Falafel Pita Sandwiches with Tahini Sauce
Falafels aren't just rich in protein. Just 1 serving of our falafel-filled sandwich provides almost half of your daily value of folate, essential for rapidly growing tissues.
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Warm, mouthwatering falafels are a fan favorite method of plant-based protein intake by vegans and vegetarians alike. But you don’t have to be a plant-based eater to fall in love with this wrap.
The chickpeas in these sandwich are not just an excellent source of protein, but of vitamin B6 and folate, too. (Folate is also known as vitamin B9 or folic acid.) Just 1 serving of this wrap provides almost half of your daily value of folate, a key player in building blocks of DNA and RNA, which are essential for rapidly growing tissues (like those of a developing fetus) and rapidly regenerating cells (like red blood cells and immune cells).
In this recipe, we combine garlic, cumin and coriander with our chickpea base. If you’ve ever ordered a wrap at a Mediterranean joint, you’re already familiar with the family of veggies we’ll be using in this recipe: Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles and red onions.
Seeing as these protein-packed bites hail from the Mediterranean, it seemed only appropriate to dress this wrap in creamy tahini.
If you loved this recipe, try your hand at our following falafel-based eats:
- Amaranth Falafels with Green Tahini Sauce
- Chickpea Salad Bowls
- Keto Falafel Bowl
- Baked Falafel Pitas with Yogurt Feta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz BPA-free can unsalted chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 yellow onion, cut into 3 or 4 chunks
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 4 cloves garlic, divided (NOTE: Leave 2 cloves whole and mince 2 cloves.)
- 1 tsp sodium-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin (TRY: Simply Organic Ground Cumin)
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander (TRY: Simply Organic Coriander)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1/4 cup tahini paste
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp paprika (TRY: Simply Organic Paprika)
- 6 6-inch whole-wheat pitas
- 1 head green leaf or red leaf lettuce, coarsely shredded
- 1 tomato, cut into thin wedges
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 1 low-sodium dill pickle, sliced
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Harissa or other hot sauce, optional
Preparation
- To a food processor, add chickpeas, yellow onion, flour, parsley, whole garlic, baking powder, cumin, coriander and salt and pulse to a grainy paste, scraping down bowl as necessary. With lightly moistened hands, shape paste into 12 golf ball-size rounds, arranging on a plate.
- Coat a very large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-low. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the skillet, add balls and use a spatula to flatten to about ½ inch thick. Cook until browned on bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and brown other side, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together tahini, ¼ cup water, lemon juice, remaining minced garlic and paprika.
- Cut about 1 inch off top of each pita, forming a pocket. Add 2 falafel to each pita and divide lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickle, red onion and tahini sauce among pitas. Drizzle each with harissa (if using).
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 filled pita
- Calories 243
- Carbohydrate Content 36 g
- Cholesterol Content 0 mg
- Fat Content 7 g
- Fiber Content 7 g
- Protein Content 10 g
- Saturated Fat Content 1 g
- Sodium Content 336 mg
- Sugar Content 4.5 g
- Monounsaturated Fat Content 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat Content 2.5 g