Sweet Potato Falafel. Healthy Twist On The Traditional Falafel

Hey everyone! Here is a recipe that is an absolute must try! Sweet Potato Falafel. A delicious twist on the traditional falafel, and its SUPER easy to make! Bursting with fresh traditional flavours and perfectly crispy on the outside, this has quickly become a household favourite for us. I hope that it does for you too!

Why Sweet Potato Falafel?

I've been experimenting with Vegan meatball recipes for some time now, and it was through this that I found potatoes to be a great binder. Using potatoes also stops the meatball from tasting too dry. Anyway, one day I was eating my favourite takeaway falafel and I pondered what makes these falafels my favourite? For me it was the lightly mashed chickpeas, as well as the fresh parsley. As I was eating my falafel I thought to myself... I would eat these more often if they weren't loaded with garlic, deep fried, and a little less dry. This is when the penny dropped for me.... I'll make falafels but I'll use potatoes & bake them instead!

Recipe Tips 

This recipe is very simple. All you need to do is boil your sweet potato, mash it, and then add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and combine. Then roll the mixture into balls, place on a baking tray, and bake. Thats it! Regardless, here are some tips for you:

• Boil the sweet potato until it's really soft. I like to slice it into small cubes, and boil for 15 minutes whilst I prepare the other ingredients. A handheld masher is more than enough. You only need to mash the potatoes for about 1 minute.
• Use your hands to lightly mash the chickpeas. The aim is the lightly break the chickpeas, but mostly keep their form. This gives the falafel a great texture
• Use a tablespoon measurer to scoop out the falafel balls. Do this roughly, and then go back later to roll each one into firmer balls
• Wet your hands slightly to stop the falafel balls from sticking to your hands
• To form nice balls, lightly toss each ball between your hands about 3 times
• Make extra so you can have some for lunch during the week!

Meal Prepping

I love to have this as my vegan meal prep for the week. You could have this as your lunch or dinner. I prefer to have it as my lunch. Simply make the exact recipe as outlined below, and divide into 4 lunch containers. I like to combine this with my High Protein Tabouli Salad. The Sweet Potato Falafels + Tabouli Salad comes in at 421 calories per serve and 22 grams of protein per serve. Not Bad! I will be posting my High Protein Tabouli Salad recipe very soon. For now, if you are looking for a great high protein vegan lunch meal prep idea, why not check out my Mexican Bean Salad here?

Sweet Potato Falafel

Georgia Papas

A delicous spin on the traditional falafel

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Vegan

Servings 5 people (about 5 falafel balls each)

Calories 245 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2-3 medium sized Australian sweet potatoes About 500grams once peeled
• ¼ cup of fresh parsley leaves ensure all stems are removed, and lightly chop the parsley
• ¼ cup of fresh spring onion finely choppped, green part only
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup chickpea flour
• 1½ cups of canned chickpeas This is equal to 1 can
• 6 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional

Spices

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper

Mash The Sweet Potato

• Wash, peel, and chop the sweet potatoes into cube sized pieces
• Add the sweet potato pieces to boiling water and boil for approximately 15 minutes, or until soft
• Drain the sweet potatoes and add to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand held masher, mash the sweet potatoes. Removing the lumps, until you have completely mashed the potato (no need to go overboard here)
• Drain the chickpeas and wash thoroughly. Add chickpeas to a separate bowl
• Using a handheld masher, fork, or your hands, roughly mash the chickpeas. Only mash the chickpeas very lightly. The goal is to have most chickpeas slightly mashed, but still holding the chick pea form
• Add chickpeas to the large mixing bowl with the mashed sweet potato
• Add the spring onion, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and all spices to the large mixing bowl as well. As you add each item, slowly mix through the mash to ensure even coverage
• Add the chickpea flour to the large mixing bowl. Again, do this slowly whilst folding the mixture to ensure even coverage
• Using a tablespoon measuring, scoop out even sized balls of the mixture and put on the baking tray. You may want to wet your hands a little bit to stop the mixture sticking to you. It should be quite sticky to touch
• Once you have evenly measured each ball. Pick each one up, lightly tossing between hands to create a smooth ball surface
• Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. The sweet potato falafels should start to turn a light brown, and form a very light crispy outer
• Remove from the oven and serve hot!

Notes

This recipe is great combined with a tabouli salad. 

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal

Keyword Sweet Potato Falafel, Vegan Dinner

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