My Favorite Falafel with Butter Lettuce

April 25, 2017 // 7 Comments »

My favorite falafel recipe served with delicious hommus, peppers and onions, and all wrapped up in butter lettuce. Such a fun dish for the whole family!

My husband is the falafel king. Ok, maybe there are one or a billion restaurants that may dispute that but there was a period in our marriage when we were eating falafel every other night as Jaryd perfected his craft. We’re kinda obsessed with falafel.

It’s such a fun meal where you can pack your pita with whatever goods you like. Check out the recipe card for other fun add ons to offer with your falafel spread! We love to make it a family meal, put everything out on the table and let the kids make their own. There’s something about them being a part of the process of making their dinner that they love and makes it fun!

I give the kids a pita option, but we adults tend to go for the butter lettuce to wrap everything up. Collard greens also make awesome green and crunchy wraps

You can make falafel a bunch of ways. My favorite way is to fry them babies up! I love the crispy outside and fluffy, moist inside. If you make small falafels, they get super crispy throughout, but if you make larger balls, they get doughy and mushy in the center (that’s how I like them!). Make them however you like! For me, the crispy, flavorful outside is a MUST to any falafel game.

Another essential element? Some darn good hommus. I grab a tub (or two) of Cedar’s Hommus whenever I’m at WholeFoods and the other day I impulsively grabbed some tzatziki too. I knew I wanted a bunch of yummy flavors in my falafel wrap and couldn’t think of a better option than Cedar’s!

Cedar’s uses a traditional Mediterranean recipe using pure and simple ingredients! It’s a family recipe that was passed down and perfected is now one of my favorite weekly buys at the grocery store!

AND!! Get this, you can win yourself a YEAR’S supply of hommus by entering HERE!! I mean that’s what dreams are made of, my friends.

So let’s make The Best Falafel + Hommus Wrap because it’s wayyy easier than you think and your new favorite family dinner 🙂

In your food processor, place the chickpeas, ¾ of the onion (coarsely chopped), garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, flour, egg, salt and pepper. Process the ingredients until they are well blended.

Pour the oil into a frying pan so that it is 1 – 2 inches up the side. Turn the heat to medium-high and wait for the oil to get hot.

Use a cookie scooper or two spoons to drop small dollops of the falafel batter into the hot oil. Larger dollops will have moist, doughy falafel centers, while smaller dollops will result in crunchier falafel.

Allow the falafel to cook for 2 -3 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to flip them over and fry the other side. When the outside is golden brown, use a slotted spoon to remove the falafel and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Chop the remaining ¼ of the onion and place in a small bowl. Cut the grape tomatoes and place them in the bowl with the onion. Stir the onions and tomatoes until they’re combined.

Wash and dry your butter lettuce leaves and place them flat on a plate. In each leaf, place a scoop of hommus, a falafel ball, some tomato/onion mixture, and tzatziki if desired.