Falafel salad features crispy falafel, fluffy quinoa, and crunchy fresh vegetables, all tossed with a creamy lemon tahini dressing.
This falafel tahini salad delivers the perfect way to enjoy falafel in a lighter, fresher form. I've been eating falafel since before I can remember, here are some of the ways I like to enjoy them; my falafel bowl, falafel burgers, or falafel pita sandwich wraps are some delicious examples of this.
Ingredients
The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
Falafel
Use homemade traditional falafel or air fryer falafel, or opt for store-bought ones, each falafel will be chopped into quarters before adding them to the salad.
Quinoa Base
Cooked quinoa makes a hearty base. Spread it on a baking sheet to cool before mixing.
Swap quinoa for cooked brown rice, bulgur, or any other grain. Store-bought precooked quinoa works, too.
You could also try this crispy quinoa recipe.
Fresh Veggies
Crisp vegetables bring freshness. I use lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber, red cabbage, and radish. Other great additions include cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, or Kalamata olives. I like to chop the veggies as uniformly as possibly which I find make this salad visually pleasing.
Tahini Dressing
Tahini and falafel are synonymous, you need to have a good tahini dressing which is mixed with fresh lemon juice, and chili for a kick, you can adjust the spice to your taste.
Janelle's Tips
- Keep frozen falafel on hand for quick meals.
- Make extra tahini sauce, it lasts up to a week in the fridge.
- Cook and refrigerate quinoa ahead of time for easy meal prep.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Falafel Salad With Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- 10 Air fried falafels quartered, or use as many as you want
- 1 cup Lettuce leaves chopped
- 1 cup Radish diced
- 1 cup Cucumbers diced
- 1 cup Tomato diced
- ½ cup Red onion finely diced
- 1 cup Red cabbage shredded
Quinoa
- ½ cup Quinoa
- 1 cup Water
Tahini Dressing
- 5 tablespoons Tahini
- 1 small Lemon juiced, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon Salt or to taste
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 handful Parsley leaves or to taste
- 1 handful Mint leaves or to taste
- 1 Long green chili mild or hot. chopped, or to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the falafel as instructed, you can choose to add more or less falafel balls in this salad. Cut the falafel into quarters.
- Wash the quinoa thoroughly to remove bitterness and then place it into a small pot with water. Bring it to a boil on high heat, then immediately turn the heat down to low and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the pot stand for 5 minutes, the steam will ensure the quinoa is perfect.
- Spread the cooked quinoa onto a large plate or tray to allow it to cool to room temperature. Once the quinoa has cooled, fluff it up with a fork before adding it to the salad bowl.
- In a food processor, add the tahini, water, lemon juice, salt, parsley leaves, mint leaves, long green chili and process for a minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then process for another minute. Do a taste test and adjust if needed.
- In a large bowl, add the cooled quinoa, all the chopped vegetables and pour over the lemon tahini dressing . Gently toss all the ingredients together. Add the quartered falafel balls at the end for presentation.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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Sonia
I absolutely love this recipe, especially the dressing!
Dora
Hey thanks for the great recipe! It was super helpful and the salad turned out so tasty. The salad itself is really moist, which was perfect to offset the falafel since I air-fried mine. I think the deep-fried version would be even better, but I'm trying to cut back on my oil intake. So thanks again for sharing this recipe!