sauce, za’atar, cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley, taste and adjust seasoning to your liking then set aside.
- Preheat a griddle then cut your pita in half and open the pocket. Carefully stuff each pita half until it is filled to the top. Brush or spray the pita with the remaining oil.
- Place the pita filling side down on the grill for 3-4 minutes until grill marks appear then flip and sear it for about 3 minutes on the remaining sides. Repeat with the remaining pitas.
- To make the yogurt sauce, combine the yogurt sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk to fully combine then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the grilled pita with the sauce and any fresh veggies you like.
Notes
For extra fiber, opt for whole grain pita bread. Slowly adding in extra fiber to your diet is helpful for maintaining a healthy gut and will also keep you feeling more satisfied between meals.
Avoid overstuffing your pita. Pita quality will differ from brand to brand, but one thing we want to avoid is overstuffing it to the point that your pita rips. If the pita is thin, you may want to use less filling so the pita does not rip.
Replace the pita with a wrap. If you are having trouble finding a good quality vegan pita, opt to wrap the filling in a flour tortilla. After you wrap it, toast or grill the wrap until it is nice and crispy before enjoying.
Add more protein. These stuffed pitas totaled 22 grams of protein per wrap and 1/3 of the sauce. Do note that numbers can vary depending on changes made to the brands recommended for the recipe. If you want to add additional protein, feel free to swap the chickpeas for ground tempeh or tofu.
