These Falafel Waffles have all the goodness of falafel with half the work and half the fat!
I have had such a lovely weekend! My birthday was on Sunday, so we sort of ended up celebrating all weekend long. Friday night we stayed up late catching up on a few episodes of this season of Doctor Who. (I’m still not sure if I like the new Doctor. Have any of you decided?)
Saturday we slept in (yay!) and then worked on a woodworking project to build a laundry basket dresser for our bedroom. I know it sounds like a strange birthday gift, but I am SO EXCITED to have a way to sort our dirty clothes and hide the laundry baskets in our bedroom. I love our house, but the worst thing about it has to be the placement of the laundry room. It’s literally the furthest point away from our bedroom – across the top floor, down the stairs, across the main level, down the basement stairs, and all the way across the basement. Did I mention our house is 50ft long? We are totally guilty of leaving our clean clothes down in the basement for ages after the laundry is done because it’s just so far to cart it all. Hopefully the new basket system helps a lot.
Sunday morning we went to church where I was greeted with many different hugs and birthday cards, and then Sunday evening I was given the treat of having my friends cook dinner for me for our Walking Dead night complete with a pecan pie for dessert (my favorite!). I’m definitely feeling super loved! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!
Today I want to share a super quick meal with you – Falafel Waffles (or wafalafel?). I threw this together the other night after I was out running errands for most of the day and came home later than planned and desperate to figure out something to make for dinner. (I’m pretty sure I do this way too often…) I rifled through the fridge and pantry and found a box of falafel mix and an eggplant. I also had some hummus, cucumber dill Greek yogurt dip, and some couscous on hand – dinner was born! Typically, falafel is rolled into balls and fried, but I didn’t really want to take the time to do that. I also don’t own a deep fryer, so fried things just make a mess all over the stove. So, instead of making small fried falafel balls, I scooped the prepared falafel mix onto my waffle iron and ran it through a waffle bake cycle. Out popped these perfectly cooked falafel waffles! I topped the waffles with some hummus, roasted eggplant, cucumber yogurt, tomatoes, and cucumber. Add in a side of kalamata olives, some pita, and some couscous and you have a great low fat, quick, week night dinner.
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Falafel Waffles with Roasted Eggplant
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
These Falafel Waffles have all the goodness of falafel with half the work and half the fat!
Ingredients
Ingredients
For waffles
- 1 box falafel mix
- water and any other ingredients called for on the package to prepare the mix
For Roasted Eggplant
- 1 small eggplant
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt (I use dried, roasted garlic and salt in a grinder)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
For assembling (choose your favorite options)
- hummus
- diced cucumber
- diced tomato
- tzatziki (Greek cucumber dill yogurt)
- feta cheese
- kalamata olives
- pita triangles/chips
- prepared couscous
Instructions
Instructions
For Waffles
- Prepare falafel mix as directed on the package until the mix is ready to be cooked.
- Put 1/4 of the prepared mix onto each section of the waffle iron and follow your waffle iron directions to cook them as you would with normal waffle batter.
For Garlic Roasted Eggplant
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Slice eggplant in 1/2″ slices, then quarter the slices to form wedges.
- Spread olive oil on a large baking sheet and roll cut eggplant in oil to coat.
- Sprinkle with garlic salt.
- Roast for 10 minutes, flip eggplant slices, then bake for 10 minutes more (20 min total).
To assemble
- Place a falafel waffle on a plate, spread with hummus, top with roasted eggplant, then add your favorite toppings.
- Serve with pita triangles, couscous, and olives.
Notes
- Carnivore: Stuff the falafel mix with cooked chicken or steak before putting on the waffle iron for a meat-filled version. (or just add it on top, but that’s not as fun!)
- Vegan: Falafel is vegan. 🙂 Just skip the tzatziki.
- Gluten Free: Most falafel mix contains flour, but you can purchase a gluten-free version in some places or make your own with this easy recipe
Recipe Remix – Pull it apart and stuff inside a pit for a more traditional falafel experience.
Looking for more savory waffles? Check out these Bacon and Chive Cornbread Waffles
Looking for more roasted eggplant? Try this Eggplant and Olive Tapenade Pizza
You are so creative!!
I’m going to try making cornbread waffles in my waffle maker soon, and top it with chili!
I love falafels, I had no idea there was a mix you could buy. Learning from your every post! lol.
Cornbread waffles topped with chili are my favorite! Falafel is pretty simple to make (especially if you have a food processor) but I’ve found that the boxed mix is often cheaper than the cost of the ingredients. (This box was $2, on sale for $1. I can’t buy chickpeas that cheap.) It also takes just a bit of water and 5 minutes to absorb and be ready to go where making it from scratch takes some more effort. It’s definitely one of those boxes I keep on hand “just in case” I need an emergency dinner.
Oh, I know – I make falafel at home, but now I’m kicking myself that i didn’t know an “easy” version was available!!
Stick around- I’m almost always all about the easy. Why work harder when you can work smarter? 😉
Sounds like a delicious and quick meal! I have never made falafel. I will definitely look for the box mix next time I go grocery shopping. Thanks for sharing!
I remember the first time I made it – I was so shocked at how easy it was! It’s especially easy if you use a box, but it’s almost as simple from scratch. I’ve usually found the mix on the “ethnic foods” aisle, so you may want to check there first. 🙂 Enjoy!
What a super unique recipe!!! I am loving this!!! It’s times like this I wish I had a waffle iron 🙂 Thanks for linking with us at #Foodie Fridays!!
We actually never planned or registered to have a waffle iron, but it was a surprise wedding present from a dear friend. Boy did she know us better than we did! We use ours at least once a week, and I occasionally enjoy throwing things in it just to see if they will “waffle”. Thanks for the fun party!
I’ve never had falafels but I’ve always wanted to try. I will have to give this one a go! Thanks for linking up to Snickerdoodle Sunday!
They’re so great! It’s kind of like if hummus and cornbread had a baby and then you fried it up. (Or waffled it in this case.)