Falafel Pita Sandwich

When I hear falafel I get instantly hungry. Falafel Pita Sandwich is one of my favourite meals in the world but it has to be done properly: Homemade falafels and homemade pita bread filled with delicious homemade hummus, fresh tomato and cucumber salad and a hot sauce! We love adding some Sambal Oelek to our sandwich. That’s how we prepare our falafel pita sandwich at home. It takes some time, but we will give you some tips to have things prepared in advanced and I can tell you, the effort is well paid when you have the first bite of your middle eastern sandwich.

Falafels are naturally vegan and gluten-free. They are made from soaked and ground chickpeas combined with fresh herbs such as parsley and coriander, garlic, onion, and spices such as coriander, cumin, salt, black pepper and our special touch, broccoli. That’s all you need to make mouth-watering damn good falafels. No need to add baking soda, flours, egg or any other ingredient.

Falafel Pita Sandwich Step by Step

• Leave the chickpeas soaking the day before you intend on making falafels. This step is really important, as canned chickpeas will not work. You need dried chickpeas soaked for at least 12 hours. Canned or cooked chickpeas are too moist and when you try to fry your falafels they will fall apart. Leave the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with water. They will almost triple in size, so make sure to add enough water.
• Have the Pita Bread prepared in advanced. We bake our own pita bread and keep it in the freezer for these occasions. Even if you are not used to making your own bread, pita bread is one of the easiest bread you can make to start off. The falafel pita sandwich is a good opportunity to give it a go! Check out our Homemade Pita Bread recipe, it’s really easy to follow and so yummy. You can also use store-bought pita bread.

• Prepare your hummus. We enjoy our falafel with homemade hummus. This middle eastern dip is so easy to prepare that once you start making your own hummus, you won’t buy it anymore. To prepare the hummus, we use a food processor where we add and blend the canned chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, olive oil, cumin, a little bit of water, salt and pepper. We prepare Red Pepper Hummus or Beetroot Hummus as well for our falafel sandwich. Check these recipes or just keep it more simple and traditional.

• Prepare the falafels. Let’s make the most important part of the sandwich, the falafels! Once your chickpeas have been soaking for at least 12 hours, rinse them and remove the excess of water. Add them to a food processor and blend for a couple of seconds. Then add the rest of the ingredients: Fresh parsley and coriander, broccoli florets, onion, garlic, cumin and coriander powder, black pepper and salt. You will need to blend all the ingredients until you have a well-combined mixture. It doesn’t have to be mushy as the balls will be too dense, but it needs to be blended enough for the mixture to not fall apart when frying them. Using your hands or using a falafel press, form the mixture into round shapes. Make sure the size is not too small or too big. It should be around the size of your palm.

• Heat up some neutral oil in a small frying pan so you don’t have to use that much oil. Fry the falafels until they are brown and crispy on the outside. If the falafels are shaped correctly, not much oil will go inside. The inside part will still be really fresh and light. Alternatively to frying, you can bake the falafels. They won’t be as crispy, but they will be healthier and a perfect way to cook them for toddlers or kids. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. For this method, we recommend shaping your falafels into disc shapes. Lay the falafels on a baking tray and bake for around 12-15 minutes each side. They should be golden brown when taking them out.

• Finally, build your Falafel Sandwich! Cut the Pita Bread in half, spread some hummus and spicy sauce (optional) on the bread, add some fresh chopped tomatoes and cucumber drizzled with some olive oil, add lettuce and finally the homemade falafels. Top the sandwich with green or black olives. Optionally, can add some yoghurt sauce as well.

Other ways to serve Falafels

• Falafel Platter. Serve your falafels together with some dips such as hummus or Baba Ganoush, fresh salads, pita bread, pickles, olives or even roasted vegetables.
• As a snack. Falafels can be served on their own as a snack. We normally have the leftover falafels the day after and they are still really good.
• On a salad. A perfect lunch idea is a falafel salad. Build a salad with your favourite lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and add the falafels. Drizzle with a tahini or yoghurt dressing and enjoy!

Falafels for Toddlers and Kids

Falafels are a great choice for toddlers and kids. Chickpeas are an amazing source of fibre, plant-based protein and vitamins. Shape the falafels into small discs and bake them in the oven instead of deep-frying them. This way they can have a perfectly healthy lunch or snack.

Our toddler Luca, enjoys his falafels with some hummus, pita bread and tomato and cucumber salad.

Print Recipe

Falafel Pita Sandwich

Delicious homemade Falafel Pita Sandwich. A middle eastern and delicious meal.

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: Falafel, Falafel Sandwich

Servings: 20 Falafels

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Falafels

• 2 cups dried chickpeas
• 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 3/4 cups fresh coriander chopped
• 1/2 cup parsley chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt add more to taste

Ingredients for the Falafel Sandwich

• Pita bread
• Hummus
• 1 large tomato
• 1/2 cucumber
• Green or black olives
• Sambal or hot sauce optional

Instructions

• Leave the chickpeas soaking overnight, at least 12 hours before preparing your falafels.
• Once your chickpeas have been soaking for at least 12 hours, rinse them and remove the excess of water. Add them in a food processor and blend for a couple of seconds.
• Add to the food processor the onion, broccoli, fresh coriander, fresh parsley, coriander powder, cumin powder, black pepper and salt.
• Blend all the ingredients until you have a well-combined mixture. It shouldn't be mushy as the balls will be too dense, but it needs to be blended enough for the dough to not fall apart when frying them.
• Using your hands or using a falafel press, form the dough into round shapes. Make sure the size is not too small or too big. It should be around the size of your palm.
• Heat up some neutral oil in a small frying pan so you don’t have to use that much oil. Fry the falafels until they are brown and crispy on the outside. If the falafels are shaped correctly, not much oil will go inside. The inside part will still be really fresh and light.
• Cut the Pita Bread in half, spread some hummus and spicy sauce (optional) on the bread, add some fresh chopped tomatoes and cucumber drizzled with some olive oil, add lettuce and finally the homemade falafels. Top the sandwich with green or black olives. Optionally, can add some yoghurt sauce as well.