Vegetarians don’t have hot dogs to turn to when they crave fast food. We have falafel in bread. Deep fried chickpea balls served with vegetables, tomato salsa, hummus and a yogurt sauce. During my years as a vegetarian I have probably tried every single falafel restaurant in Stockholm, many in other parts of Sweden, and a few on other places around the world. But strangely enough I have only made them myself a handful of times. So we thought it was about time that we made our own version of falafel in bread.
When we first started talking about this, we quickly agreed on some ground rules:
1. To skip the bread and wrap them in big green leaves instead. We learned to do this on our trip in Vietnam. Cabbage leaves are perfect in size and have a great crisp taste. You could also try big lettuce leaves.
2. To bake them instead of frying them. The whole deep frying thing doesn’t rhyme well with us. Also, it is not necessary at all. As long as you bake them on a high temperature they will be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
3. To make them green. We once tried these really nice tasting falafels that were completely green on the inside. We can’t remember what they were made on, but in our version we used pistachio, parsley and mint to achieve the green look. Apart from looking nice, these ingredients also makes them taste divine and oh so flavorful.
4. To make them vegan. Even though we eat egg and some dairy products, we try to keep some of our recipes vegan. This time we made the yogurt dressing on soy-yogurt (look for it in health stores). Since we used buckwheat flour we also managed to keep them gluten free.
Baked Herb & Pistachio Falafel
Serves 4-6 (about 24 falafels)
We used mint and parsley to flavor and color the falafels, but feel free to try it with whatever fresh herbs you have growing in your garden at the moment.
8 sprigs of fresh mint
8 sprigs of fresh parsley
200 g pistachio nuts
2 cups/4,8 dl garbanzo beans/chickpeas (we used canned)
2 cloves garlic
½ small onion
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp flour (we used buckwheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
Start by blending the herbs in a mixer for about 30 seconds. Add pistachio nuts and pulse until well combined. Rinse the garbanzo beans. Add them and the rest of the ingredients into the mixer and blend for about a minute. Youmight have to stir around with a spoon occasionally. Try to keep the texture of the falafel dough a little rough. Make 24 small round falafels, place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes on 375°F/200°C, turn every 5 minutes to get an even brown color.
Cashew Nut Dressing
6 tbsp cashew butter (look for it in health stores or make it yourself)
6 tbsp canola or rapeseed oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
a pinch of salt
Whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl until they are combined.
Mint Yoghurt
1 cup/2,4 dl soy yoghurt (or regular if you prefer)
4 sprigs of fresh mint (chopped)
1 lime, juice and zest
Add yoghurt, mint and lime in a bowl and stir around until combined. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to get an intense mint flavor.
Tomato Chili Salsa
3 tomatoes, chopped into small dices
1/2 red chili, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
fresh oregano
salt & pepper
Chop the ingredients and add everything to a serving bowl. Stir around. Add salt and pepper according to taste. Serve immediately or put in the fridge for 30 minutes to get more intense flavors.
Assembling the falafel
1 head white cabbage (or any lettuce with big leaves)
1 red romaine lettuce
falafels (recipe above)
cashew nut dressing (recipe above)
mint yoghurt (recipe above)
tomato salsa (recipe above)
fresh herbs
pistachio
raisins
Separate the leaves by turning the lettuce and cabbage upside down and removing the stem or cone with a knife.
Put it under running water and gently separate the leaves one by one. Pat dry.
Hold one cabbage leaf in your hand, place a lettuce leaf inside of it, add 2 or 3 falafels, a spoonful of cashew nut dressing, mint yoghurt, tomato salsa and top with some fresh herbs, chopped pistachio and a couple of raisins. Fold it gently. Enjoy!
 |
Have you ever seen a group of people jumping like frogs around a leaf covered pole? You have?! Then you must have been visiting a …
When I became a vegetarian, by the age of fifteen, it was a bit of a challenge for my family. Even though they have always …
115 Comments
I waited (very impatiently) all day for this post!!! And, my friends, you did not disappoint! This is my kind of dish… and I can’t wait until the day I can actual sit down to make this.
These sound so delicious. Love anything packed with fresh herbs but using pistachios in the falafel and then those fabulous sauces…wow. Beautiful pictures too.
Thank you for including vegan recipes on the blog, definitely appreciate it!
The only time I have ever made falafel they turned out green because I used so many herbs. These look amazing, and I love the lettuce wraps. Will definitely share this recipe, thanks!
This might be the prettiest falafel I’ve ever seen! I love the bright green color. The cashew dressing sounds amazing too. I will definitely be making this soon! Thank you for sharing!
