Falafel Bowl with Tahini
When you want dinner to feel decided for you, this bowl does the job fast.
Make this on a night when you want something filling, fresh, and clearly dinner without spending forever thinking about it. It gives you the familiar falafel-bowl payoff—crisp chickpea patties, cool vegetables, and a creamy tahini sauce—but keeps the process simple enough for a tired weeknight. The chickpeas do most of the work, and the bowl format means you can swap in whatever crunchy produce you already have. Expect a satisfying homemade meal in about 35 minutes, with enough texture and sauce to feel complete even if you skip the extras. It is not the deep-fried version from a restaurant, but it is sturdy, flavorful, and much easier to pull off tonight.
Ingredients
- 2 cup canned chickpeas — rinsed and well drained
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 unit egg
- 2 tbsp red onion — finely grated or minced
- 2 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 2 tbsp parsley — chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 0.5 cup tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp water — plus more as needed
- 4 cup shredded lettuce
- 1.5 cup cherry tomatoes — halved
- 1 cup cucumber — diced
- 1 unit avocado — sliced, optional
Method
- 1 In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork until mostly broken down but still a little chunky. Stir in breadcrumbs, egg, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper until the mixture holds together.
- 2 Shape the mixture into 8 small patties. If it feels too wet, add a little more breadcrumbs; if it feels dry, add a teaspoon of water.
- 3 Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deeply browned and heated through.
- 4 Whisk tahini, lemon juice, and water in a small bowl until smooth and pourable. Add a pinch of salt if needed.
- 5 Build bowls with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado if using. Add the falafel patties on top and drizzle generously with tahini sauce.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Keep it vegetarian as written, or serve the patties with extra chopped vegetables and a scoop of hummus for a bigger bowl.
- Faster swap — Skip shaping patties and make the mixture into rough fritters, which cook a little quicker and are easier to handle when you are tired.
- Substitutions — Use panko instead of breadcrumbs, swap parsley for cilantro, or serve over rice instead of lettuce if that is what you have.
Notes
For the fastest version, use pre-chopped vegetables and make the patties slightly smaller so they cook quickly. If the tahini seizes, keep whisking in water 1 tsp at a time until it turns creamy again. Leftover patties reheat well in a skillet over medium heat or in a 400°F oven for a few minutes.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet — It browns the chickpea patties quickly so dinner comes together without turning on the oven.
- Mixing bowl — You can combine the chickpea mixture in one place and judge the texture before cooking.
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