Falafel and Vegetable Pitas

Low in calories but not in flavor, this homemade falafel recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes. Serve the pita sandwich with a side of parsley-yogurt sauce for dunking.

Falafel and Vegetable Pitas
Photo: Blaine Moats
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
4 mins
Total Time:
29 mins
Servings:
4

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon

  • 1 15 ounce can reduced-sodium garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

  • 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour

  • 2 tablespoon snipped fresh Italian parsley

  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced

  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • teaspoon ground cumin

  • Olive oil nonstick cooking spray

  • 2 whole grain pita bread rounds, halved

  • ¾ cup fresh spinach or watercress

  • 8 thin roma tomato slices

  • ½ cup thinly sliced cucumber

  • 1 recipe Yogurt Sauce

Yogurt Sauce

  • ½ cup plain fat-free yogurt

  • 2 tablespoon snipped fresh Italian parsley

  • teaspoon salt

  • teaspoon black pepper

Directions

  1. Remove 2 teaspoons zest and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from lemon. For falafel, in a food processor combine the zest and juice, and the next eight ingredients (through cumin). Cover and process until finely chopped and mixture just holds together (there should be some visible pieces of garbanzo beans).

  2. Using your hands, shape garbanzo bean mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick oval patties. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook 4 to 6 minutes or until browned and heated through, turning once.

  3. Open pita halves to make pockets. Fill pockets with spinach, tomato slices, and cucumber slices. Add falafel and top with yogurt sauce.

Yogurt Sauce

  1. In a bowl stir together all ingredients.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

217 Calories
3g Fat
43g Carbs
11g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Calories 217
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g 4%
Cholesterol 1mg 0%
Sodium 582mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 43g 16%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 16.7mg 84%
Calcium 126mg 10%
Iron 3.1mg 17%
Potassium 492mg 10%
Folate, total 28.9mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.2mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.2mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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