These look fabulous, and I love the leaves instead of bread — I used to do that back in my “low-carb” days ;)
I also love that you include vegan recipes.
This is fantastic! I convinced my family to let me make them eat vegan/whole foods/plant-based for a week, and this is on my list now!
How cool is that?! Good luck:)
/Luise
I love this. I love that they’re baked rather than fried, wrapped in lettuce instead of bread, and so vibrantly, vividly green. Gorgeous photos, as always.
this must be good!
Oh my goodness… this looks delicious from start to finish. I need to make some felafel & soon.. will have to try this pistachio recipe (and very cool use of the cabbage as a wrap) sometime soon!
This is awesome! So beautiful your photos and it seams to me a very helthy vegetarian meal! Congratulations!
These look so good, and I am definitely on board with your ground rules. It always annoys me when falafel gets ruined by greasy deep frying and ends up tasting more like toast than anything else. This has sparked off so many ideas in my head…bright purple falafel…?
I came across Your blog recently and i can´t get enough! I love vegetarian food and i´m in love with your recipes. This falafel looks absolutly delicious and the photos are exquisite! Just love it!
The photos are stunning and the ingredient list makes this recipe incredibly enticing. I have big plans for these falafel. They look good enough to plan a party around.
Ohhh my, pistachio! What a fantastic idea…and I thought falafel couldn’t get much healthier anyway. Like the cabbage idea as well, bread with vege patties is often too dry but using the patties as the bread means greasy hands.
Delicious! These look like the perfect lunch or dinner for us. My kids would miss the pita but I think I could win the lettuce wrap at the present since we are trying to slim back after vacation week. The photos are just wonderful.
All of your recipes and pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to make these.. anxiously awaiting your next new post :)
Any idea what could be done to replace the wheat? My partner is celiac so can’t have it, or many related things, but other than that this looks particularly yummy for our limited diet. We’re not vegan/vegetarian (Sorry, I’m actually a carnivore…) but there are so many things that make her sick that a yummy recipe like this is a huge coup!
I win reading comprehension with the whole gluten free bckwheat flower thing. >.> Ignore me! :)
:)
I am always inspired by Your recipes and photos! Beautiful shots!
I have never made falafel though I LOVE it! I think I am going to try your version :)
I love falafel! I used to make them at home with a mix of the brand fez (they’re also bright green on the inside!) but now I’m going to try and make these instead!
Beautiful! I love the color of those falafels!
Looks absolutely fabulous, especially as a summer recipe. Fresh, colourful, packed with flavour, a definite must-have! =D (Plus what’s not to love with falafel?)
These look great! I am also a big falafel fan, especially when they’re green from all the cilantro (I am a certified cilantro addict). I am definitely going to try these, the idea of pistachio’s makes me crave this (even though over here in Amsterdam, it’s only 11 in the morning).
I just wondered, what is the function of the baking powder in this recipe? The whole baking powder & baking soda is still a bit of a mystery to me, though I keep them both in my pantry. Please enlighten me!
Love,
Laura
Hi Laura! Thanks!
Cilantro is the best!
Flour and baking powder is added to get a better texture, holding the falafel together. But, you can leave it out and just be careful when turning them during baking and serving.
/Luise
Something new to prepare and alluring one.
These look so tasty! I’ll be making them this week!
I made these for dinner tonight. Woah, yum. Seriously yum – we devoured them and I want to make more. If only pistachios weren’t $6 per 100g!
I am also curious about the baking powder. I almost didn’t add it, but then I mixed it in as an afterthought.
Anyway, you guys rock our world. :)
Hi Pamela, Thank you!
We’re so glad you liked it!!
Try to add almond, cashew, hazelnuts or seeds instead:)
/Luise
Oh wow. All of this sounds lovely. I must admit, I am tempted to fry these suckers, but it’s really nice to know that they can also be baked. Also, had to say that I made a version of your peach, mushroom and avocado burgers and I could swear the clouds parted for just a moment. Brilliant! Thank you for all the wonderful inspiration!
Loving the Vietnamese twist with the cabbage leaves! My Husband is Vietnamese so we are well accustomed to this way of eating, isn’t it the best?!
Cool, we love Vietnam & Vietnamese food!
Å wow! Explosion av färger, så vackert och härligt! Åh, jag blev superinspirerad av er fina vegoburgare så jag gjorde en variant av den Raw:) Kika på dem om ni har lust, de kommer upp idag på http://www.Earthsprout.org
Kärlek och tack!
Elenore
Hej Elenore!
