Baked Sweet Potato Falafel
Soft on the inside and crisp on the outside, these baked sweet potato falafel are irresistible! Filled with warm spices, fresh herbs and sweet potato puree, they’re an awesome easy dinner or appetizer. Dairy free, gluten free and vegetarian.
Today we chat these oh-s0-pop-able baked sweet potato falafel bites!
Filled with this sort of cozy warmness … very a la the flavors in this sweet potato hummus with roasted garlic … they are just too darn delicious.
AND they are super simple to make.
We pulse together most of the ingredients in a food processor and then mix with some sweet potato puree, flour and egg in a bowl. Form that mixture into balls and off they go to cook in the oven.
They bake up soft and moist (yes, I said it!), with a slightly crisp exterior. Now, more importantly:
How To Serve Sweet Potato Falafel
- My go-to? With roasted veggies (carrots, parsnips and red onion, please and thank you), a grain of some sort and tahini sauce for drizzling.
- On top of a big ol’ delicious salad or stuffed into a pita / wrap.
- As an appetizer with some yogurt or tahini sauce for dipping.
All most excellent choices. All you should totally give a try.
Tips & Tricks For These Baked Sweet Potato Falafel
- I personally love to use oat flour in these falafel for it’s sort of sweet, subtle flavor. But you could absolutely use another flour, like all-purpose or white whole wheat.
- I feel like a bit of a broken record, but a cookie scoop is your best friend when forming the falafel mixture into balls. It makes the process must faster and you’ll wind up with bites that are all the same size. Along those lines, clean hands will help when rolling the mixture into balls (this is more towards the end of the process – if you find the mixture sticking a lot just rinse your hands quickly and get back to it).
- As for the sweet potato puree, you can use either homemade or store–bought. I will admit that I tend to use store–bought for the sake of convenience (you can typically find canned sweet potato puree in the same area as canned pumpkin).
- And finally, these falafel freeze beautifully. When ready to enjoy, I like to thaw out overnight in the fridge and then pop back onto a baking sheet to rewarm briefly in the oven.
Additional Dinner Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Spinach Chickpea Falafel
- Greek Vegetarian Meatballs
- Thai Red Curry Baked Vegetable Meatballs
- Mediterranean Hummus Bowls
- Greek Salad with Roasted Vegetables
Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.
Baked Sweet Potato Falafel
Soft on the inside and crisp on the outside, these baked sweet potato falafel are irresistible! Filled with warm spices, fresh herbs and sweet potato puree, they’re an awesome easy dinner or appetizer. Dairy free, gluten free and vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup raw walnuts
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onion
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 3 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- juice of ½ a medium lemon
- ½ cup sweet potato puree
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons oat flour
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- To the bowl of a food processor, add the chickpeas, walnuts, green onion, cilantro, garlic, cumin, cinnamon and lemon juice. Pulse until the mixture is well combined and very finely chopped, scraping down the bowl as needed (it should start to pull towards the sides of the bowl).
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add in the sweet potato puree, flour, salt and pepper. Mix until combined and the flour is mostly absorbed, then taste and season with additional salt / pepper as needed.
- Add in the egg and mix again until well combined (if the mixture is too wet to form into balls, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Don’t add too much, or you’ll dry them out!).
- Form the mixture into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter (a cookie scoop works great here) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Mist the tops of the balls lightly with nonstick or olive oil spray.
- Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until firm.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 284Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 712mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 9gSugar: 12gProtein: 12g
Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.
the sweet potatoes in costa rica aren’t so great, my opinion. what do you think if i used butternut squash puree?
Hey Charlotte! I think butternut squash puree would also be great here! It should substitute in without any problem.
You know I love sweet potatoes so I’m behind this great healthy recipe! I love knowing they freeze well – that’s perfect for me! Looks like a great meal…glad you finally got to share it! Have a lovely week!
haha yes! I think you love them just as much as I do! 🙂
Love the sweet potato in this falafel! These sound so good!
Haha I can totally relate and I’m glad you got a chance to share them now 🙂 They look delicious with all those pretty roasted veggies and I love that you added sweet potato!
Can falafel bites be cute? Because these are just too cute, Ashley! I love popable foods, especially when it involves something healthy. So glad you finally got to take pictures of these cuties! Sounds like such a delicious side dish or salad topper!
haha I certainly think so! Thanks Gayle!
Haha, that has happened to me many a times. I still have a recipe I have been trying to photograph since December!
This sounds super amazing. I got introduced to falafel when my dad turned vegetarian, and I have been addicted ever since!
Ha! I feel your pain! Thanks Cathleen!
Oooh I loveeee falafel! Such a good idea to make it with sweet potato. I’m glad you finally got to share this recipe!
Homemade falafel is the BEST! I’m sure the sweet potato makes these so tender and moist— definitely want to try!
Well thank the falafel Gods for smiling down upon you, Ashley, because these look fantastic!! I’m a falafel freak, like seriously, I could eat any variety falafel every day for the rest of my life and be one happy lady. So you KNOW I’m swooning over these! I mean sweet potato?! YES! AND you baked them instead of frying!! DOUBLE YES! Love love love these! Pinning to try! Cheers, dear! <3
P.S. I miss you!! The house should be done VERY soon. After that we NEED to hang ooouuut. With a glass of wine (or 5). Bahahaha. <3
haha I love this. And yes! I miss you too – lemme know as soon as you are free again!! 🙂
I’m very happy to hear you say that these are moist because I feel like every time I’ve eaten falafel they’ve been so dry! I love the sound of these because SWEET POTATO! I’m so putting these on my list to try. I’m the glad the falafel gods finally let you get your pics!
These are definitely not dry!! haha and three cheers for sweet potato!
these sound soooo good! i love falafel! i bet the sweet potato really makes these special.
Sweet potato falafel is a brilliant idea! And with all of those roasted veggies…YUM. I’m definitely going to give them a try!
Now I’m so curious about this eerie business that delayed the recipe, lol!
haha it was just so bizarre – like um okay, now I need to go deal with this so no pictures again!!
I love that there are sweet potatoes in these falafels! What a great idea. So glad you were able to photograph them or else we’d still be missing out!
I too love to use oat flour. These baked falafels look so tempting!