I feel old. On my Facebook there have posts about my ten-year high school reunion. I can’t believe it’s been that long. I’m not going to go because, well, Facebook exists. I probably know more about the people I went to high school now than I did in high school. I get to see ultrasound images, and then pregnant monthly tummy growth pictures, pictures of people having a good times, posts about people when they are having bad times, posts about getting engaged, getting married, getting a divorce. It’s like my own personal Us magazine. It’s actually pretty neat, getting to see what people grew up to do with their lives. Pretty neat. You know what else is neat? Peonies, and the fact that they are in season. Love them. Although, the ones I have been getting smell a little funky. As the weather starts to warm, and people start wearing less clothes (no more scarves L) we like to throw some light-ish delicious lunch situations at you, one of them being this falafel pita sandwich. The tzatziki sauce is delicious, and the pita pockets fit these little falafel dudes perfectly. Eat up.
♥ Teri
Here are some other recipes you might like:
Falafel Pita Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
falafel
- 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
- ½ yellow onion, diced and lightly sautéed
- 5 garlic cloves, minced and lightly sautéed
- ½ bunch cilantro
- ¼ bunch flat leaf parsley
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
tzatziki
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ hothouse cucumber, grated
- ½ lemon, juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
assembly
- 2 whole pitas, cut in half
- 4 romaine leaves, thinly sliced
- 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
- vegetable oil for frying
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a heavy bottom skillet with ½ inch oil and preheat to 350°F.
- Place garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, cilantro, and parsley in a food processor and process until finely ground.
- Scoop mixture into a mixing bowl and add remaining falafel ingredients and stir together until fully combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for about 2 hours.
- For tzatziki: Place oil, vinegar, cumin, and garlic in a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Add yogurt and cucumber to the mixture, season with salt and pepper and continue to whisk together. Set aside.
- Form 2 tablespoon sized patties with the falafel mixture and fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip each patty and fry for an additional 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- To assemble: Smear the insides of each pita with a small amount of tzatziki and fill with 3 falafels, a small amount of lettuce and a sprinkle of diced tomatoes. Top with more tzatziki and serve.
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Can these be frozen after being cooked?
It’s actually best to freeze them prior to cooking them!
Recipe calls for lemon juice but I didn’t see it included. Is it in the tzatziki? Or the falafel? Or just to squeeze on top of the assembled pita? I made the tzatziki without the lemon juice (if that’s where it went) and really loved it! Thanks!
Oh! Thanks for letting me know! I’ll look over the recipe to see where i could’ve missed it! Glad you still enjoyed it! :)
These were delicious! Definitely making them again.
I made these for dinner yesterday–delicious. I had no idea falafel was so easy to make. However, I couldn’t get mine golden on the edges like yours… maybe I didn’t use enough oil. They were also a little mushy inside but still yummy… I’m thinking of getting a deep fryer just for these. The tzatziki was great too! Thanks for the recipe.
Could I assemble these and then freeze them?
Yes!
I remember having something just like this for lunch in Egypt while I was there. Yum!
Ohh these felafel look soo good!!
Oh, man. Am I the oldest one reading this blog? I won’t even tell you when I done got educated… Let’s just say I’m leaving you all in the figurative dusts of time! Anyway, love falafel and can’t wait to try this. Thanks for the wonderful work you do on these photos and recipes.
I’ve got to man up and make these. They look amazing and are perfect veggie fare. I passed on my 10 year reunion last year. Life is better now than it was in high school. I decided to keep living my life now rather than put it hold hold to relive my high school life ;-)
Definitely on my agenda for the weekend – it helps to be presented with a new recipe to feel inspired!
As for the 10 year reunion . . . only ten years!? Lucky you!
This is my favourite kind of summery lunch – light, fresh and full of flavour. I love making my own tzatziki too but have never included cumin before – one to try!
Falafel is always a great plan–love it! And yes, I completely avoided my high school reunions too. :)
Hi Eileen! I usually like having hummus with my pita sandwiches/falafels (very typical, yes, but so good!)
We have a great sweet potato hummus recipe here: https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/sweet-potato-hummus-and-cumin-flatbread-chips/
We also have a simple panzanella salad that could be great with your sandwiches: https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/simple-panzanella-salad/
Just had my 10 year HS reunion last weekend..took me two whole days to recoup! Love falafel! And tonight, I’m going to try to bring my husband over to the chickpea side by making these for our meatless night. Any suggestions on sides?
I’m with you on avoiding my the high school reunion. My 10-year is this year too. Following those that I care enough about on Facebook is sufficient! Totally diggin’ the falafel! :)
No oregano? Seriously?
yep, none!
falafel, yumm! I’ve never made them before and would love to try. This recipe looks like a good start. Thanks! Also, i have my 10 year COLLEGE reunion coming up so relax, you’re not too old :)
Agreed! Peonies are amazing. Facebook is cool, too. And so are these pitas. :)
These look so so good. I love falafel sandwiches, but when I’ve tried to make them, they usually fall apart. Is this recipe at all prone to falling apart, or is there some trick I don’t know? Maybe I’ll give this recipe a shot after my last failed attempt!
Hi Caroline! Have you added flour to your mixture in the past and let it sit for a couple hours in the fridge before forming and frying? Also, having enough oil in the pan (enough to go halfway up the falafel) has also helped me in the past. Those are the only “tricks” I know of….beyond that, I got nada :)
I’ve never had a problem with this recipe, hopefully it’ll be good to you too. Good luck!
I don’t remember letting it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before frying, so maybe that’s where I went wrong. Definitely user error, I’m sure. I’ll try this recipe and let you know how it turns out! Thanks!!
Your food styling is perfect every single time, Jenny! You two are such a badass team :)
What program do you use to draw arrows onto your photos?
Photoshop.
And illustrator.
This is so the best foodie blog ever. This is the very definition of food porn- i’m weirdly addicted to falafel!
http://www.sw-fashion.net
OMG. This looks sooo fabulous!
B-O-O-K-M-A-R-K-E-D.
And um, my 20-year is in two years. I’m only freaking out a smidge.
I was just searching your site last week for a falafel recipe! Thank you for posting it! It looks delish!!! Can’t wait to try it!
The falafel looks perfect!