I made falafel bowls, but easier and they’re so goooood, just delicious. An amazing vegetarian dinner idea, these healthy Mediterranean baked falafel bowls are great for meal prep as well!
Quick and Easy Mediterranean Bowls
Okay, let’s get this straight. I’m not claiming this recipe is authentic in any way…I broke some really important laws. Used cooked chickpeas and spinach in the falafels. Then I baked the falafels. I know, I don’t exist to you anymore, but it gets worse.
I served this with a tomato cucumber salad and not tabbouleh. Then finished it all with tzatziki, not hummus. Like what are you doing?
Look, all of these shortcuts saved me a lot of time. Usually falafel bowls take me like 2 hours to make from start to finish. This thing? About 30-40 minutes…And you can have the bowls for a few days. And yes, you will actually want to eat them again and again and again.
What’s In These Mediterranean Falafel Bowls?
Baked Spinach Falafels. These falafels are made with cooked chickpeas, spinach, parsley, spices, herbs, garlic and onion. They taste so great and are a wonderful appetizer as well! You can find the detailed recipe and tips over here.
Tzatziki. This is such an easy fix if you can tolerate dairy. The main ingredients are yogurt, garlic, dill and cucumber and all you need to do is mix them together. If you can’t have dairy, you can try this paleo tzatziki recipe with cashews. Otherwise you can find the more detailed recipe here.
Tomato Cucumber Salad. Simple, but so special and made with summer vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes and peppers. It perfectly complements plant-based protein like the baked falafel patties, but also chicken, fish or seafood. You can find more tips and the entire recipe here.
Olives. Whichever types of pitted olives you enjoy! I used Kalamata, but also love green olives!
How To Make Falafel Bowls
Use your time productively when preparing this recipe, you can make it in 30-40 minutes. This is how:
- Start by preparing the mixture for the falafels, then shape the patties and bake them for about 20 minutes
- During these 20 minutes, you can chop the vegetables for the salad and the cucumbers and dill for the tzatziki.
- From there you need two bowls: one big, one small.
- Add the ingredients for the salad to the big bowl and the ingredients for the tzatziki to the smaller bowl. Add salt and pepper to both and mix/ toss.
- Now that the falafels are ready, you can assemble the bowls with some salad, tzatziki, olives and the falafels on top.
- Enjoy immediately!
You’ll Love These Mediterranean Falafel Bowls
This healthy Mediterranean recipe is full of fresh, whole foods that are good for your body and your soul! The bowls are
- incredibly tasty
- very satiating without meat or fish
- full of antioxidants and fiber, very healthy
- super easy to make
- great for meal prep
- gluten-free and vegetarian
You will love this recipe if you love flavorful mouthwatering food and don’t like pretending that junk food tastes better to you. Don’t be stubborn and let your body have what it likes, what it needs and make this. You’ll be super satisfied and happy you did!
How Healthy Are These Mediterranean Falafel Bowls?
Made with wholesome foods these bowls are excellent for your health! You can get a good amount of fiber, protein, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, C and K, B-vitamins, zinc and iron from these bowls. Because it’s made with ingredients like garlic, onions, herbs, spices and fresh vegetables this healthy dinner recipe is also rich in anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antioxidant nutrients that help protect your body against chronic and infectious disease.
On the other hand, here we’ve eliminated major allergens like gluten, nuts, fish, soy and eggs. We also got rid of unhealthy fats and damaging chemicals that can form during the frying process by baking the falafels.
Mediterranean Meal Prep Bowls
Yes, you can definitely meal prep these Mediterranean bowls! This is what you need to change about the recipe:
- use whole cherry tomatoes and don’t chop them
- don’t add dressing or toss the salad – simply chop vegetables and keep on the side from the falafels.
- keep tzatziki in a separate container
- store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days
I hope you love these falafel bowls!
More Mediterranean Diet Recipes:
Mediterranean Baked Falafel Bowls | Vegetarian Meal Prep
Amazing vegetarian dinner idea, these healthy Mediterranean baked falafel bowls are full of flavor, antioxidants, fiber, protein and essential nutrients! These falafel bowls are gluten free, soy-free and nut-free and great for meal prep and healthy eating too!
Ingredients
Falafels:
- 4 cups cooked chickpeas
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups spinach
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp dried mint
- 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 small red pepper, chopped
Tzatziki
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 heaping tbsp dill, thinly chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2/3 cup thinly chopped cucumber
Tomato Cucumber Salad
- 2 cucumber, chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 green peppers, chopped
- 2 cup ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp dill, thinly chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Additionally
- 1 cup olives
- Salt and pepper to salad and tzatziki
Instructions
- Falafels: Add the chickpeas, olive oil, spinach, parsley, chili powder, cumin and mint into a food processor or a bowl if using an immersion blender. Process until almost smooth (about ⅕ of the mixture can stay chunky). Add in salt and pepper, the chopped bell pepper, thinly chopped onion and minced garlic. This is important: Do a taste test! Check whether the mixture tastes good to you or not. Does it need more salt or more spices? Adjust to your taste!
- Preheat your oven to 350F/180C. Use a tbsp to take out the mixture and shape balls using your wet hands. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper with some oil. Place balls onto the baking sheet, leaving some space between each one. Flatten balls by pressing the balls down tand shape patties. You should get about 24-25 patties. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Tzatziki: While the falafels are baking chop the cucumbers and dill for the tzatziki. Chop enough dill, so you can have some for the salad too. The cucumbers and dill for the tzatziki need to be very thinly chopped. Add all tzatziki ingredients to a smaller bowl and mix everything together (reserve some of the dill for the salad).
- Salad: Use the baking time to also prep the salad: chop cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions into bite-sized pieces (or as big as you enjoy them). Add all ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine the flavors.
- Arrange. After baking, let the falafels cool off and serve in a bowl with some tzatziki, salad and the olives.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 521Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 426mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 16gSugar: 17gProtein: 26g
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