Mediterranean Bowl with Falafels and Hummus Dressing

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.

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Mediterranean Bowl with Falafels

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! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Mediterranean Bowl, vegan Mediterranean Bowl

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 594kcal

Author Mary Ellen

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

I cut my butternut squash into bite size pieces, coat with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. You could bake them at the same time as the falafels as it’s the same temperature and about the same amount of time. When pre-cooking the falafels (and when I have extra time), I’ll put the balls/patties in the fridge for about an hour before baking them. This seems to have them stick together a bit more but it’s not necessary.

One of my readers from Tuscany suggested adding some pine nuts and fresh basil leaves to the dish. I think that sounds delicious so you could top the dish off with those as well. 

Nutrition

Calories: 594kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 23g | Vitamin A: 15400IU | Vitamin C: 113mg | Calcium: 220mg | Iron: 6.1mg

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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

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.