Find out how to make quick and easy falafel wraps with canned chickpeas, veggies, flatbread, and homemade tahini sauce for the most delicious lunch or dinner.
I don’t get food cravings much anymore (luckily I kicked the sugar addiction years ago), but every now and then I need a falafel wrap. Whenever we drive up north I have to stop at Fattoush in San Luis Obispo for a falafel wrap. They make the falafels from dried chickpeas, and deep fry the patties, of course. But they are so satisfying with tahini sauce, fresh veggies, and crispy falafel.
I’ve shared how to make falafel with dried chickpeas (the real way to make them) in this post. As much as I love using dried chickpeas, many of you said you want to be able to make falafel at the last minute. And I couldn’t agree more! I’m usually too busy and exhausted at the end of the day to soak my beans for the next day. So I’ve been working on a recipe for quick and easy falafel made with canned chickpeas.
My favorite way to eat falafel is in a flatbread wrap with lots of fresh greens, tomatoes, red onion, and creamy tahini sauce. If you love wraps, check out 4 Tortilla Wrap Recipes next. These are also a little similar to my Vegetarian Gyros. I love these falafel wraps for lunch after my morning workout, but also like to serve them for an easy weeknight dinner. The most family-friendly way to serve them is to simply arrange all the fixin’s on a big platter and let everyone build their own falafel wrap.
How to Make Quick & Easy Falafel with Canned Chickpeas
As I mentioned, using canned chickpeas is not the “real” way to make falafel. You can find my recipe using dried chickpeas here. Using canned chickpeas does work, however, with a few tweaks. There are falafel mixes you can find at many grocery stores, like Trader Joe’s, but making them with fresh herbs is so much tastier.
Quick Tips:
- Make sure your chickpeas and parsley are dry to avoid falafels that are too wet.
- Chop the onion, garlic, and parsley in a food processor first, then add the chickpeas so that they don’t accidentally get too mashed.
- Chickpea flour works well as a binder. If you don’t have it, you can use all-purpose flour.
After the onion, garlic, and parsley are chopped, add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until chunky. The biggest hurdle with using canned chickpeas is avoiding falafel that are too wet and mushy inside. To avoid this, dry ingredients are needed. You can use all-purpose flour or breadcrumbs. My favorite addition is chickpea flour, which works very well to bind these falafel ingredients and keep them firm.
How to Cook Falafel
I don’t deep fry my falafel. It would just be more oil than I like to add in my diet. The ingredients in these easy falafel are so wholesome I like to keep the cooking as clean as possible. Just a tablespoon of olive or avocado oil works to crisp up the edges. Even a coating of cooking spray on a non-stick pan like this ceramic one from Green Pan works. Cook the falafel for 4-5 minutes per side until nice and crispy.
Sauce for Falafel Wraps
Tahini Sauce is my go-to for falafel wraps. It adds the perfect amount of flavor and creaminess. I first discovered tahini as an ingredients in my favorite Lemon Tahini salad dressing from Natural Cafe. I have a copycat recipe here for the dressing. While the flavor of tahini on its own is pretty intense, it make wonderfully creamy sauces and dressings. What is tahini? Sesame seeds ground into a paste, a little like peanut butter. Tzatziki sauce would be delicious too.
Assembling the Falafel Wraps
- Warm up a piece of Middle Eastern flatbread or lavash (Trader Joe’s seen here).
- Top it with lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced red onion, avocado and/or cucumber.
- Place the warm falafel on top of the veggies.
- Drizzle generously with tahini sauce.
More Recipes for Canned Chickpeas
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Easy Chickpea Yellow Curry with Roasted Vegetables
- Chickpea Greek Salad
- Chickpea Vegetable Soup
Yield: Serves 4
Falafel Wrap
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Quick and easy falafel recipe stuffed inside a flatbread wrap with vegetables and tahini sauce make a delicious vegetarian, vegan, plant-based lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
For the Falafel
- ½ yellow/white onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup parsley
- 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch of black or cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 4 tablespoons chickpea flour
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs (GF if needed)
- 2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil
For the Wraps
- 1 package Middle Eastern flatbread (GF if needed)
- 3 oz. mixed greens
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 batch Tahini Sauce
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onion, garlic, and parsley and add it to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to chop.
- Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, pepper, baking powder, cumin, coriander, chickpea flour, and breadcrumbs. Pulse until the mixture comes together when pressed but is still chunky. Don't over blend.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Form falafel patties and fry until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes per side.
- To assemble the falafel wraps, warm the flatbread, then top with greens, tomato, onion, and falafel. Drizzle generously with tahini sauce.
Notes
Nutrition for this recipe was calculated for falafel only, and does not include flatbread, tahini sauce, etc. as those ingredients may vary.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 183Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 885mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 6gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your favorite calculator.