Wow Raw burgare låter underbart, vi ska kolla ut recepten senare! Tack! fin blogg by the way ;)
/Luise
i always like vegetarian food.. but i usually out of idea of making vegetarian food.. and this one is really surprising! thank you for the inspiration… ^^
Beautiful post, as usual. I too love falafels and I make a mean beetroot and green mango one but never got around to posting it. I love your slightly tangential approach to most recipes and this is no exception. You two are inspirations. Incidentally I’ve just posted my take on ubiquitous but yummy Vietnamese summer rolls, with tamarind prawns.
Your falafel looks so fresh and tasty! I love how you married ideas from different cuisines: Middle Eastern + Vietnam.
Wow. Goodness gracious. Can’t WAIT to try this! :D
Lovely colours and photos! I just had falafel with authentic Israeli tahini today and it makes me think that I should be eating lettuce wraps rather than dry pita breads!
Cheers from Vienna, Austria xxxx
Rika
Hi Rika,
Thanks!
Authentic Israeli Tahini sounds heavenly!!
/Luise
I am so in love with this post it’s not even funny.
I’m prepared for a proposal. B
These Falafel balls look amazing. I love Falafel cakes and definitely have to try this recipe.
Wow, I’m not vegetarian but that sounds super tasty.
Hi from sydney, I found your blog through that other fabulous blog ‘my new roots’ and I adore u guys. I have checked out all the archives and I have to say u have a very special life outlook and family. Keep it strong and close. And u inspire me to eat the best fresh food. I tried your lentil recipe and it was fab. Loving u gorgeous people.
Lovely pictures and great recipes :) i love to try your recipe of Falafel soon ! great work !! all the best :) !
I’ve been following your blog from Kuala Lumpur for quite some time now and I absolutely adore your colorful and inspiring recipes. I prepared your pistachio falafel recipe today and it was a great success…-so happy that there is still some left for lunch tomorrow!
I’m a vegetarian falafel fanatic, too! I tried to make them once, but they were so gooey they looked more like chickpea pancakes than balls. Parsley and pistachio sound like they would unique, incredible falafel! It’s so hot around here that I’m hesitant to turn on the oven, but these just might warrant the extra heat. :)
These look fantastic, I love falafel- and I love that these are green and in cabbage leaves! What a perfect summer meal.
xo
I’m not much for making my own falafels either but these sure do look mighty tastey. Instead I usually make my “mississippi balls” which are like unfried falafels made out of sweet potatoes and red lentils. They’re not too bad, if I say so myself…
I’m not sure this could be much more perfect. We have really no felafel joints in Seattle – or the ones we do have I would be afraid to eat in. I ate felafel constantly in London and I miss them so. I have never attempted them at home because I hate to deep fry but I am totally captivated by this recipe – for so many reasons. I love the color, the roasting, the wrapper, the sauces. I am very happy with my cooking but somehow, whenever I come here, I just want to give up and have you cook for me.
There are so many colours,looks fairly nice !!I wanna eat XD
As a vegetarian I really like herbs wheats and nuts!They bring me a better health~~~~~~~
Thank you for sharing these nice pictures : )
Bonjour,
J’adore votre blog que j’ai découvert depuis peu. De France, je le consulte et à travers vos magnifiques photos il me fait voyager!!
Très cordialement,
Valérie
Wow, how wonderfully inventive and creative. So glad that you baked them as well. A very healthy meal :)
I’ve been waiting for a healthier version of falafel for a while now! And this is it.. Thank you! I like the cabbage wrap, very smart. This will be on my menu soon!
I’m not vegetarian by a mile but I do love vegetarian food…funny but true :) And your food always looks and sounds amazingly tasty! I also love falafel…so I need to try this!
I agree with all your points and find the recipe genius! Love it, soo light and delicious!
Really look tasty and i smell healthy:)
Simon
I made these last night and followed the recipe exactly. They were so delicious and beautiful. I used all the herbs straight from our garden. My husband loved them too.
These falafels look beautiful and are a lovely change to the traditionnal recipe.
I made these for dinner tonight with a few substitutions and they were a huge hit with my hubby and kids. My son is allergic to most nuts, so I just left out the pistachios. I also did not have mint so I substituted some Thai basil I have growing in my garden, along with fresh parsley. My son likes falafel with spicy red pepper sauce, so that was on the side. It was delicious! I will definitely make these again.
Hello,
I just discovered your blog and i already love it. The pictures are really beautiful and there are already so many recipes I want to try !!
