There’s nothing more satisfying than a falafel salad! Garnish the veggies with falafel, crunchy veggies, and a creamy tahini dressing.
In our opinion, falafel tops the list of some of the best vegan recipes in the world. These Middle Eastern Chickpea Balls are so meaty and filling we could eat them every day. Here’s one way to make it a part of a daily plant-based meal: falafel salad! Prepare a batch of these easy-to-cook falafels, then layer them with crunchy veggies and top with a creamy, tangy tahini dressing. Or use store-bought frozen falafel or even use leftovers to take out! This one is a big hit with our family: and works for weeknights or dinner parties.
Ingredients for falafel salad
Falafel is a deep-fried ball made with Middle Eastern chickpeas, herbs, and spices. It is most often served as an appetizer with a dip or in a falafel sandwich flatbread. But another way of eating it is deconstructed, in a salad! It’s a satisfying vegan and gluten-free dinner idea, served in a large bowl with a creamy sauce or dressing. What you need for this falafel salad recipe:
- Falafel: This baked falafel recipe is perfect for easy meals, but you can substitute classic fried or frozen falafel (see below).
- Tahini Sauce: Spicy lemon tahini sauce combines the salad with creamy richness
- English cucumber: The English cucumber is key: the flavor is milder and it doesn’t have a tough skin or pit.
- carrots
- radish
- tomatoes
- Kalamata olives or Castelvetrano olives
- Green salad
Falafel options
This falafel salad goes perfectly with our quick and easy baked falafel. You can make this with a can of chickpeas and have it cooking in no time! Or it goes great with a classic falafel: just remember to soak dry chickpeas all night. Here’s a breakdown:
- Cooked Falafel: Baked falafel is shorthand for easy dinners made with baked canned chickpeas. Leftovers keep well, so consider making a double batch and refrigerating or freezing. Also try them with a dip or in kids lunch boxes!
- Classic Falafel: This classic falafel recipe uses dried chickpeas, like a traditional Middle Eastern falafel. The flavor is great and it’s worth remembering to soak them overnight and dealing with the delicate elements in the pan. It’s just that good!
- Frozen Falafel: Many grocery stores sell frozen falafel in the frozen section. Let us know if you have any favorite brands (Target has them, which means they’re pretty common!)
- Falafel in the restaurant: Order Greek or Middle Eastern food to go? Here’s a tip: order the falafel separately, then serve the leftovers on a salad. It’s a great way to make another meal!
Tahini Sauce and other dressing ideas
What is the most important thing about this falafel salad? The dressing room puts everything in place! The tahini sauce in the recipe below is one of our favorites – it’s so delicious and versatile! But it works with a few other sauce options that are traditional on a falafel sandwich:
- Tahini sauce has the best creamy, flavorful and balanced taste. It really brings the elements of this salad together! It is also suitable for many diet options: vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.
- Quick pickle sauce or tzatziki are both full of flavor with Greek yogurt, lemon, cucumber and dill! This first sauce is a shortened version.
- coriander sauce is another vegan sauce, deliciously fresh with lots of coriander and cashew nuts for body.
More Mediterranean recipes
This falafel salad is a great diet Mediterranean recipe that doubles as a hearty vegan dinner! Here are some additional recipes to try:
This falafel salad recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
The description
There’s nothing more satisfying than a falafel salad! Garnish the veggies with falafel, crunchy veggies, and a creamy tahini dressing.
For the baked falafel*
- 15-oz can of chickpeas
- ⅓ cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1/4 small red onion
- 2 Garlic cloves
- ½ cup coriander leaves and tender stems, loosely packed (or fresh parsley)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 1 Tahini sauce recipe
- 1/2 English cucumber, sliced
- 2 grated carrots
- 2 Radishes, sliced
- 1 cup Cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1 a handful of Kalamata olives
- 8 cups green salad
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat the chickpeas dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and set aside.
- Place the oatmeal in the bowl of a food processor. Mix until flour-like in texture, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Roughly chop the red onion and peel the garlic. Place them in the food processor along with the cilantro and process until finely chopped, stopping and scraping the bowl once. Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and toss until combined, pausing to scrape the bowl once. Then add the rolled oats and puree until you get a smooth paste. (Be careful not to overwork the dough: you want it to be even and malleable with some texture. See photo below!)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your hands, roll the dough into 12 balls of 1½ tablespoons each, then flatten into discs (use a size 40 cookie spoon if you have one). Place the slices on the baking sheet and brush the top with olive oil.
- Cook the falafel for 15 minutes until golden brown, then flip and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown on the other side. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. (Storage info: Baked falafel keeps very well! Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Consider making a double batch and saving leftovers.)
- While the falafel are cooking, prepare the tahini vinaigrette.
- To serve, arrange the vegetables on a plate. Top with baked falafel, grated carrots, cucumber slices, tomato slices, radish slices and Kalamata olives. Drizzle with tahini vinaigrette and serve.
Remarks
*For 12 small falafels: remember to double the amount and save the leftovers. Use frozen falafel to make a shortened version of this salad. Or it’s a way to reuse leftover falafel to take to the restaurant!
- Category: main course
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Mediterranean Sea
- Diet: vegan
