Falafel Salad Bowl with Creamy Feta Dip

A filling, nutritious and energizing lunch – this Falafel Salad Bowl with Creamy Feta Dip is a belly-filling (Aka: a salad that’s actually satisfying!) and really tasty meal.

Why the heck is this my first falafel recipe on the blog?
I make falafel (falafel? falafels? I don’t know the plural) all the time!

I think I’ve made various falafel recipes for other pieces of freelance work, so I just presumed I had one somewhere on the blog. But nope. Truly sorry I’ve let you down.

So I’m remedying the situation with this falafel salad bowl from my new  Seriously Good Salads book (I’ve also shared my Salmon Sushi Bowl and Chimichurri Steak Salad from the book if you want to check them out).

Filling enough for dinner, this salad bowl consists of baby spinach, topped with 3 falafel, sun blushed tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and shredded beetroot. All topped off with a simple feta dressing.

I say simple – that dressing took me a fair bit of testing to get right.
I was initially using too much cream with no milk, and had versions of this dressing where the cream basically thickened like a dessert topping upon blitzing.
This dressing is a much more pour-able version. If you do want the dressing any thicker, then add more feta to it (not more cream).

Full recipe is in the recipe card below, but here are some step-by-step pics plus a video:

The falafel is made by whizzing up canned chickpeas, along with red onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, lemon juice, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and flour (regular or gluten free) in a food processor until combined.

Shape the mixture into patties and fry for about 5 minutes, turning once.
TIP: Use a spatula and a fork to turn them without squishing them.

Then all of the salad items are layered in a bowl – starting with a bed of baby spinach that’s topped with baby cucumber slices, thin slices of red onion, shredded beetroot and juicy sun-blushed tomatoes.

Add the falafel on top and drizzle on the dressing before serving.

The falafel can be eaten hot or cold, so it makes a great lunchbox or picnic lunch too.

Here’s a video of the full recipe:

Want to see some more recipes pics from the book?

Fried egg breakfast salad with toasted croutons:

Winter Noodle Salad with Miso Dressing:

Sushi Salad Bowl:

Buttermilk Chicken Cobb Salad:

Garlic Herb and New Potato Salad – with a buttery warm dressing:

You’ll find these recipes plus loads more (75 recipes altogether with 70+ of them NOT on the blog) all with their own photo in my new Seriously Good Salads book.

The Falafel Salad Bowl with Creamy Feta Dip Recipe:

Falafel Salad Bowl with Creamy Feta Dip

A filling, nutritious and energizing lunch - this Falafel Salad Bowl with Creamy Feta Dip is a belly-filling (Aka: a salad that's actually satisfying!) and really tasty meal. 

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: summer, vegetarian

Servings: 4

Author: Nicky Corbishley

Ingredients

Falafel:

• 28 oz (2 x 14-oz [400g]) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 large red onion chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves peeled and minced
• 1 cup (60g) packed fresh parsley chopped
• 1 cup (40g) packed fresh coriander (cilantro) chopped
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp chilli (red pepper) flakes
• 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour (replace with gluten free plain/all-purpose flour for a gluten free version)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Feta Dressing:

• 3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese add more if you like a thicker sauce (FYI feta is often vegetarian, but check your brand if you need to be sure)
• 3 tbsp double (heavy) cream
• 5 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• good pinch of salt and pepper

Salad:

• 3 cups (90g) packed baby spinach leaves
• ½ red onion thinly sliced
• 1 large cooked beetroot peeled and shredded/grated
• ½ cup (55g) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 baby cucumbers or ¼ regular cucumber thinly sliced
• Arils/seeds of ½ pomegranate
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

• Place all the falafel ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor and pulse until combined, but still with a little texture. Form the mixture into 12 equal patties.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the falafels, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes.
• In a bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
• Arrange the spinach, red onion, shredded beet, tomatoes and cucumber slices in 4 bowls. Top each with 3 falafels. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with pomegranate arils and parsley before serving.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Nutritional Information is per serving - including feta dressing.

Nutritional Information

Nutrition Facts

Falafel Salad Bowl with Creamy Feta Dip

Amount Per Serving

Calories 631 Calories from Fat 261

% Daily Value*

Fat 29g45%

Saturated Fat 14g70%

Cholesterol 29mg10%

Sodium 695mg29%

Potassium 1273mg36%

Carbohydrates 75g25%

Fiber 19g76%

Sugar 17g19%

Protein 24g48%

Vitamin A 4330IU87%

Vitamin C 54mg65%

Calcium 274mg27%

Iron 9mg50%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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