Quick N Easy Mediterranean Falafel Salad Recipe

Quick N Easy Mediterranean Falafel Salad Recipe 

This Falafel Salad is super amazing. Instead of regular salad greens, it starts with a bed of fresh parsley and cilantro. Those two herbs are what make the falafel taste so amazing and fresh. Chickpeas add body to the salad and bulgur wheat gives extra texture. Fresh tomatoes went into the mix to make it a little more salad-like, and I would have added diced cucumber if the selection at the store hadn’t looked so pitiful (wrinkly cucumbers are so sad). I had to find a way to get all of the falafel spices into the salad, so I mixed them right into a basic tahini lemon dressing (because you’d probably drizzle some tahini over the falafel anyway, right?). The tahini dressing was so zingy with its fresh garlic that I skipped the red onion that is in the original falafel recipe. It wasn’t missed. The end result was so amazing that I didn’t have time to notice the onion’s absence.

This falafel salad is packed with fresh vegetables, drenched with a tangy tahini dressing, and is 100% vegan.

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 40 mins 

Servings: 4 to 6 

INGREDIENTS For Quick N Easy Mediterranean Falafel Salad Recipe 

TAHINI DRESSING

⭐1/3 cup tahini sesame seed paste

⭐1/3 cup water

⭐1/4 cup lemon juice

⭐2 cloves garlic, peeled

⭐1/2 tsp ground cumin

⭐1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

⭐1/2 tsp salt

SALAD

⭐1 bunch flat leaf parsley

⭐1 bunch cilantro

⭐1 19oz. can chickpeas

⭐1/2 cup uncooked bulgur

⭐2 tomatoes (about ¾ lb.)

INSTRUCTIONS For Quick N Easy Mediterranean Falafel Salad Recipe 

⭐To make the dressing, smash the garlic cloves under the blade of a knife or roughly chop them. Add the garlic, tahini, water, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne, and salt to a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth and the garlic is in small pieces. Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use.

⭐To cook the bulgur, place the dry bulgur in a sauce pot. Cook and stir the dry bulgur (without water or oil) over medium heat for two minutes to toast it slightly. Add one cup of water and bring the mixture up to a boil. Add a lid to the pot, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, fluff the bulgur and transfer it to the refrigerator without a lid to cool.

⭐Wash the parsley and cilantro well under cool water. Shake as much water off as possible. Pull the leaves from the stems and then roughly chop the leaves. Place the chopped parsley and cilantro in a bowl.

⭐Dice the tomato and add it to the bowl. Rinse and drain the chickpeas, then add them to the bowl. Finally, add the cooled bulgur to the boil and stir to combine the ingredients. Add a liberal amount of the tahini dressing and stir until everything is well coated.

NOTES:

Want to add more? Diced cucumbers or crumbled feta would also be amazing in this.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 405.03kcal | Carbohydrates: 53.78g | Protein: 18.38g | Fat: 15.85g | Sodium: 786.4mg | Fiber: 16.03g