This straightforward falafel salad recipe options crispy baked falafel, recent greens, and creamy tahini dressing for a satisfying Mediterranean type meal. Excellent for weeknight dinners or meal prep!
One of many world’s finest vegan recipes, in my view, is falafel. These Center Japanese chickpea balls are so meaty and satisfying, I really feel like I might eat them each day! Considered one of my favourite concepts for find out how to eat them is that this falafel salad.
Make a batch of my baked falafel, then layer them with crunchy veggies and high with a creamy, zingy tahini dressing. You can too use bought frozen falafel, and even repurpose takeout leftovers! This one is an enormous hit with my household.
5 Star Reader Evaluations
“BEST RECIPE EVER! The falafels are superb and really easy to make!” -Erin
”I made this final evening and my household beloved it. I made the falafel with half parsley and half cilantro. They have been crispy on the skin and smooth on the within with such nice taste. The lemon tahini dressing was barely bitter by itself, however on the salad it was good. Thanks for this recipe!” -Siriana
Elements You’ll Want
Falafel is a Center Japanese ball of chickpeas, herbs and spices that’s deep fried. It’s most frequently served as an appetizer with dip, or in a pita as a falafel sandwich. However an alternate option to eat it’s deconstructed, in a salad! It makes a satisfying vegan and gluten free dinner concept, served in an enormous bowl with a creamy sauce or dressing. Right here’s what you’ll want for this falafel salad recipe:
- Falafel: this Baked Falafel recipe is ideal for straightforward meals, however you possibly can substitute with traditional fried falafel or frozen (see beneath)
- Tahini sauce: the zingy Tahini Sauce or Lemon Tahini Dressing ties the salad along with creamy richness
- English cucumber: English cucumber is essential: the flavour is milder and it doesn’t have a troublesome peel or seed
- Kalamata olives or Castelvetrano olives: Olives are important for the Mediterranean taste, although you possibly can omit in the event you’re not a fan.
- Carrots, radishes, tomatoes, and lettuce: These recent veggies spherical out the salad.
The Falafel Choices
This falafel salad is ideal with my baked falafel, which is fast and straightforward, made with canned chickpeas. Or, it’s glorious with my traditional falafel recipe: simply keep in mind to soak dry chickpeas in a single day! Listed here are a number of extra choices:
- Baked falafel: Baked Falafel is a shortcut for straightforward dinners, made with canned chickpeas and baked within the oven. Leftovers save effectively, so take into account making a double batch and refrigerating or freezing. Additionally attempt them with dip or in child lunch packing containers!
- Traditional falafel: My Traditional Falafel recipe makes use of dried chickpeas, like a standard Center Japanese falafel. The flavour is great and it’s value remembering to soak them in a single day, and coping with the difficult components of pan frying. It’s simply that good!
- Frozen falafel: Many grocery shops carry frozen falafel within the frozen part. Tell us in case you have favourite manufacturers (Goal has them, which suggests they’re fairly broadly accessible!)
- Restaurant falafel: Ordering Greek or Center Japanese takeout? Right here’s a tip: order further falafel, then serve the leftovers over a salad. It’s an effective way to create one other meal!
Sauce Concepts: Tahini Sauce & Extra
The Tahini Sauce for this falafel salad is certainly one of my favourite staple recipes: it’s so scrumptious and versatile! It’s dairy-free which makes it customizable for a lot of diets. You can too use certainly one of these alternate options sauces that work with a Falafel Sandwich, too:
- Tahini Sauce has the perfect creamy, zingy and balanced taste. It actually brings the weather on this salad collectively! It additionally suits many weight loss program choices: vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free.
- Fast Cucumber Sauce or Tzatziki are each stuffed with taste with Greek yogurt, lemon, cucumber and dill! This primary sauce is a shortcut model.
- Cilantro Sauce is one other vegan sauce, deliciously recent with a number of cilantro and blended cashews because the physique.
Storage and Meal Prep Suggestions
This salad is nice for meal prep, however you want to hold the parts separate. You’ll be able to retailer the baked falafel within the fridge for as much as per week: they reheat very effectively in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes or in an air fryer for a couple of minutes.
The chopped greens keep recent for two to three days when saved individually within the fridge. The tahini sauce lasts as much as 1 month refrigerated.
Dietary Notes
This falafel salad recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Falafel Salad
This straightforward falafel salad recipe options crispy baked falafel, recent greens, and creamy tahini dressing for a satisfying Mediterranean type meal. Excellent for weeknight dinners or meal prep!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Prepare dinner Time: 25 minutes
- Complete Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Important dish
- Technique: Baked
- Delicacies: Mediterranean
- Food plan: Vegan
Elements
For the baked falafel*
- 15-ounce can chickpeas
- ⅓ cup Previous Usual rolled oats
- 1/4 small purple onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, loosely packed (or recent parsley)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Contemporary floor black pepper
For the salad
- 1 recipe Tahini Sauce
- 1/2 English cucumber, sliced
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 2 radishes, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1 handful Kalamata olives
- 8 cups salad greens
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 levels Fahrenheit.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dab the chickpeas with a paper towel to take away further moisture and set them apart.
- Place the rolled oats in a bowl of a meals processor. Course of 30 seconds to 1 minute till they’re the feel of flour. Pour right into a separate bowl and put aside.
- Roughly chop the purple onion and peel the garlic. Place them into the meals processor with the cilantro and pulse till finely minced, stopping and scraping down the bowl as soon as. Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and course of till mixed, stopping and scraping the bowl as soon as. Then add the oats and pulse till a uniform dough kinds. (Watch out to not over-process the dough: you’ll need it uniform and shape-able with a little bit texture. See the photograph beneath!)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your arms to roll the dough into 12 balls which can be 1 ½ tablespoons every, then flatten them into discs (use a dimension 40 cookie scoop, in case you have it). Place the discs on the baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.
- Bake the falafel for quarter-hour till golden brown, then flip and bake for 10 minutes, till golden brown on the opposite aspect. Enable to chill not less than 5 minutes earlier than consuming. (Storage information: The baked falafel retailer very effectively! Refrigerate as much as 1 week or freeze as much as 3 months. Think about making a double batch and storing leftovers.)
- Whereas the falafel bake, make the Tahini Dressing.
- To serve, place greens on a plate. High with baked falafel, shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, sliced radishes, and Kalamata olives. Drizzle with tahini dressing and serve.
Notes
*Makes 12 small falafel: take into account making a double batch and storing leftovers. To make a short-cut model of this salad, use frozen bought falafel. Or, it’s a option to repurpose leftover falafel from restaurant takeout!
Leftovers and meal prep: This salad is nice for meal prep, however you want to hold the parts separate. You’ll be able to retailer the baked falafel within the fridge for as much as per week: they reheat very effectively in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes or in an air fryer for a couple of minutes.
The chopped greens keep recent for two to three days when saved individually within the fridge. The tahini sauce lasts as much as 1 month refrigerated.
Extra Mediterranean Recipes
This Falafel Salad is a superb Mediterranean weight loss program recipe that doubles as a filling vegan dinner recipe! Listed here are a number of extra recipes to attempt:
