Sweet Potato Falafel Bowl

This sweet potato falafel bowl is vegan, gluten free and so easy to make. Packed with fresh veggies, garlic tahini dressing, fluffy quinoa and can be baked in the oven or air fried! The perfect meal prep recipe.

My gluten free falafel is such a staple recipe, but this sweet potato falafel bowl is going to be on repeat this Fall! Packed with flavor, high in protein, vegan, gluten free and perfect to meal prep since everything keeps well in the fridge.

We have a base of fluffy quinoa and arugula, plus crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, hummus, red onion and my lemon garlic tahini dressing to top it all off. This is such a great Fall dinner recipe like my pumpkin chili!

The sweet potato falafel can be baked in the oven, air fried (my preference!) and stores really well in the fridge for meal prep. Try one of my favorite vegan buddha bowls or butternut squash soup next!

Before we get started…

• You can either bake or air fry the falafel. Air frying will be a bit quicker, but you may need to do it in two batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
• This recipe is naturally vegan and gluten free, so no substitutions are needed.
• Careful not to over bake as this can lead to dry falafel that falls apart more easily.

How to make a sweet potato falafel bowl

Prep potatoes. Peel and steam or boil your sweet potatoes until fork tender. Drain and mash really well.

Process all ingredients. Drain and rinse your chickpeas and add to a food processor along with the mashed sweet potato (just 1 cup worth) and all remaining ingredients, starting with 1/3 cup chickpea flour. Process until mostly smooth. If it appears too wet and won’t easily form into balls, add in the rest of the chickpea flour.

Scoop. Use a scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) and roll into balls. Place either in your air fryer basket sprayed with oil or on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake. If baking, bake for about 30 minutes, flipping half way, or air fry for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through the center.

Serve. Assemble your bowls using the quinoa and arugula as the base, then layer on the cucumber, tomatoes, onion and falafel. Add a scoop of hummus and drizzle on top the dressing. Enjoy and try my sweet potato burger bowls next!

Key ingredients

Sweet Potato. I opted to use freshly steamed sweet potato because I think the texture holds up best, but if you’re in a pinch, you can use canned sweet potato puree instead.

Chickpeas. You just need one can of chickpeas will be the base of this recipe. They’ll add lots of protein, fiber and nutrients to this sweet potato falafel.

Onion & garlic. These are key for flavor! I used yellow onion, but red or white onion will also work if that’s what you have on hand.

Cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, you can sub for parsley, but I prefer the flavor of cilantro.

Olive oil. For an oil free option, you can sub for tahini, but I love the fresh flavor olive oil adds.

Flour. This recipe calls for chickpea flour, but oat flour and all purpose flour are also great options. The flour is key to absorb excess moisture and help bind all ingredients together.

Spices. A mix of cumin, paprika and red pepper flakes. Feel free to add additional spices of your choice such as cayenne for more spice!

Why does my falafel fall apart?

Sweet potato falafel that falls apart is typically more common when it is fried. This typically happens when the mixture is too wet and nothing is holding it together.

Chickpea flour acts as a good binder for falafel, but all purpose flour is another common one. Since this recipe is baked (or air fried) it should hold together well since there isn’t any manipulation during the cooking process.

How to serve

Falafel can be served as a simple appetizer, addition to salads, in a wrap, with rice, or formed into patties to make a burger. For this sweet potato falafel bowl, we’ll be serving it buddha bowl style with extra veggies, hummus, quinoa and arugula. Feel free to swap in or out any additional veggies of your choice!

Should I use canned chickpeas for falafel?

This recipe calls for canned chickpeas, but many falafel recipes use dried chickpeas that have been soaked, but not cooked, overnight. Using dried chickpeas can prevent a falafel that is too mushy, but we’ll just use a bit of extra flour to help absorb excess moisture.

How to store and freeze

This sweet potato falafel will keep well in both the fridge and the freezer. To store in the fridge, allow it to cool completely, then transfer to an air tight container and store for 5 days. If you have leftovers of the other components of the bowl, I would store them all separately.

To freeze, allow to cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I suggest reheating in the oven or air fryer until warm through the center, about 5-10 minutes.

Try these buddha bowls next!

• Peanut Tofu Bowls
• Pesto Buddha Bowl
• Korean Tofu Bowls
• Vegan Poke Bowl
• Tofu Sofritas Bowls

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