This Deconstructed Falafel Salad is loaded with all my favorite things from a Falafel Wrap! Chickpeas, Cucumbers, Radishes, Herbs, and a Lemon Vinaigrette to make it all shine!
Remember back in March when we talked about keeping a stocked pantry - feels like a lifetime ago right? Well, I'm still working my way through all the cans of chickpeas that I ordered from Thrive Market (there's a code for $$$$ below!). I've made hummus, I've made Cheesy Skillet Chickpeas, I've done it all. Recently I was reminded of that incredible day in Paris when I basically taste tested by way through the Jewish quarter and ate ALL THE FALAFEL STUFFED PITAS. It's clearly too hot these days to be firing up the fryer and making falafel, so I did the next best thing... I deconstructed all the flavors from said pita, and made it into a light and refreshing salad that requires almost no cooking!
We're talking chickpeas, herbs, a bright lemon vin, feta, the WORKS. You could even add a tahini drizzle if you want to really seal the deal!
FYI: Just consider this your PSA for the day along with this recipe!! If you’re big on pantry cooking like me, Thrive Market is hands down one of the most time saving tools you could invest in. You can order all sorts of healthy pantry staples (plus meat, fish and more!) delivered directly to your door. AKA - you can skip the lines at the grocery store and spend more time with your fam and in the kitchen. I am OBSESSED. It’s basically a healthy version of Costco with your fav brands at discounted prices and I am so here for it! If you want to try it out, check it out and you’ll get $20 in shopping credit when you join Thrive Market!
So order some chickpeas, make this Falafel Salad, and let's all pretend to be on vacation somewhere delicious!
Deconstructed Falafel Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to the package directions
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ cup kalamata olives halved (make sure the pit is removed)
- 1 small bunch radishes thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves (more whole leave to garnish)
- ¼ cup chopped dill (more whole leave to garnish)
- 4 ounces feta (the kind that comes in the brine) crumbled or cubed
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup olives oil, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Once cooked, remove to a bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl combine all the prepped veggies and the dressing and let sit for 10 minutes to marinate. Add the quinoa along with the chickpeas, herbs and feta and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Have made this several times and always come back to it. I typically add either marinated chicken breast or actual falafels and serve with toasted pitas (we often put the salad into the pita pocket). So versatile!
love to hear it!!
WOW. My new favorite lunch for work! So easy to meal prep, and I’m set for the week! Thanks Gaby!!! I love that I can chop the veg and make dressing while the quinoa cooks. AMAZING!
Sitting here eating this now... its AMAZING. Great recipe and if I had planned ahead I think I would do some lemon dill baked salmon on the side to go with it. Might do that tonight if my family doesn't eat it all in the next few hours! Thank you!
Really enjoyed this!! Definitely going to add this recipe to my regular rotation. Great for lunch or dinner!
Delicious, I loved it! This had nothing to do with falafel, but was still good. Even better minus tomatoes. The dressing was perfect. Good to have quality feta. I soaked and boiled my bowl garbanzo. Very good salad.
This was so good! A nice light but still substantial option for a weeknight & really refreshing to enjoy in the winter.
Not sure if you read comments or even want the unsolicited advice, but in the chance that you do I wanted to call something out. I love your recipes but the way they're set up makes it difficult to prep and manage my time in the kitchen. I don't like when recipes have half the steps in the ingredients (sliced cucumbers, chopped dill, minced garlic etc). It makes time management wonky and makes the recipe look like it's a lot less work than it is. I end up re-writing them to make actual sense when cooking at home (copied below).
Cook 1/2 cup of quinoa according to the package directions. Move to medium-large bowl (you'll use this to add cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, and beans to later).
Thinly slice 2-3 persian cucumbers (or half moon slice 1/2 regular cucumber) and radishes, placing in quinoa bowl. Half cherry tomatoes & kalamata olives and add to bowl. Drain and rinse chickpeas and add to bowl. Add cooled quinoa
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar. microplane in 4 garlic cloves. salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
Roughly chop 1/4 cup mint leaves & 1/4 cup dill. Fold in to dressed salad, adding more lemon, vinegar, salt, or pepper if needed.
Scatter the feta over the top. Serve the salad topped with an extra drizzle of olive oil and Maldon salt.
I do read the comments and this is a great note! Thank you
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SALAD exactly as the recipe states. My daughter is a huge fan of yours. She bought me, "what's Gaby Cooking, " a couple of years ago because we love to cook to feed a crowd. I was looking for a summer salad and found this on your site.
This was absolutely delicious! Was able to make it quickly on my lunchbreak and it kept me full all day long. I left out the dill and mint (just due to not having), but it was still delicious. Going to be in my weekly routine!
Amazing!!! Didn't change a thing. Although I did think about frying my chickpeas next time. Yummy!! Thanks again.
Absolutely delicious! Made this to bring for my lunch at work This week. Packed it up in individual containers and drizzled each with tahini. Tastes even better in day two as the flavors really melded! Sprinkled some pepitas on before eating for an added crunch!
Will definitely make again!
Made this for lunches for the week and LOVE it. I added some a arugula for additional greens and swapped basil for dill (because that's what we had).
This is easy and perfect for meal prep; holds up really well. Thanks!
Made this tonight .....delicious!!!
Absolutely perfect, made this tonite to go with a grilled tri tip for the vegetarians in the crowd along with your hummus and baked pita chips. Thank you for always making me look so good!!
I made this last night for our family - delicious! It was a flavorful and refreshing salad that is so easy to make. It was a perfect balance of being light yet leaves you feeling satisfied.
This sounds like the perfect summer party salad. So refreshing and full of flavor and textures.