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Falafel Stuffed Flatbread with Tzatziki Sauce

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I love falafels. They are bite-sized pieces of deliciousness filled with my favorite Mediterranean flavors. The other day, I made some for dinner, and I happened to get lucky and have leftovers for the next day. For lunch, I turned a couple of the falafels into a delicious lunch idea: stuffed flatbreads with tzatziki sauce.

falafel stuffed flatbread

When I lived in Berlin, many years ago (1994), I indulged in a lot of Turkish and Greek food. By far, my favorite of these delicious foods was these handheld flatbreads stuffed with falafels.

They were sold in street kiosks and were made fresh to order. The flatbreads were stuffed with fresh veggies, falafels, and lots of tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki sauce is a Greek yogurt and cucumber based sauce that is good on everything. When I say everything, I mean, everything!

falafel stuffed flatbread

Now, as an adult, I make my own falafels at home. I love them by themselves and I usually use them to top a large green salad drizzled with tzatziki sauce on top. Of course, my husband needs a little more substance so I stuffed some whole-wheat Toufayan flatbreads with his falafels.

While the original falafels I enjoyed long ago had a lot of parsley, I had to pick my battles when creating a version to make at home. Oh you know, parsley is green and my kids are not fond of green speckles in their food. Even without the parsley, however, I feel that these falafels are a close competitor to the ones I enjoyed many years ago.

ingredients to build falafel stuffed flatbreads with assembly of falafels on the counter

Once you have all your ingredients, making these falafel stuffed pitas is a breeze. Now you know why I love leftovers! It’s instant fast -and healthy- food. Make these falafels the night before and they become a healthy grab-and-go lunch option.

For that reason, I included the recipe in my first cookbook, The Best Homemade Kids’ Lunches on the Planet. How could I have a lunches book without my beloved falafels? And then, I realized that I forgot to include the Greek sauce! Yes, there is something that happens to an author after the book goes to print that drives me crazy: the realization that you “forgot” to add something (nevermind that there are over 200 recipes in the book).

Luckily, I wrote a second cookbook called The Best Homemade Kids’ Snacks on the Planet where I made sure I included my tzatziki sauce (in the book I called it Yanni’s Greek Dip). And in case you are wondering, I also remembered recipes from the past I forgot to add to that book as well. Go figure.

In the end, the recipes are there, inside my cookbooks for many years to come reminding me of my amazing adventures back in 1994 where I ate my fair share of street-made falafel stuffed flatbreads.

Have you tried falafels? Do you use flatbreads at home? If so, what do you stuff them with?

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Falafel Stuffed Flatbreads

falafel stuffed flatbread
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★★★★★

4.6 from 9 reviews

This recipe is from The Best Homemade Kids’ Lunches on the Planet

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Yield: 12-15 (1 ½) inch falafels

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (375 g) dry chickpeas, soaked overnight or,
  • 1 cup (240 g) canned chickpeas
  • 2 teaspoons (14 g) cumin
  • ½ teaspoon (1 g) coriander
  • 1–2 garlic cloves (3g-6 g), minced
  • 1 fresh parsley sprig, minced
  • 1 small onion, chopped fine
  • 1 ½ tablespoons (45 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons (21 g) breadcrumbs
  • Vegetable oil to pan fry

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse chickpeas from soaking overnight or canned chickpeas.
  2. In a food processor, mix chickpeas with all ingredients until it becomes a smooth thick paste.
  3. With wet hands, form dough into small balls, the size of a large walnut. Press down to form 1 ½ inch patties. If the mixture is too sticky, add a little bit more breadcrumbs. If it’s too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.
  4. Pan-fry falafels in an oiled pot over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes each side, or until sides are brown. Remove falafel onto a paper towel-lined plate and blot excess oil with additional paper towels.
  5. Place flatbread on a flat surface, layer lettuce and tomatoes. Top with 1-2 falafels. drizzle tzatziki sauce, and close flatbread.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

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Yanni’s Greek Yogurt Sauce

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Pin Recipe

★★★★★

4.6 from 9 reviews

This recipe is from The Best Homemade Snacks on the Planet

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Yield: 1 ½ cups

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber, peeled
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 cup (230 g) plain yogurt
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon dried dill

Instructions

  1. Place a grater inside a medium bowl. Grate cucumber and garlic clove into the bowl.
  2. Add plain yogurt, salt, lemon juice, and dill to the cucumber and garlic.
  3. Combine all ingredients well and refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

From time to time, I work with awesome companies to develop recipes for this website.  Today’s post was brought to you by Toufayan Bakeries . All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that encourage my creativity. 

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  1. Allison

    May 18, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    Ok, when I try to pan fry them, they completely disintegrate. What am I doing wrong? I tried more oil, less oil…and they weren’t sticky or crumbly. Ugh.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      June 17, 2021 at 12:05 pm

      It will depend if you used canned chickpeas, these tend to make the mixture more “wet” than using dry, soaked chickpeas. I would add a bit more bread-crumbs to the mixture to hold them.

      Reply
  2. Fouzia

    September 09, 2019 at 5:50 am

    Hi,
    Can I airfry the falafels ? If yes for how long
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      September 20, 2019 at 11:12 am

      Yes! airfrying them would work perfectly!

      Reply
  3. Carey

    February 27, 2019 at 7:23 am

    Hi there, I’m wondering if these can be baked rather than fried. And, if so, should I change anything in the recipe? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      March 13, 2019 at 5:06 pm

      They can be baked at 375F for approximately 20-25 minutes, depending how thick you make them. make sure to grease/spray the baking sheet and the tops so they crisp up. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Julie

    September 19, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    Okay, sorry, I am confused. The recipe says it is for falafel stuffed flatbread, but think it is just for the falafel? What do you use for the sandwich? Also, it says it makes 12 – 15 1/2 inch falafels. But the directions say to use 1 1/2 inch balls? How do I get them 15 1/2 inches from that? Can you please clarify for me?

    Thanks! I really want to try these.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      September 20, 2015 at 1:18 pm

      Julie, the recipe itself is for the falafels. The flatbread is an ingredient purchased separately used to make a sandwich/stuffed falafel. The directions say to make dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, to press down, and pan-fry. In step 3, it asks to make 1 1/2 inch patties (from pressing down the ball shaped dough). I put (parenthesis) around the yield. The spacing made it look funny. You should get 12-15 falafels that are 1 1/2 inches (+/-) big. I hope this helps!

      Reply
  5. Gina

    August 21, 2015 at 1:18 am

    Hello! I love reading your recipes and blog! I’ve been a Momables stalker, I mean follower, for a few years now. I’m looking forward to trying these falafels, I think the sauce will encourage dipping and I’ve always loved falafel but thought it a daunting task to make it at home. Thanks for the creativity and variety!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      August 22, 2015 at 6:43 am

      I’m happy to have you along for the (stalking) ride Gina! 😉 The sauce…

      Reply
  6. Aj

    August 20, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    I have never tried it but I will! Sounds delish!

    Reply
  7. Lisa Tulak

    August 20, 2015 at 10:55 am

    So does this mean we may look forward to a third book? 🙂 For the recipes you are remembering from back in the day. Lol Can’t wait <3

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      August 20, 2015 at 12:51 pm

      yes… you can look forward to another (final) book. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Faith

    August 19, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    I’ve never heard of a falafel let alone eaten one, but I must try, it looks wonderful. I do use flatbreads on occasion for sandwhichs.

    Reply
    • puRpLepuFfiN823

      December 06, 2020 at 4:37 pm

      Falafels are delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe.

      Reply
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