These home-made green vegan easy falafels are the perfect filling for a simple but delicious falafel wrap!
In amongst all the smoothie bowls and baked goods, it sometimes becomes a bit lost that I actually have a heritage rich in traditional foods.
I can’t wait to share this Lebanese childhood favourite recipe of mine! (Side note – for another Lebanese inspired recipe check out my Fattoush salad in a jar Recipe!
Although falafels are becoming more and more popular in the west, it might interest you to know if you don’t already) that falafels actually originate in the Middle Eastern region.
Depending on where exactly you get them they are made slightly differently with some differing ingredients – although most are made up of a base of chickpeas, broad beans (otherwise called fava beans) and a mix of onions, herbs and spices.
For these particular home-made easy falafel, I have even used the traditional cooking method:
Frying in oil!
So, whilst this isn’t the healthiest option (don’t worry I will be writing up a healthier version soon!), if you cook them right, then the oil will crisp the outside and the falafel will not absorb any excess oil!
Within this recipe, I’ve really decided to go all out and re-create an absolute favourite meal from my childhood in a delicious vegan traditional falafel wrap with chopped salad and a home-made tahini dressing.
This is one of my absolute favourite ways to eat falafels and hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do.
However, if you’re not in the mood for a wrap then here are some other options.
Ways to eat falafels:
- A Pitta sandwich (the ‘usual’)
- Falafel burgers
- As a taco filling
- Within a salad bowl or buddha bowl (perfect for meal-prep!)
- A mezze platter with hummus, olives, salad, dips/sauces and some ‘bread’.
- Falafel tabbouleh
And there are so many many more ideas. So, please let me know in the comments below, what are your favourite ways to eat falafels?
If you’ve never made home-made falafels before then you may be fooled into thinking that they are actually quite hard to make, especially as getting the perfect texture is key.
You want a lovely moist interior with a delicious, crisp outer layer. However, it is actually super simple to create this recipe!
A few tips for perfectly cooked falafels:
- For this recipe, I’ve mentioned used dried chickpeas and broad beans and soaking them overnight – don’t be tricked into trying to use pre-soaked, tinned beans. Using them would result in the wrong texture and difficulty with cooking.
- FRY them! Okay, I know this isn’t the healthiest method and it’s all about ‘baking’ falafel these days but you HAVE to try frying them at-least once for a perfectly crisp exterior but a lovely soft, moist interior.
Plus it’s not as daunting as it seems. Simply heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pan until it is bubbling softly, using a special scoop or a spoon/fork gently lower them into the oil and fry on each side for around 3-4 minutes, till golden brown in colour. - To test if the oil is hot enough then simply drop a tiny bit of the falafel mix into the pot. It should start to sizzle immediately and colour within a minute!
- Only cook 5-6 at a go! If you over-fill the pan then it will affect the cooking times and can possibly end up in falafels that are too oily.
- It’s also worth noting – these are best made fresh to retain optimal crispiness so don’t leave them sitting out for too long!
So, without further ado – here’s the recipe!
What’s needed:
For the falafels:
- Split broad beans and chickpeas
- Fresh parsley and coriander
- Onion and garlic
- Salt and Falafel spice, which consists of cumin, black pepper, ground coriander, cayenne pepper (optional)
- Baking powder and sunflower oil for frying
For the falafel wrap:
- pita bread
- ready falafels
- pink pickles (recipe on my Instagram Highlights)
- lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and onion
- tahini dressing
For the Tahini dressing:
- Natural yogurt or plant based yogurt
- Tahini
- Lemon and garlic
- Cumin and salt
The steps:
Wash the beans and chickpeas and then leave them to soak them in cold water over night. You can keep them soaking for up to 24 hours.
As written above, this will give you optimal texture so DON’T be tempted to swap these with pre-soaked, canned beans/chickpeas!
Drain and rinse well the soaked chickpeas and beans when you are ready to proceed with the falafel recipe.
Blend all the falafel base ingredients in a food processor/blender until you obtain a smooth uniform mixture. They should have a beautiful green colour.
It’s worth noting – you can prepare the mixture in advance and store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days!
When you are ready to fry the falafels, add 1 tBsp baking powder to the mix and incorporate well in a large bowl.
The baking powder should only be added at the last moment before frying. This adds an ‘airiness’ to the mix that is needed for the perfect texture.
Heat up a few inches of sunflower oil in a saucepan over medium high heat until it bubbles softly. Using a falafel scoop or a spoon/fork, form the falafel balls/patties and carefully dip them in the hot oil to deep fry them.
After 3-4 minutes, carefully turn them over. The falafels are ready when they become golden-brown in colour. Lay on a piece of paper towel to drain off any excess cooking oil, although there shouldn’t be much!
To prepare the tahini sauce, mix all the dip ingredients together well and set aside.
Prepare the rest of the wrap ingredients by chopping the veggies.
I like to create a variety of textures so I love to grate/julienne my cucumber, roughly chop lettuce and thinly slice the various other bits.
To create the wrap, open a traditional pita bread, lay the veggies and a few falafel balls on it, then add some tahini dressing. You can also drizzle a little extra lemon juice.
Roll the bread. Enjoy your falafel wrap (sandwich)! Definitely one of the most delicious ways to eat falafels!
The detailed recipe for this authentic falafel wrap:
Homemade Easy Falafel wrap
Ingredients
For the falafels:
- 2 cups split broad beans
- 1 cup chickpeas
- parsley
- coriander
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1.5 tBsp falafel spice 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp ground coriander, pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tBsp baking powder used only before frying
- sunflower oil for frying enough to fill up your saucepan
For the wrap:
- pita bread
- ready falafels
- pink pickles recipe on my Instagram Highlights
- tomatoes
- cucumbers
- tahini dressing
- onion
Tahini dressing for the wrap:
- 1 cup yogurt natural or plant-based
- 1/2 cup tahini
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/8 tsp cumin powder
- a pinch of salt
- filtered water in case the dressing is too thick
Suggested Equipment
Instructions
- Blend all the falafel base ingredients in a food processor/blender until you obtain a smooth uniform mixture. They should have a beautiful green colour.**
- When you are ready to fry the falafels, add 1 tBsp baking powder to the mix. The baking powder should only be added at the last moment before frying. This adds an 'airiness' to the mix that is needed for the perfect texture.
- Heat up a few inches of sunflower oil in a saucepan until it bubbles softly. Using a falafel scoop or a spoon/fork, form the falafels patties and carefully dip them in the hot oil. After 3-4 minutes, carefully turn them over. The falafels are ready when they become golden-brown in colour. Lay on a piece of paper towel to drain off any excess cooking oil, although there shouldn't be much!
- Prepare the rest of the wrap ingredients by chopping the veggies. I like to create a variety of textures so I love to grate/julienne my cucumber, roughly chop lettuce and thinly slice the various other bits.
- To create the wrap, open a traditional pita bread, lay the veggies and falafel on it, then add some tahini dressing. Roll the bread. Enjoy your falafel wrap (sandwich)!
Definitely one of the most delicious ways to eat falafels!
Notes
Nutrition
To save this Vegan falafel wrap recipe for later:
IB
Samira, thank you so much for this falafel recipe! It’s so delicious and addictive! And your step by step directions are great and easy to follow! Thanks for all the work you put into your recipes, I’ve made quite a few of them and they all turned out amazing!
Samira @ Alphafoodie
Thank you so much for your feedback. I am so happy you’ve tried this recipe! 🙂