These vegan falafel bowls combine scratch made falafels, with turmeric garlic rice, marinated onions, and tahini sauce for the ultimate vegan meal prep lunch or dinner idea.
This vegan falafel bowls is hands down one of the most delicious recipes ever. When combined together all together, it is one epic bowl that is just incredible for meal prepping.
Whether you are looking for vegan lunch ideas or vegan dinner ideas that can be prepped ahead, this is one for the books.
Look we get it. Whether you have children or not, everyone’s lives are busy in one way or another. We are constantly looking for new ideas and new ways to free up some of our time.
Some of us have taking to meal prepping as much food in one day as possible so that other days seem a little easier.
And it makes so much sense. Whether you meal plan out weeks in advance or just try to do it all at once, being able to create a delicious meal is a great idea.
Then, on the other hand, if you do have a family, you are looking for a delicious vegan dinner idea that just hits the spot and makes everyone happy.
Inside our vegan falafel bowls we are combining our vegan falafels made from scratch, vegan garlic turmeric rice, marinated onions, and tomatoes, and topping with a delicious vegan tahini dressing.
All in all one delicious recipe that will be on repeat on the menu! I mean just look at those colors!
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What ingredients do you need to make vegan falafel bowls?
There are a few parts to this dish.
The main part is to make the vegan falafels.
Depending on if you are making everything else in the photo will depend on what else you make.
Inside the photo is also:
- marinated onions
- garlic turmeric rice
- tahini dressing
If you don’t want to do the rice, you could just do plain rice, pita shells, or even quinoa or noodles.
Full amounts are listed in the recipe card below.
The ingredients that you that you need for the falafels are:
- dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas) *Read more about making falafels
- yellow onion
- garlic
- fresh cilantro (can sub with parsley)
- salt and pepper
- ground cumin
- ground coriander
- chickpea flour
- lemon juice
For the marinated onions you are going to need:
- red onion
- hot water
- red wine vinegar
- chopped parsley, loosely packed
- zahtar
- olive oil
- salt
If you are making the vegan turmeric garlic rice you will need:
- dry brown rice
- vegetable stock
- olive oil (or more vegetable stock if oil free)
- ground turmeric
- garlic
- garlic powder
- black pepper
- salt
- green onions
And finally the vegan tahini dressing:
- tahini
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- garlic
- salt
- water
Toppings we show in the photo are cilantro, green onions, and sliced cherry tomatoes.
I understand it may look daunting. You are essentially combining 4 different recipes for one bowl. See below for tips.
There’s too many ingredients, how can I short cut this?
Look, we understand. Sometimes you either don’t have enough time or maybe you don’t even feel confident in the kitchen yet. But man oh man this recipe looks delicious.
Take a deep breathe.
First, let me say that nothing will taste better than this bowl made from scratch. That being said… here’s some short cut ideas.
- Buy falafel mix or frozen falafels.
- Purchase Tahini Dressing like Annie’s Goddess Dressing
- Use a steamable / minute style turmeric rice
You could definitely make one or all of these swaps and still have a similar style dish ready in minutes.
Can I make this all easier by prepping anything ahead?
Yes! Another option if you want to use the recipes that we are providing is to meal prep items ahead of time.
Good news: everything can be prepped ahead.
The marinated onions, the tahini dressing, the falafels and the rice can all be made ahead and store in air tight containers.
So maybe you make the onions and dressing one night and finish up with the others another night. It’s completely up to you, but you do have options to make this easier!
Can vegan falafel bowls be Top 8 Allergen Free?
This entire recipe is already written to be Top 8 Allergen free. There is no gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, or other top allergens.
Are vegan falafel bowls Whole Foods Plant Based Oil Free?
We have been getting more requests to make our dishes oil free or at least explain how to make oil free.
Luckily, we will say that this dish can be completely oil free. We listed alternatives for each step.
What are other vegan dinner ideas?
Here are some other vegan dinner ideas that we have that we think you may enjoy:
- Vegan Lemon Garlic Butter Pasta with Tomatoes, Asparagus and Mushrooms
- Chickpea Cashew & Broccoli in Garlic Sauce Skillet (pictured above)
- Vegan Taco Casserole
- Vegan Pizza Pasta Casserole
- Dairy Free Cheese Pizza
- Vegan Italian Meatballs
- Easy Dairy Free Spinach & Walnut Pesto
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Vegan Falafel Bowls
Ingredients
For The Falafels
- 1 cup dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped into 4 pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (Can sub for parsley if you don’t like cilantro)
- 1 tbsp chickpea flour
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
For the Marinated Onions
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- hot water
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp za’atar
- 1 tbsp olive oil (omit if oil free)
- 1 pinch salt
For the Tahini Dressing
For the Garlic Turmeric Rice
- 1 recipe garlic turmeric rice
Additional Toppings
- cilantro
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- green onions, sliced
Instructions
For the Falafels and Garlic Turmeric Rice
- Soak dried chickpeas overnight.
- Once soaked and ready to proceed, start by making the garlic turmeric rice.
- Drain chickpeas from water and lay them out on a towel. Thoroughly pat them dry. Get as much moisture out as possible.
- Add chickpeas to a food processor with the remaining ingredients.
- Pulse, scrapping down the sides often, until all the ingredients are chopped up and a thick batter is left.
- Roll into 1″ balls (you can use a cookie scoop to ensure even size).
For Deep Fried Falafels (Traditional)
- Once all the balls are made, heat oil in a deep fryer or heavy bottomed pot and bring the temperature up to 350 degrees F.
- Add the baking soda to the oil.
- Drop falafels into the oil and cook for 2 1/2-5 minutes, moving around to ensure golden brown on all sides.
- Remove from the oil and lay on a towel lined plate to remove excess oil. Repeat with remaining balls.
Other Falafel Methods
- To see how to make falafels in a skillet, air fryer or oven (oil free methods), read more about making vegan falafels.
For the Marinated Onions
- Place sliced onion in a bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for 10 minutes.
- Drain onions and dry with a towel.
- Add red wine vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain anything more than a teaspoon of the vinegar from the bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients together and cover. Place in fridge until ready to serve (at least 30 minutes)
For the Tahini Dressing
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir until very well combined.
- If needed, add water 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency.
Compiling the Bowls
- Once everything is ready, layer the rice in the bottom of the bowl. Then add some of the falafels and marinated onions. Top with cilantro, green onions and sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with tahini dressing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Post originally published on 1/29/20 and updated to add a video on 2/24/20.
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