Use my falafel bowl recipe as inspiration to customize a bowl with your favourite toppings. The star is, of course, my falafel that doesn’t fall apart as it cooks. Then, my Simple Lemon Tahini Dressing tops it off and brings all the flavours of your bowl together.
Fresh & filling
Full of flavour
A mixture of textures
And the perfect make ahead lunch
The Falafel
The star ingredient of this falafel bowl recipe is my soaked chickpea falafel. If you have ever tried to make falafel and ended up with more falafel crumble than anything else, I know your pain.
Many falafel recipes call for canned chickpeas to be used. Although this is a much quicker option, it more often than not results in falafel that doesn’t stick together.
For my falafel recipe I took inspiration from how falafel is traditionally made. The key difference is to use soaked chickpeas, not cooked chickpeas. If you start with the dried beans, soak them for 18-24 hours and then blend up your falafel mixture (without pre-cooking your chickpeas!) – you will get perfectly formed falafel.
Although this method takes a touch more planning in order to soak the chickpeas, the time it takes to blend the mixture, form, and cook the falafel is the same. 25 minutes is all that is needed to make my falafel once you have soaked your dried beans.
Other Ingredients For This Falafel Bowl Recipe
Besides the falafel, my falafel bowl recipe is made up of:
- Cooked brown rice
- Spinach
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Olives
- Pickles
- Hummus
- My Simple Lemon Tahini Dressing
- And some other garnishes like my Quick Pickled Red Onion, toasted sesame seeds, and toasted pita bread.
Feel free to customize your bowl to your liking.
- Use an alternate grain like quinoa.
- Any leafy greens like kale or leafy herbs like parsley, cilantro, and even dill.
- Add bell peppers, radishes, julienned carrots or any other cold veggies you have in your fridge.
- Think about salty and tangy ingredients like olives and pickled vegetables for some variety in taste and texture.
- And add some crunch with toasted pita or nuts and seeds.
The Dressing
Whip up my Simple Lemon Tahini Dressing in seconds. This dressing is made by simply whisking tahini, lemon juice and maple syrup with a bit of water, salt, and sesame oil (if desired).
If you love the flavour of tahini on its own, go ahead and just drizzle straight tahini on your bowl. I however, prefer to brighten and sweeten the flavour of the tahini slightly to make a more pleasing and thinner dressing.
Cost For This Falafel Bowl Recipe
This falafel bowl recipe costs me less than $5 Canadian to create.
I always make a double batch of my falafel recipe and freeze half so that I can take out what I need for really quick lunches down the road.
Buying a bowl like this out would cost me at least $12 CAD so I love that with a bit of prep work I can have everything on hand to throw together a delicious lunch that will save me a few dollars!
Let me know in the comments below how you customize your falafel bowl. Try it as a pita if you are more of a sandwich fan! Use any leftover chickpeas for this Creamy Chickpea Smash Sandwich, this Red Lentil Curry with chickpeas, or make a dessert like my Chickpea Cookie Dough Bars!
Print
Falafel Bowl
- Total Time: 10 minutes (plus falafel and rice cooking time)
- Yield: 1 bowl 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Customize this easy falafel bowl recipe for you. These soaked chickpea falafel don’t fall apart & a simple lemon tahini dressing tops it off!
Ingredients
- ½ cup cooked brown rice
- ½ cup spinach, sliced (or greens/herbs of choice)
- ⅓ cup tomato, chopped
- ⅓ cup cucumber, chopped
- 3–4 olives
- 1 pickle, sliced
- ¼ cup hummus
- 4 falafel
- Simple Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Quick Pickled Red Onion
- ½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- Toasted pita slices
Instructions
If making my falafel, lemon tahini dressing, quick pickled red onion and/or hummus, follow those recipes by clicking the links.
To compile your falafel bowl:
- Scoop cooked rice into the bowl. Feel free to use another grain of choice or use all greens.
- Add sliced spinach to your bowl. Use any other green leafy vegetable or fresh leafy herbs you have on hand.
- Add in your favourite cold vegetables like the tomato and cucumber I suggest.
- Next, add in some salty additions like the olives and pickles for a bit of tang.
- Top the bowl with hummus for added protein and creaminess.
- Lay your falafel in the bowl and drizzle with my quick and easy Lemon Tahini Dressing.
- Finish off your bowl with any other garnishes you have on hand like pickled onion, toasted sesame seeds, and some toasted pita bread for crunch. *To toast triangles of pita bread on a skillet, brush with a bit of olive oil and toast over low heat for a few minutes until crispy. Sprinkle with salt and/or garlic powder if desired.
Notes
Approximate Cost: Less than $5 CAD vs. at least $12 for a similar bowl purchased out.
To toast your own sesame seeds, spread raw sesame seeds on a frying pan over low heat for 1-3 minutes until they turn golden brown. Remove promptly from the hot pan to avoid burning the seeds and allow to cool in a separate dish.
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern Inspired
Hugh
Your falafel recipe is the only one I’ve made that doesn’t fall apart! I didn’t have any pickles or olives but I cobbled together a bowl with what we had in the fridge and your tahini dressing was great on it. I’m going to try freezing my next batch of falafel because I just made a small batch to see how this would work and we ate them all.
Kathryn Alexandre
Success! I’m glad these ones held together for you and you liked the tahini dressing too. Let me know how the freezing goes!
Maria
This bowl is so delicious! Yours is the only falafel recipe that has ever worked for me and I’ve tried a few. I made your pickled onions and your tahini dressing. Everything gets an A+ from me!
Kathryn Alexandre
Awesome! Thank you so much for trying out all these elements and I’m so happy to hear that you had falafel success! Thank you for the star rating and enjoy your bowl!
Ron
Excellent love these dishes where freeze extras and have a great snack when hunger strikes
Kathryn Alexandre
Absolutely! It feels so much more satisfying to spend time cooking when you know you’ve made enough for another meal another day! Or a snack as you mentioned! I definitely had a couple leftover falafel as a snack a few days ago!