Healthy Falafel Recipe

Looking for a healthy falafel recipe? Try this falafel salad with lemon-tahini dressing.

Deep-fried falafel can be a total grease bomb. But these pan-seared falafel still get crispy in just a few tablespoons of oil with equally satisfying results. Be sure to use dried, instead of canned, chickpeas in this healthy recipe—canned chickpeas add too much moisture.

This Falafel Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing is a great Meatless Monday option—or for any other day of the week. We love the simplicity of this recipe, which is loaded with flavor and nutrition.

Rehydrated chickpeas regain some of their creamy texture and are spiked with spicy garlic and red onion, warm cumin and fresh grassy parsley. The falafel patties become crispy on the outside but remain tender on the inside.

Crisp romaine lettuce pairs with other antioxidant-rich veggies that get a wonderful drizzle of the nutty tahini dressing infused with bright lemon.

Healthy Falafel Recipe: Falafel Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

• 1 cup dried chickpeas

• 2 cups packed flat-leaf parsley, divided

• ¼ cup chopped red onion plus 1/4 cup thinly sliced, divided

• 2 cloves garlic

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon salt, divided

• 5 tablespoons tahini

• 5 tablespoons warm water

• 6 cups sliced romaine lettuce

• 2 cups sliced cucumbers and/or radishes

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

Directions

1. Soak chickpeas in cold water for 12 to 24 hours.

2. Drain the 1 cup of chickpeas and transfer to a food processor. Add 1 cup parsley, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt; process until finely and evenly ground. Shape into 12 patties (1 1/2 inches wide), using a generous 2 tablespoons each.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Cook the falafel until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn, swirl in 1 tablespoon oil and cook until golden on the other side, 3 to 5 minutes more.

4. Meanwhile, whisk 5 tablespoons tahini, 5 tablespoons water and the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Transfer 1/4 cup to a small bowl. Add 6 cups romaine and the remaining 1 cup parsley to the large bowl and toss to coat. Top with 2 cups sliced cucumbers and/or radishes, 1 pint tomatoes, the sliced onion and the falafel. Drizzle with the reserved 1/4 cup dressing.

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

• These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you, too!

• Soaking chickpeas for 12 to 24 hours will greatly reduce the cooking time.

• A cookie scoop comes in handy if you want consistently sized falafel patties. They come in 2 tablespoon measurements.

• Don’t put too many falafels in the pan at once. Doing so will lower the oil’s temperature, and the falafels will fall apart.

• You can batch-cook falafel and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Notes

Chickpeas

Falafel is typically a combination of chickpeas and spices, including onions and garlic. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a type of legume. Like all legumes, chickpeas provide plant-based protein, prebiotic fiber, inflammation-calming antioxidants and complex carbohydrates for energy.
Chickpeas are rich in folate, a B vitamin that is important for healthy cells, and iron, which is necessary for delivering oxygen to our brains and muscles.

The garlic and onions up the nutrition ante in falafel, also providing prebiotic fiber, antioxidants and health benefits, including disease prevention. Altogether, these plant-based patties are nutrition powerhouses.

Tahini

Tahini is made from sesame seeds that have been ground up into a paste. Like other seeds, sesame seeds contain heart-healthy fats, so when you open up a jar of tahini, you may find a layer of oil sitting on the top.

Simply stir the oil back into the tahini paste. This will not only prevent your tahini from being too dry, but it also adds the oil’s health benefits back into it—which include reduced cholesterol, blood pressure, and risk of cancer.