Falafel Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

This Falafel Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing is a great Meatless Monday option—or for any other day of the week. We love the simplicity of this recipe, which is loaded with flavor and nutrition. Rehydrated chickpeas regain some of their creamy texture and are spiked with spicy garlic and red onion, warm cumin and fresh grassy parsley. The falafel patties become crispy on the outside but remain tender on the inside. Crisp romaine lettuce pairs with other antioxidant-rich veggies that get a wonderful drizzle of the nutty tahini dressing infused with bright lemon. Keep reading for expert tips, including what to serve with this falafel salad.

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you, too! 

• Soaking chickpeas for 12 to 24 hours will greatly reduce the cooking time.
• A cookie scoop comes in handy if you want consistently sized falafel patties. They come in 2 tablespoon measurements.
• Don't put too many falafels in the pan at once. Doing so will lower the oil's temperature, and the falafels will fall apart.
• You can batch-cook falafel and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  

Nutrition Notes

• Falafel is typically a combination of chickpeas and spices, including onions and garlic. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a type of legume. Like all legumes, chickpeas provide plant-based protein, prebiotic fiber, inflammation-calming antioxidants and complex carbohydrates for energy. Chickpeas are rich in folate, a B vitamin that is important for healthy cells, and iron, which is necessary for delivering oxygen to our brains and muscles. The garlic and onions up the nutrition ante in falafel, also providing prebiotic fiber, antioxidants and health benefits, including disease prevention. Altogether, these plant-based patties are nutrition powerhouses.
• Besides providing a beautiful, colorful bed for the falafel, the veggies in this salad—romaine lettuce, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes—add more fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and are all linked with lower disease risk, including heart disease and cancer. While lettuce might not be your first go-to for healthy bones, the vitamin K in romaine will help support your bone health. And romaine's vitamin A is necessary for healthy vision. The vitamin C in tomatoes will help your body absorb the iron in the chickpeas. Cucumbers are rich in the mineral silica, which plays a role in collagen synthesis—supporting smooth, firm skin. And the plant-based nitrates in radishes can help improve oxygen flow throughout the body.
• Tahini is made from sesame seeds that have been ground up into a paste. Like other seeds, sesame seeds contain heart-healthy fats, so when you open up a jar of tahini, you may find a layer of oil sitting on the top. Simply stir the oil back into the tahini paste. This will not only prevent your tahini from being too dry, but it also adds the oil's health benefits back into it—which include reduced cholesterol, blood pressure, and risk of cancer.