The photo looks like a toasted flatbread wrap filled with spiced ground beef, cucumber, tomato, leafy greens, feta and a red/tangy sauce. Here’s a home version designed to closely reproduce that appearance and flavor.
Yield: 4 large wraps
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15–20 minutes
Total: about 40 minutes, plus optional marinating time
Ingredients
Spiced beef
500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp black pepper
¾ tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp chili flakes, optional
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Filling
4 large flour tortillas, lavash or thin flatbreads
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 large cucumber, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, sliced or halved cherry tomatoes
100–120 g feta cheese, crumbled
¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
2–3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or coriander
Quick garlic-tahini sauce
⅓ cup tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, grated
3–5 tbsp cold water
¼ tsp salt
Tahini-based sauces are commonly paired with beef shawarma, and published shawarma recipes use combinations of tahini, lemon and water to make a creamy sauce.
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Food Network
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Red sauce
2 tbsp ketchup or tomato sauce
1 tbsp chili sauce
1 tsp pomegranate molasses, optional
½ tsp lemon juice
Method
1. Season the beef
Put the ground beef in a bowl and add garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, allspice, turmeric, pepper, salt, oregano, chili flakes and lemon juice.
Mix thoroughly.
For deeper flavor, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Shawarma recipes commonly use a period of marination to allow the spices to penetrate the meat.
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Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
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2. Cook the beef
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add olive oil and then the beef. Break it into small pieces with a spatula.
Cook for approximately 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until deeply browned and slightly crisp at the edges.
Because this is ground beef, use a thermometer and cook it to 160°F/71°C internally; color alone isn’t a reliable safety indicator.
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Food Safety and Inspection Service
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For the particularly browned appearance in the photograph, allow the cooked beef to sit undisturbed in the hot pan for 30–60 seconds at a time before stirring.
3. Make the tahini sauce
Whisk together:
tahini
lemon juice
garlic
salt
It will initially become quite thick. Gradually whisk in cold water until it becomes smooth and pourable.
Tip: If the sauce suddenly becomes very thick or pasty when lemon juice is added, don’t worry—keep whisking while adding water gradually.
4. Prepare the red sauce
Mix ketchup/tomato sauce, chili sauce, pomegranate molasses and lemon juice.
Adjust to taste:
More chili → hotter
More pomegranate molasses → sweeter/tangier
More lemon → sharper
5. Toast the flatbread
Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.
Warm each tortilla/flatbread for about 20–30 seconds per side.
For the distinctive grilled lines shown in the photo, use a grill pan and press the bread gently against the ridges.
6. Build the wrap
Lay the warm flatbread down.
Spread on:
Garlic-tahini sauce
Lettuce
Spiced beef
Cucumber
Tomato
Red onion
Feta
Parsley/coriander
Red sauce
Don’t overfill—it makes rolling difficult.
7. Roll and toast
Fold the left and right edges inward.
Roll firmly from the bottom, keeping the filling compressed.
Place the finished wrap seam-side down in a hot dry skillet for 1–2 minutes. Turn and toast the other side.
This gives the browned, blistered appearance visible in your photo.
Cut diagonally and serve immediately.
Approximate nutrition
This varies substantially with the tortilla size, beef fat percentage, feta and amount of sauce. As a rough estimate, one large wrap is around:
Nutrient Approx. per wrap
Calories 600–700 kcal
Protein 30–35 g
Carbohydrates 45–55 g
Fat 30–38 g
Fiber 4–7 g
For comparison, published beef-shawarma recipes range from roughly 427 to 700+ kcal per serving, depending heavily on bread, beef, oil and sauce quantities.
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ThriveTable
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To reduce calories
Use a smaller/thinner flatbread.
Use 90–95% lean beef.
Reduce feta to 50–60 g.
Use less tahini sauce.
Increase cucumber and lettuce.
To increase protein
Use lean ground beef and increase the beef portion while keeping the sauce and cheese moderate.
Nut & allergy information
There are no tree nuts required in this recipe.
However, there is an important distinction:
Tahini = sesame
Tahini is made from sesame seeds, not peanuts or tree nuts. Sesame is nevertheless a major food allergen, so someone with a sesame allergy should not treat tahini as nut-free/safe.
Other potential allergens
Ingredient Possible allergen
Tahini Sesame
Feta Milk/dairy
Flour tortilla Wheat/gluten, depending on product
Beef Usually none of the major allergens
Garlic/spices Usually none, but check packaged blends
Chili sauce/ketchup Check label for wheat, sesame or other allergens
For a nut-free version, use a tortilla and sauces whose labels specifically indicate they are suitable for the person’s allergy, because cross-contact can occur during commercial production.
Nut-free sauce alternative
If you want to avoid sesame as well, replace the tahini sauce with:
½ cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small grated garlic clove
Salt
1–2 tbsp water
This gives you a creamy garlic sauce without sesame.
Recipe Q&A
Can I use steak instead of ground beef?
Yes. Thinly sliced sirloin, flank steak or another suitable beef cut works very well. Beef shawarma recipes commonly use thinly sliced beef and cook it quickly over high heat.
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Food Network
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Can I use chicken?
Absolutely. Use thinly sliced chicken and cook poultry to 165°F/74°C internally.
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Food Safety and Inspection Service
Can I omit feta?
Yes. Feta isn’t essential to shawarma; it is included here to reproduce the salty, creamy filling visible in the photograph.
Can I make it without tahini?
Yes. Greek-yogurt garlic sauce is an easy substitute.
Why is my wrap soggy?
The usual causes are:
Too much sauce
Wet tomatoes/cucumber
Overfilled wrap
Beef retaining excess liquid
Drain watery vegetables and let freshly cooked beef lose some steam before assembling.
How do I get the crispy beef shown in the photo?
Use a wide, very hot skillet, don’t overcrowd it, and let the beef brown before stirring. A final 1–2 minutes of high heat can create crispy caramelized edges.
Can I prepare these ahead?
Yes. Cooked beef can be refrigerated promptly and generally used within 3–4 days; USDA recommends reheating leftovers to 165°F/74°C.
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Food Safety and Inspection Service
For best texture, store the beef, vegetables, sauces and flatbreads separately and assemble just before eating.
Can I freeze the filling?
The cooked spiced beef freezes well. I would freeze the beef separately rather than freezing the complete assembled wrap, because cucumber, tomato, lettuce and sauce can become watery after thawing.
What gives the recipe its authentic shawarma flavor?
The combination of cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, allspice, garlic and lemon is the key. Shawarma recipes vary considerably, but these warm spices are common across beef-shawarma preparations.
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Food Network
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How can I make it taste closer to the picture?
Use thin flatbread, very finely browned beef, plenty of cucumber and tomato, crumbled feta, fresh herbs, garlic-tahini sauce and a small amount of red sauce, then toast the completed wrap until the outside develops dark grill marks.