by Lindsay 62 Comments
Hi Friends!
So here’s the deal. I’ve only actually had falafel like twice…ever. So i’m no expert.
But we all know that I am immediately sucked in to any recipe with sweet potato in the title. When I first discovered Allie’s blog a few months ago, the first recipe of hers that I noticed was her Sweet Potato Falafel. I immediately wanted to make them…however I was forced to wait a while because I had no idea that most falafel recipes call for chickpea flour, not just canned chickpeas.
I tried to make my own chickpea flour with some dry chickpeas I had. I put them in the food processor and OMG was it loud. Worst noise ever. It hurt my eardrums terribly, and barely made a dent in breaking up the chickpeas in to flour.
Then I tried two different grocery stores and neither of them had the flour. I complained to the hubby and he told me he was going to put me on WhiteWhine.com. Have you heard of this website. HILARIOUS. Go check it out. It’s basically just a collection of ridiculous complaints from overpriveledged white people.
ANYWAYS, third times a charm I guess…because I located my flour and immediately got to work on these falafels.
I made some changes to the recipe so below is the one I used. I cut down on the sweet potato cooking time by microwaving almost all the way and then baking for just 10 minutes for flavor. I also didn’t wait for the dough to cool before scooping and baking like a lot of recipes said to do.
Sweet Potato Falafel
by Lindsay L
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Keywords: bake appetizer entree sandwich healthy low-sodium vegetarian sweet potato chickpeas Greek Mediterranean
Ingredients (12 falafels)
For the Falafel
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 c chickpea flour
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c pepitas, pulsed several times in a food processor
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1 Tbsp EVOO
For the Tzatziki sauce
- 1/2 c plain, non-fat greek yogurt
- 1/4 of a cucumber, shredded and squeezed of excess moisture
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp EVOO
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For assembly
- avocado slices
- red pepper slices
- spinach
- cucumber slices
- pitas
Instructions
For the Falafel
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Stab the sweet potatoes all over with a knife and microwave on high for six minutes, turning once.
Remove from microwave and bake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes (This helps them get the oven baked taste without all the time).
In a small bowl, combine the garlic, pepitas, spices and chickpea flour.
When the sweet potatoes are done, slice in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into the bowl.
Mix well and add the lemon juice and olive oil.
Stir until combined- mixture will be thick, like cookie dough.
Scoop dough onto cookie sheet. Use a fork to flatten each ball.
Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for 14 minutes, flipping once 1/2 way through.
For the sauce
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes
To assemble
Stuff half a pita with spinach, 2 falafels, red pepper slices and avocado. Top with tzatziki sauce.
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The verdict? These were really good! They are a bit on the dry side (not totally sure if most falafels are like that or not) but I found that with the red peppers, avocado and sauce, there was plenty of moisture so they didn’t taste dry at all….and the flavor was great. (Side note, we ate the leftovers the next night and they were just as good) I’m just saying if you were to just pick up a falafel by itself and munch on it, it might be a little dry 🙂 If you’re worried about it, you could maybe add a little greek yogurt to the falafel dough to moisten it…or an egg. Pin It
So there you have it friends! The recipe for the sauce made just enough for us and it’s about 1/3 the amounts of some of the recipes I looked at. I also left out the dill that appears to be traditional because I hate dill 🙂 How do you feel about falafel? Today’s workout:I wanted to tackle some leg work so I chose some exercises that worked the quads and some that worked the hamstrings and glutes (hence the front/back title). Then I threw some abs in there for good measure 🙂 Here’s what it looked like: Pin It
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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About Lindsay
Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!
Reader Interactions
Comments
lindsay saysi even more excited that its GLUTEN FREE!! YIPPPEEEE!
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- Lindsay says
yayyyyy :)enjoy!
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Bahaha! When I complain to my husband about such things, he just says, “Champagne problems.” I will probably spend most of my free time today on that website. Thank you. 🙂
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You’re a genius! I pinned this 🙂
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- Lindsay says
thanks so much girl!
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I used to always order falafel at Greek restaurants but was always too intimidated to try them at home. I’m sure the flavor of the chickpeas goes great with the sweet potato.
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- Lindsay says
like a match made in heaven 🙂
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- Nicole says
Yum! I have sweet potatoes that need a home.
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- Nicole says
These look amazing!! I get my chickpea flour from amazon…it’s cheaper! glad you found it though!
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MMM I love falafel! I had it for the first time on a street cart in NYC and I fell in love! This sounds so good…I’ve never tried falafel at home but I’m definitely inspired now.
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wow, these look fantastic! I can’t wait to give it a try!
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- Tara Burner says
Pinned this via @ageforce and when I’m done juice fasting going to try this
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And just when I think our tastes will never mesh…you come up with this. 🙂
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- Lindsay says
i gotta keep you around somehow…or you’ll run away with a coconut lover!
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I saw your tweet about this meal and was hoping you’d post a recipe! I LOVE LOVE LOVE falafels. My mom makes them from scratch, along with 3 different sauces. Next time, I’ll surprise her with these!
And as far as chickpea flour is concerned, do you have an Indian grocery store nearby? You’ll definitely be able to find it there…for cheap!
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- Lindsay says
oooho great idea! i’ll check next time i’m there!
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- Mary@FitandFed says
Yes. that’s where I’d think of looking. It’s called besan.
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Beautiful pictures. I made sweet potato falafel once before, pretty similar to this recipe except I put chopped spinach in it. I need to make them again because I haven’t used my garbanzo bean flour in a long time and I feel sad for it.
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- Lindsay says
whip that flour out girl! and great idea with the spinach. that’d be awesome!
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- sarah @ sarah learns says
ooohhh la la! there’s an awesome mediterranean restaurant near campus and every time i go there i get the falafel. this one is intriguing though – i never thought about making it with sweet potato!
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I’ve honestly never had falafel because it always looks so greasy – but this version is definitely going on my list of recipes to try!
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- Lindsay says
yay for no grease!!
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I am not too familiar with falafel, but the times I’ve had it, I’ve enjoyed it! I really love this idea for a changed up version! Off to check out White Whine…I love #whitegirlproblems, so I’m sure I’ll love this too! 🙂
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- Lindsay says
hope you had a few laughs!
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this makes me weep with joy.
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- Lindsay says
it’s a real tear-jerker isn’t it?! 😉 three cheers for happy tears
- Carissa says
You are my brave kitchen icon! You always make things that I would never take the effort to do! I want to be like you!
and ps – hilarious about the chickpea/blender noise!
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- Lindsay says
i want to be like YOU in all your workout glory
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- [emailprotected] says
yum great idea!! i love falafels but i cant imagine they’re too healthy for you (Even though they’re made form chickpeas). these sound awesome!
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- Lindsay says
thanks girl! i tried to up the health factor 🙂
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Holy yum that looks good. I’ve only eaten falafel a couple of times but it I’ve loved it! And I can only imagine how much better it tastes with sweet potato :D. Pinning now! Oh and thank you for another funny website to occupy my time…hehe
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- Lindsay says
enjoy! sweet potatoes make everything better!
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- Meredith @ DareYouTo says
Looks pretty good!!! An impressive first-time homemade falafel; I’d eat it! haha saving this recipe for when I get the nerve to give it a try at home, myself.
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Yum, yum, yum! I love falafel and I love sweet potatoes. I would have never thought of combining the 2. Will definitely give this a try. Thank you!
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- Lindsay says
let me know how you like it!
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Falafel is one of my all-time favorite foods in the world! I can’t wait to try this!
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- Lindsay says
let me know how it lives up to the real thing?!
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I’ve done sweet potato falafel before too – LOVE it! Too funny that you baked the sweet potato just for the last 10… because I did that in reverse the other day. I was baking it and got hanrgy, so I took it out and popped it in the micro. 🙂
Now that you have chickpea flour, you have to try socca! I like to use it to make pizza crusts and taco shells.
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- Lindsay says
socca is on my list! i wanna try it as pizza crust. u have a good recipe for me?!
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Totally – check this out: http://www.sprint2thetable.com/2011/05/push-ups-socca-pizza/
It’s even topped with an egg. 🙂
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- Maureen says
I just checked out that website…freaking hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me feel bad about most of the things I complain about! lol
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- Lindsay says
haha, it’s always good for a laugh 🙂
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Yum, yum! I am with you on the “anything with sweet potatoes” is a winner meal. Looks super good and will be on my recipe radar!
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- Allie K says
Amazing! Thanks for tagging me…I want to try YOUR version of the recipe because – although my tasted great – I didn’t get the cooking time & texture quite right.
YUMMERS <3
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- Lindsay says
do it! then let me know how they compare!
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I can’t wait to try this!
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- Lindsay says
hope you enjoy it 🙂
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I’ve only had falafel once at pita pit, so I can’t say that I’ve had real falafel. LOL.
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I’m a falafel FIEND. Must try this. Great idea, Lindsay!!!
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- Lindsay says
oh good! then you can tell me if they’re actually like falafel or not!!
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- Emily says
I’ve actually never had a falafel- gasp! So, I would have no idea what to expect. But, needless to say, these look and sound delicious! Anything with sweet potatoes is a winner in my book.
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- Lindsay says
haha agreed. sweet potatoes for the win!
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Your pictures are always so gorgeous! And I love the concept of this recipe!
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- Lindsay says
aww thanks so much girl!
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- Meg says
I JUST bought sweet potatoes and I have all of the rest of the ingredients 😀 Will be making these! u r so amazing xo
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- Lindsay says
awesome! let me know what you think!
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- Miz says
oooh
the VERDICT is I think we’d adore these, too!!!Reply
This sounds so good! Thank you! Now I have to go on the search for the chick pea flour!!
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- alex says
yum! I love falafel! I’ll have to try this
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- Mandy@OrangeAutumn says
oh.my!! This looks absolutely wonderful. I was hoping that you would share the recipe. I’ll have to check out the website. It sounds like it’s right up my alley!
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How did I miss this recipe? Making this!!! I don’t have chickapea flour, could i use whole wheat pastry flour?
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- Lindsay says
Not totally sure. It wouldn’t really be falafel because there would be no chickpeas but it would probably be a pretty good sweet potato fritter. I might use a but less wwp flour though since it absorbs a lot of liquid!
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