I’m very interested in healthy eating as well and i’ve been looking for a healthy falafel alternative that doesn’t involvle deeep-frying. I served your version to my guests tonight and i’m very pleased to tell you that they all loved it, even the vegetable-hating guy finished his plate and loved it. I’ll definitely try more of your recipes very soon :)
Thanks a lot,
Diane
I love falafel and love the idea of using lettuce leaves as a wrap. Your blog is wonderful- I am also vegetarian and try to use seasonal produce as much as possible. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe looks amazing! I am going to prepare it later today. Just a quick question: do you use raw or baked and salted pistachios? I was not sure so I bought raw pistachios since they are going to get cooked anyway.
Congratulations on an absolutely beautiful website. The recipes look amazing and the photos are really beautiful. It’s a real pleasure to browse your website!
To me falafels are the perfect food. These look amazing and I love how you made 3 different sauces and used lettuce as the wrap. Beautiful photos!
I’m learning to cook now, tried the broccoli pesto a few days ago, which wasn’t such a success, but did the falafel today and it tasted pretty good! Next time, I might even try adding some of the dressing you listed here (I wanted to make the tomato chili salsa, but then there weren’t any peppers for sale).
Oh using lettuce as a container worked great as well, great tip!
That looks SO SO tasty, I’ve never heard of pistachio in falafel! A must try for sure, I’ll tell you how it went ;)
green, gluten free, vegan food, can you have a more perfect post than this? :)
And such amazing photos (again). Double bravo. We are so going to make this soon!
This one I really have to try! Looks delicious :)
Oh I must make this soon! We love falafel at our house and this herb/nut version in the lettuce is such a great idea. The side sauces sound perfect too. Yum!
Who couldn’t love green falafel! I’ve never thought about using pistachio in my falafel and now I can’t imagine how I ever lived without it :D an absolutely beautiful recipe!
Hey there, new reader to your blog. Great site, great recipes and oh my, these look wonderful. I love the idea of adding pistachios! Genius! :)
Where I live pistachio nuts are very expensive. I was wondering if you recommend any other nut/seed as a substitute? Thank you! Also please keep up the beautiful work, this is my favorite food blog! It’s amazing
All hail the falafel! People often snub these vegetarian yummies, but once you try them it really doesn’t matter that they are vegetarian to the omnivores. Love the lettuce wrap.
I’ve been waiting for such recipe long – I love it! I’ve made one fried version of falafel and as much as it was tasty, the whole kitchen smelled of frying and it was pretty fatty even though I used kitchen towels to absorb the excess oil.
I has to use only 100g of pistacchios as they’re very expensive here in Poland, but it was still amazing. I served them with home made hummus, tomato and fresh basil salsa and freshly baked sourdough bread with linen seeds.
I love you blog and pictures, thank you for recipe again! :)
Are you using unroated, unsalted pistacchios?
These falafels look so good. Have to make them!
I made these today and they were delicious! I used basil and corriander as these were the herbs I had in. Mine didn’t come out very green though, perhaps I should try more herbs next time, because there will definately be a next time :)
Thanks for your lovely inspirational blog
This look great. It will definitely make my weekend light and healthy.
These look amazing, look at that green! Definitely on my to eat list!!
Hi, just found your page and it makes me so happy : )
Healtful, beautful and tasty food is what I love – and all the lovely people caring for true food and life !
For the moment I’m on strict raw food, but I will use your recepies soon. This looks faboulus and I’m planning on serving this on a dinner for non-vegetarians !
Sunshine to you : )
These are amazing! I can’t wait to make them again.
Oh my these sound amazing! I can not wait to make them! Such beautiful pictures as well.
I made these falafel last week and loved them! It was my first time to make falafel and I can’t wait to make them again. I especially liked how you ate them in lettuce wraps with the different sauces. They tasted so fresh and healthy!
Just made these—amazing!!! I used a mix of pistachios, cashews, almonds & walnuts & a mix of basil, cilantro & parsley. Then topped it off w/ the mint yogurt sauce, a roasted jalapeno salsa & sprouts!! So fresh & perfect. I love how beautiful all your pictures are–stunning! Thanks for the inspiration!
These look amazing and the idea of having them in a lettuce leaf is genius. can’t wait to whip up these babies. What equipment are you using for these photos? camera, lens etc? Keep up the god work ;)
i just made this, it was yum! i used cannellini beans instead. also i realised whilst mixing the tomato chilli salsa with avocado that guacamole would be a neat accompaniment to this meal.
thankyou!
