Sweet Potato Falafel Pitas with Tahini Sauce

These sweet potato falafel pitas are a fun remix on the classic falafel: soft and slightly sweet. Bake them up in the oven and serve in a pita with crunchy veggies and a drizzle of tahini sauce.

If you ask me, nothing beats a crispy baked falafel. The crispy texture and the Middle Eastern flavors are hard to beat! While we love the classic flavors, sometimes it's fun to get creative...like I did with Southwestern baked falafels with corn and black beans, and with these sweet potato falafels.

Sweet potato falafels have a different texture from a traditional falafel; the water content of the sweet potatoes means that they are soft rather than crispy.

But once we get on board with softer falafels, there is so much delicious flavor to enjoy! And stuffed into pitas, served with crunchy vegetables and a creamy tahini sauce, they are sooooo good.

The sweet potatoes

Before starting to prepare the sweet potato falafels, we will need 1 full cup of cooked sweet potato puree.

You can cook your sweet potatoes in any number of ways including:

• in the Instant Pot
• in the Slow Cooker
• in the Oven
• in the Microwave

Once your sweet potatoes are cooked through, let them cool slightly before scraping them out of the skins and mashing up with a potato masher. Allow them to cool before assembling the sweet potato falafels.

Preparing the sweet potato falafels

Once your sweet potatoes are ready, you can get to work on the falafels. Start by mashing up one can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) with a fork. This will take some effort. We want them to be chunky and broken apart, and not smooth and pureed.

Next, mix in the rest of the falafel ingredients: sweet potato puree, garlic, lemon juice, cayenne, baking powder, cumin, salt, pepper, egg and flour. Once mixed, scoop with a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, or just eyeball it with a regular spoon.

Scoop falafels onto a baking sheet and flatten ever so slightly with a spatula. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

How to serve them

To serve, stuff 2-3 warm sweet potato falafels into a pita half, and add your favorite veggies. I've used tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and bell pepper. Next, drizzle with maple tahini sauce, and enjoy!

Some other serving suggestions:

• serve on a big Greek salad
• serve in a tortilla and make them into tacos
• turn it into a slider, serving on a small bun
• switch up the tahini sauce for this green goddess dressing

Recipe tips

• sweet potato falafels are very different in texture from classic falafels; they are soft in texture and not crispy, but still have the familiar flavors
• these falafels are best served fresh
• leftovers may be stored in an air tight container, and reheated in a frying pan with a spritz of spray oil
• if you can't find sweet potatoes, try swapping butternut squash puree
• leftover sweet potato puree can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months
• I would love to try prepping these in the air fryer; if you give it a try I'd love to hear how they come out for you!

More sweet potato recipes

• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Smoky Sweet Potato Hummus
• Southwestern Sweet Potato Wild Rice Salad
• Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Tots
• Sweet Potato Pancakes

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Sweet Potato Falafel Pitas with Tahini Sauce

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 12 mins

Total Time: 27 mins

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These sweet potato falafel pitas are a fun remix on the classic falafel: soft and slightly sweet. Bake them up in the oven and serve in a pita with crunchy veggies and a drizzle of tahini sauce.

4

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Falafels:

• ▢ 19 oz can of chickpeas (540 mL; drained and rinsed)
• ▢ 1 cup sweet potato puree
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ ¼ cup all purpose flour

Pita Fillings:

• ▢ 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved)
• ▢ 1 bell pepper (diced)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons red onion (diced)
• ▢ 1 ½ cups cucumber (chopped into small pieces)

Tahini sauce:

• ▢ ¼ cup tahini
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2-4 tablespoons water (to thin out)
• ▢ salt + pepper (to taste)

To serve:

• ▢ 4 large pitas

Instructions 

Sweet Potato Falafels:

• Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas for a few minutes (it will take some elbow grease). They will be chunky but broken up.
• Stir in the rest of the falafel ingredients: sweet potato puree, garlic, lemon juice, cayenne, baking powder, cumin, salt, pepper, egg and flour. Stir until completely combined.
• Form 1.5 tablespoon balls (a cookie scoop helps to tightly pack) and place on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with a spatula (around 1 inch thick).
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Break one open to make sure they are cooked inside.

While falafels are baking:

• Mix up the fillings: cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion and cucumber.
• Shake together all tahini sauce ingredients.
• Serve immediately.

Tips:

Sweet potato falafels are very different in texture than traditional falafels; expect them to be softer and not crispy.

Storage

Sweet potato falafels are best served fresh, however leftovers may be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, and crisped back up in a frying pan (an air fryer could potentially work really well, too!)

Swaps

If you can’t find sweet potatoes, try swapping butternut squash puree

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/4 of batch, Calories: 400kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 813mg, Potassium: 940mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 15110IU, Vitamin C: 84.9mg, Calcium: 152mg, Iron: 3.9mg

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mediterranean

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