5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (2024)

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Here are the best falafel sauce recipes for your falafel sandwich! Try cucumber sauce, tahini sauce, cilantro sauce and more.

5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (1)

Making falafel and not sure what sauce to use? This Mediterranean fried chickpea fritter is stuff dreams are made of. You can serve it on its own with sauce, or stuffed into a flatbread as a falafel sandwich. Or serve it as a falafel salad, on crunchy lettuce drizzled with sauce. Falafel is served with a few different traditional sauces. Here’s a breakdown:

  • Yogurt based sauce: often containing cucumber, dill or both
  • Tahini sauce, typically with lemon, sometimes with herbs
  • Cilantro sauce, herby and green, sometimes with yogurt or olive oil (like zhoug, used in Israel)

With this in mind, here are a few of the best recipes to use as a falafel sauce: whether you’re making a sandwich, burger, salad, or serving them as an appetizer.

And now…the best falafel sauce recipes!

5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (2)

Quick Cucumber Sauce

This cool and refreshing falafel sauce you’ll want to slather on just about everything:cucumber sauce! Stir together shredded cucumber with Greek yogurt, lemon, garlic, and dill, and it’s nothing short of a revelation. It's perfect for authentic falafel sandwiches, but it works on any sandwich, burger, or evengrilled veggieplatter. Use it as a healthy dip, spread, or slather: you name it! The best part: it’s actually quick and takes just minutes to put together.

Another authentic falafel sauce is tahini sauce! It's made with the Mediterranean sesame seed paste and lemon, which gives it a bright zingy flavor. This sauce is perfect for drizzling on salad bowls and roasted veggies, but it's best on a tasty falafel sandwich or salad. Another plus: it's plant based and vegan!

5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (4)

Creamy Cilantro Sauce

This bright green cilantro sauce is perfect for falafel! It’s 100% plant-based and vegan, so it works for all sorts of eaters! The creamy body comes from soaked cashews blended with a bit of water. It becomes so intensely creamy that it makes the perfect sauce for dolloping. It’s even pretty mild on the cilantro flavor: so it’s not even offensive to avowed cilantro haters! Make the recipe below with lemon instead of lime when you use it for falafel.

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Dill Sauce

Another tasty falafel sauce? Enter thisEasy Dill Sauce! This one is all purpose and can be used for everything fromsalmontogrilled veggiestofalafel sandwiches. The best part: it takes only 5 minutes and a handful of ingredients. The Mediterranean flavors of Greek yogurt, fresh dill and lemon combine into a beautiful sauce that’s simple and totally versatile.

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Lemon Dill Sauce

One last falafel sauce: lemon dill sauce! The difference between this and the dill sauce is it's got some mayo along with yogurt as the base. It makes for a rich and creamy sauce that takes just 5 minutes to stir it together in a bowl! The amount of flavor you’ll get from the humble ingredients will blow you away.

Ways to serve falafel

Falafel can be served in so many ways! This tasty Mediterranean plant-based dish has lots of different spins. Here are a few of our favorite falafel recipes:

  • Classic Falafel Serve with the falafel sauce as a dipping sauce!
  • Baked Falafel Make shortcut baked falafel with canned chickpeas.
  • Ultimate Falafel Sandwich Top with sauce and serve in a flatbread.
  • Falafel Salad Add falafel to greens and top with tahini sauce.
  • Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls This spin on falafel uses sunflower seeds and spices to make a raw salad bowl. Top with tahini sauce!
  • Falafel Burger Serve it as a burger on a bun, slathered with the sauce of your choosing.

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5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (7)

Best Falafel Sauce!

★5 Stars☆★4 Stars☆★3 Stars☆★2 Stars☆★1 Star☆No reviews
  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 ¾ cups 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Here are the best falafel sauce recipes! Perfect on falafel sandwiches, falafel burgers, or falafel salad. For vegan, go to Tahini Sauce.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 1 cup grated cucumber (1 medium or 2/3 large)
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup full fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons dried dill*
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Water

Instructions

  1. CPeel the cucumber and coarsely grate it. Place it in a clean tea towel or dish towel and squeeze tightly over a sink to remove excess liquid.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients, then stir in about 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, until the sauce is smooth and creamy (the water amount will vary based on the yogurt brand).
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Stirred
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Falafel sauce

More great sauce recipes

Want more sauces? Here are some more recipes to try:

  • Cilantro Lime Crema Perfect for dolloping on tacos and roasted veggies.
  • Special Burger Sauce Great for burgers and fries! It’s full of flavor: creamy, tangy, and reminiscent of a Big Mac.
  • Creamy Cilantro Dressing It takes just 5 minutes and you’ll want to use it on everything: salads, tacos, fries, and more.
  • Vegan Alfredo Sauce Easy to make, starring nutrient-rich cauliflower and protein-packed cashews.