I made this with some friends and it was one of the best things I have tasted this summer. We felt so healthy and wonderful eating it…minus the fact that even when we became full, we couldn’t help going back for more helpings! I especially loved the sweet raisins on top. I did not think the flavor would mix well, but “wow”! One thing we did, which we thought was fantastic and that I would recommend–we made the cashew nut dressing simply by blending cashews and lemon juice. We didn’t need any oil, just a some extra lemon juice until it became smooth. It was so tasty we licked the bowl clean at the end of the night!
These look delicious!!! I will be making them over the weekend!
Just discovered your blog, and this post has me hooked already: Love the crisp, fresh idea of eating falafel in perfect lettuce cups! These look fantastic, and I can’t wait to try them & I’m sure many more ideas of yours.
This looks delicious but most importantly challenging. I love trying out new stuff and this will be my next project. Can’t wait to try this one up.
This is just incredibly mouthwatering. Love your site btw! I’m so glad I found it!
xo – S
Wow this is just great! I never actually thought of wrapping food in fresh lettuce or cabbage but can’t see why not!
It’s great!
Great site! I am happy I found it through zizadventures Hungary ;)
Made this last night for dinner on a hot Australian summer night with cherry tomatoes and herbs from our garden…amazingly good. Packet falafel? – never again.
This looks amazing, I’m obsessed with pistachios right now. And the salsa, yoghourt, and sauce sound so great too, will have to try this – thanks!
These falafels look amazing… I love the fact that they are baked. Must give it a try. Tks for sharing.
Thank you for that great recipe and thank you also for publishing vegan recipes as well. This really my favorite, to put the falafel in the salad or in the cabbage leaf. Great taste !
I just made these … finally … I had the recipe marked for awhile. They’re wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this for a picnic this past weekend. They were a huge hit! Amazing. Thank You!!
I don’t know if someone already said this but the reason falafel is usually green is because it is made with fresh garbanzos that are not cooked. Fresh garbanzos are green. But herbs also help!
This seems like a great recipe to get around not having fresh falafel on hand!
I believe falafel sold at restaurants are usually green because they’re made from fava beans, not chickpeas?
I’ll have to try this recipe. I like the addition of pistachios. I have to eat fairly low carb because of blood sugar issues and unfortunately chickpeas (which have more carbs than other legumes) don’t really agree with my body nowadays. :-/ But the addition of nuts might well help.
I also love lettuce wraps!
Thank you so much, I’ve been looking for a falafel recipe for a while now, and last night I tried it and OMG it was delicious! All the fixins’ aswell and a perfect amount for four people. (We gave half to some friends who all have the flu) Definitely doing this again soon! Yum!
This recipe is probably one of the best things I have ever tasted! So much variety and different flavours and they all work so perfectly together. We cooked this for a girlfriend when she came to visit us and we all just sat around the table making mmmm..mmmm… sounds as we stuffed our faces. We couldn’t even talk to each other, it was just too delicious. Thank you :-)
Yum – I made these for lunch today. Thank you for the great recipe and such stunning photography. I can’t wait for the book!
Turid
These look amazing to me! But a lot for one person… If I make a lot of ‘m, can I keep ‘m in the freezer?
Thanks, JAnneke
This recipe looks great! I am trying to find something for a family dinner on the weekend and this might be just what I’m looking for.
I think traditionally felafel is made with broad beans, which come out bright green. This might be what you had that other time?
Thanks for the recipe!
DELICIEUX !!
This is very very good :) Thank you for your wonderfull recipes . I’m not a vegetarian yet and I don’t know if I will ever be a real one , but your blog has inspired me …we now it more vegeterian meal than non vegeterian one :)
Merci …
Julie
Just tried them and they are delicious, and so light! Your pictures are just beautiful and it’s a real pleasure to read you guys. I’m really looking forward to get your book! :)
Marie
I love pistachio-anything. Tried this recipe this week and it was AWESOME! Even before baking I could have eaten the falafel mix–it was that good. Kudos! This is the third recipe I’ve tried from your site, and I look forward to making my way through others. Thank you for what you do!
I made these yesterday and had it for lunch today, one word… AMAZING! I’m so glad a friend told me about your site and can’t wait for the cookbook! Keep up the great recipes! x
Just made these, phenomenal!!! Trying to decide what to wrap up in the rest of my cabbage…
Just discovered this divine recipe and will be making these this weekend!
Made these tonight – amazing. Flavour and texture combinations were perfect. Trying to move to more plant-based diet and your making it very easy. Thanks!
I had these with my family for a special dinner on my 21st birthday. They were so easy to make and tasted amazing!!! Thank you for the recipe :)
Made these last night, except with lentil’s instead because I waited one day too long to use the chickpea’s I cooked this past weekend. Turned out super tasty and a great alternative. Thanks for the recipe!