Now that we’ve mastered making baked falafel at home, let’s make Falafel bowls! This is my favorite way to serve falafel, because it’s packed with flavor, texture, and nutrients, for a healthy meal.
This recipe is inspired by the Mediterreanean Platter at Swinger’s Diner, which is one of the first restaurants I remember visiting when I first moved to Los Angeles.
They inspired my Tahini Dill Dressing recipe, too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in a Falafel Bowl? This is really a build-your-own-adventure type of bowl, but I find these components work well with falafel flavors.
- Quinoa Salad (or just plain, cooked quinoa)
- Tahini Dill Dressing
- Homemade Hummus (or store-bought)
- Greek Salad (or any leafy greens with Greek Salad Dressing)
- Roasted red peppers, chopped cucumbers, red onion, or olives
- Feta cheese (optional; omit for a vegan bowl)
- Pickled onions or sauerkraut would also be good, if you have them
Using a quinoa salad as the base eliminates the need for chopping extra veggies, and using a Greek salad instead of plain leafy greens takes the flavor to the next level. But, you can really use whatever you have on hand to make your life easy.
Other dressing ideas: Cucumber Tahini Dressing, Lemon Tahini Dressing, or Cilantro Sauce.
Why You’ll Love It
- It’s nutrient-dense. There are no empty calories in this falafel bowl. The hummus and veggies all add nutrients, and when you serve it with quinoa, you’ll be getting a complete source of plant-based protein, too. (Just like hemp hearts, quinoa has all the essential amino acids your body needs!)
- You can make it ahead. If you like to prep on the weekends, you can make the falafel, quinoa salad, hummus, and dressing ahead of time. It takes 5 minutes to assemble once you have the components ready, for a fast & healthy meal.
- It’s flexible. Don’t have something on hand? It’s easy to make swaps! Leave off the quinoa salad if it’s too much work and swap it for sliced pita bread or some crunchy crackers. Any veggies can be used in this bowl, so feel free to clean out your fridge!
- Gluten-free & vegan. When you don’t add cheese to this bowl, it’s a vegetarian platter that tastes like it came from a restaurant!
- It tastes amazing. This is the #1 reason why I love this bowl. The combination of creamy hummus, crunchy veggies, tender falafel, and a tahini dressing is unbelievable.
Are you ready to try it?
Falafel Bowls
Ingredients
Falafel Bowl Components
- 2 cups Quinoa Salad
- 1 cup Hummus
- 1/2 cup Tahini Dill Dressing
- 12 pieces Baked Falafel
- 4 cups Fresh arugula , or other greens for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the individual components, including the quinoa salad, hummus (or use store-bought), falafel, and tahini dressing. Use the links above if you need recipes, or use your own if you already have a favorite.
- To assemble, spread a 1/4 cup of hummus on the bottom of the plate, followed by a large scoop of quinoa salad (about 1/2 cup). Add 1 cup of fresh arugula, along with 2 to 3 falafel patties. (If using cold falafel, you can reheat in a pan over medium-high with 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 minutes on each side.) Drizzle with tahini dill dressing, and serve right away.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try these Falafel Bowls, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like them!
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Reader Feedback: Do you like seeing these type of build-your-own-bowl style recipes? This is how I eat most often at home, throwing a few recipes together, but let me know what is the most helpful to see here on my website.
Yum, made this for dinner tonight! Way too hot to bake falafel in the oven so baked in my air fryer! Quinoa salad is so fresh and delish! Got arugula at the farmer’s market, so fresh and yummy. thanks for this recipe- I think this needs to be my go to summer potluck recipe!
Wow, this is going to be my summer lunch from now on. The flavors are out of this world! Love your baked falafel recipe. I love how it doesn’t try out like other ones do that call for flour.
Loved this combination! I really enjoyed the flavors and the falafel was amazing!
This was amazing 😻
All your recipes always become family favorites .
These are out of this world! This is one of those dishes that will make a picky eater eat their vegetables. It took a little bit of work, but it was well worth it. Thank you for such a yummy recipe!
This is amazing! The flavors all work so well together. The quinoa salad is a staple in our house, but we just tried it with the falafel and dressing for the first time, and everyone in the house loved it!
These bowls are super yummy. I think they are time consuming so I make them on the weekends, but they are worth the effort as rhey are bursting with lots of flavor. I think this recipe would impress any guest. The best part of this recipe is that it will keep you full for hours thanks to the healthy dose of fiber.