Published on / Last updated on

Categorized In:

  • Recipe Collections

Tagged with:

  • Falafel
  • Roundup

About the authors

5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (8)

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes for memorable kitchen moments! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

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5 Falafel Sauce Recipes! (2024)

FAQs

What goes well with falafel? ›

Classic, plain hummus is my go-to dip here, but roasted red pepper hummus or avocado hummus are also great options. Add a salad. Tabouli, fattoush salad, and shriazi salad go well with falafel, but nearly any fresh green salad with a light olive oil dressing will work. Don't forget the olives and pickles!

What is tahini sauce made of? ›

What is tahini sauce? Tahini sauce is a Middle Eastern condiment that is served with many dishes from the region. It's made with only 3 main ingredients: tahini paste, which is crushed sesame seeds, lemon juice, and garlic. Tahini is made by grinding toasted, hulled sesame seeds to create a creamy, smooth spread.

What are the 2 types of falafel? ›

There are three types of falafel--Traditional falafel, baked falafel and lemon falafel. “Where the traditional falafel is the basic fried falafel comprising a mix of chickpeas, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, baked falafels are made using fresh herbs in the chickpea mixture,” says Chef Sati from Ophelia.

Is falafel good for you or bad for you? ›

Chickpeas in falafel contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins and folate. They are full of antioxidants and are useful in fighting diseases. Of course, we emphasize again that you try to prepare it at home and do not fry it. If it is fried, its fat and calories increase and the food is no longer so healthy.

What is the main ingredient of Middle Eastern falafel? ›

Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern “fast food” made of a mixture of chickpeas (or fava beans), fresh herbs, and spices that are formed into a small patties or balls. It's thought that falafel originated in Egypt as Coptic Christians looked for a hearty replacement for meat during long seasons of fasting or lent.

What race eats falafel? ›

Falafel features prominently in Israeli cuisine and has been called a national dish. Some Palestinians and other Arabs have objected to current identification of falafel with Israeli cuisine as cultural appropriation.

What is yum yum sauce made of? ›

Yum Yum Sauce is made of mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, sugar, paprika and water to thin the sauce out. That's it! It's really just a matter of the right ratios of ingredients to get the flavor you want!

What do Israelis eat with falafel? ›

The most popular street food in Israel. Small chickpea balls served in a pita bread with some hummus and a vegetable salad and covered with Tahini dressing. What makes the falafel unique is that it is considered somewhat healthier than other types of street food because it's made from vegetables.

What does falafel mean in slang? ›

The word 'falafel' is a way to turn down sex with a partner . "Hey you wanna have sex?" "Falafel"

What is a good binder for falafel? ›

A binding ingredient can help keep it together, especially if you are using canned beans instead of dried. And the perfect binding ingredient for falafel is flour. Nothing fancy, just plain all-purpose flour. Add a few tablespoons at a time to your mixture, until you can press it easily into balls or patties.

What can I use instead of tahini? ›

Our Best Tahini Substitutes
  • Cashew Butter. Of all the nut butters, cashew butter is your best bet for replacing tahini, (FWIW: we do love almond butter, too). ...
  • Sunflower Butter. If you have sunflower seed butter in your pantry, grab it! ...
  • Sesame Oil. ...
  • Greek Yogurt. ...
  • Homemade Tahini.
Aug 30, 2022

What is Tzatziki sauce made of? ›

What is tzatziki? Tzatziki is a salted yogurt and cucumber dip that's made of strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and herbs. Authentic Greek tzatziki is most often made with sheep or goat yogurt, but my tzatziki recipe calls for regular full-fat Greek yogurt.

What is Goma sauce made of? ›

Goma (胡麻, ごま) refers to sesame seeds, while Dare or Tare (たれ) translates to sauce in Japanese. Pronounced as [Goh-mah Dah-Leh], this delectable sauce is made from Japanese sesame paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and dashi (Japanese soup stock).

What is falafel made of? ›

Falafel are deep-fried balls or patties made from chickpeas or fava beans, sometimes both, plus fresh herbs and spices. Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern street food sold from vendors or fast-casual spots in countries such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel, where it's the national dish.

What is Middle Eastern falafel made of? ›

Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas, or a combination of both. Falafel is usually made with fava beans in Egyptian cuisine, where it most likely originated, with chickpeas in Palestinian cuisine, or just chickpeas or a combination of both in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and the wider Middle East.

Why does falafel taste so good? ›

Specifically, parsley, cilantro, and occasionally mint infuse the chickpea mix with aromatics. Then, an abundance of spices, including cumin, coriander, and garlic, adds even more depth of flavor. The artistry of crafting traditional falafel is a meticulous process.

What can you use instead of tahini? ›

Our Best Tahini Substitutes
  • Cashew Butter. Of all the nut butters, cashew butter is your best bet for replacing tahini, (FWIW: we do love almond butter, too). ...
  • Sunflower Butter. If you have sunflower seed butter in your pantry, grab it! ...
  • Sesame Oil. ...
  • Greek Yogurt. ...
  • Homemade Tahini.
Aug 30, 2022

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