Baked Falafel Salad with Chimichurri Yogurt
This Baked Falafel Salad with Chimichurri Yogurt is a delicious plant based meal with tons of flavor! The falafel is made in the food processor, formed into patties, and baked, then served over greens with avocado and a zesty chimichurri inspired yogurt sauce!
Ingredients
For the falafel
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup cilantro (a good handful)
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 of a jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons flour*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the chimichurri yogurt
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt*
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 of a small shallot
- 1/2 of a jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed
- 1/2 cup cilantro (a good handful)
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley (a smaller handful)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad
- 6-8 cups mixed greens of your choice
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 3/4 cup sliced cucumbers*
- crumbled feta for serving (optional)
- a squeeze of lemon
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- crushed red pepper for serving, optional
Instructions
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Make the falafel. Preheat oven to 375℉ and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. To a food processor, add the chickpeas, cilantro, parsley, mint, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, salt, flour, and olive oil. Pulse until mixture is well incorporated and forms a dough. You will likely need to scrape the sides down in between to get everything fully incorporated. If the mixture seems too wet, add another spoonful of flour. Too dry, add a drizzle of olive oil and/or lemon juice.
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Form mixture into patties and place on the baking sheet. I find that wetting my hands before forming them REALLY helps because the mixture is sticky! I got 8 falafel out of it. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside.
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While the falafel are baking, make the chimichurri yogurt. Combine the yogurt, red wine vinegar, garlic, shallot, jalapeño, cilantro, parsley, and olive oil into the food processor (I wipe out or clean mine after using it for the falafel) and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste to season with salt and pepper.
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To assemble salads, I like to toss the greens in a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper first. Top the greens with the falafel, avocado, cucumber, and a drizzle of the chimichurri yogurt. Finish with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper if desired. Serve!
Recipe Notes
*I used a whole wheat pastry flour for this, but you can use all purpose, or a gluten free all purpose flour. Regular whole wheat should work here too, but you may need to add an extra squeeze of lemon juice or olive oil because it is quite dry and grainy. This
*I used 0% nonfat plain Greek yogurt here, but a 2% or whole milk Greek yogurt would yield an even creamier result.
*I love Persian cucumbers and used them here, but any will work! Use what you love.