Enjoy a taste of the Mediterranean with this healthy Mediterranean Bowl filled with falafels, olives, red peppers, quinoa and topped with an easy hummus dressing!
I love bowls for lunch and dinner. They’re so easy to put together plus they’re healthy (so long as you put healthy stuff in them). Since so many people liked my Green Power Bowl, I thought I’d do a take on another bowl I make – a Mediterranean Bowl.
A Mediterranean diet has come up in many of my nutrition classes because it has been proven to be one of the healthiest of all diets (diets as in way of eating, not “going on a diet”). Following the Mediterranean way, people eat lots of veggies, whole grains, beans/legumes and healthy fats like olive oil. While fish is normally a component of this diet as well as a little meat, it’s easy to eat a modified Med diet as a vegan by focusing on lots of healthy proteins like the beans/legumes and nuts.

Mediterranean Bowl
My Mediterranean Bowl has plenty of tasty ingredients you’d get from Mediterranean countries. I added baked falafels, quinoa, kale, olives and red peppers along with roasted butternut squash. Okay so I’m not totally sure that butternut squash is really Mediterranean but it’s tasty so I added it anyway.
The falafels are made with chickpeas, fresh parsley, and spices. I’ve been playing around with a few recipes for them. I used aquafaba (chickpea liquid from the can) instead of my normal flax egg in this version to make things simpler. It worked out well I think – I hope you do too!
To make the Mediterranean Bowl as easy as possible I also made a hummus dressing that using only 3 ingredients. The dressing comes together very quickly and adds even more protein to the bowl.

Mediterranean Bowl with Falafels
Ingredients
FOR THE FALAFELS
- 1 can of chickpeas , drained and rinsed but be sure to keep the liquid from the can
- 1/4 C fresh parsley
- 1/4 C chopped onion
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of pepper
- 1.5 TB aquafaba (chickpea water)
FOR THE BOWL
- 1/2 C roasted butternut squash*
- 1 C cooked quinoa
- 1 C kale , cooked
- 1/2 red pepper , sliced or 1/2 C roasted red peppers
- handful of olives
FOR THE HUMMUS DRESSING
- 1/2 C hummus of choice
- 2 TB veggie broth or water
- 1 TB lemon juice
Instructions
- Make falafels by preheating oven to 400 degrees.
- Pulse all falafel ingredients in food processor.*
- Form 8 patties from mixture and bake 20-25 minutes flipping halfway.
- Make the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients and whisking/stirring until smooth.
- Arrange food into 2 bowls and top with hummus dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
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Like my Mediterranean Bowl recipe? It would be so wonderful if you could give it some love by sharing!
Mary Ellen Valverde MS, CNS, LDN is a Licensed Nutritionist and Certified Nutrition Specialist who helps vegans find ways to make mealtimes easier (and healthier).
When she’s not creating new recipes for her blog, you can find Mary Ellen doting on her two shih tzus or exploring the world with her husband.
Ida says
Hi, I’m an Italian reader of your recipes and I especially love this one since I’m a fan of falafels. I would like to suggest you this: some toasted pine nuts and a couple of basil leaves would give the bowl much more flavor and… “Mediterraneanity”.
Yes we do have butternut squash in Tuscany where I live and we have many recipes based on it.
Thank you for your delicious suggestions, good food is another great Nature’s great gift (sorry for my very poor English 🙁
Ida
Mary Ellen says
So glad you found my blog Ida! The pine nuts and basil leaves would be a wonderful addition!
Your English is very good. Food definitely is a gift from nature. 🙂