Crispy pan-fried bulgur falafel with a creamy tahini yogurt sauce on fresh pita flatbreads. Meatless Monday just stepped it up a notch.

I don’t know if this will sound cheesy, probably will, but do you ever get the feeling of being rich? Not in the sense of having mounds of money, but more along the lines of suddenly just feeling really really fulfilled? That’s sort of the cloud I’ve been walking on for the past few days.
Most of it stems from the Berry Bulgur Breakfast Bake video the tulip-man and I put together Sunday. I jimmied together a contraption involving his fancy new Samsung, my secondhand tripod, and a small LED light to create our grand studio.
It was so much fun to shoot and maybe we both spent way too much time hovering over the computer making everything juuuust right to give our little movie baby a shot at internet success, but you can expect to see more cooking videos soon!
I also explored! Like…explored further than my every-other-day trip to the local grocery. On Monday I ventured into the center of Rotterdam with a new friend and adventured about Blaak, home to the iconic cube houses and the Maarkthal, an enormous indoor market packed with every kind of food you could ever need (heaven).
And somewhere in all of this rich, happy, food-filled exploration, I figured out how to work bulgur into a boldly flavorful falafel. I say “figured out” because at one point they were all collapsing and disintegrating into the oil and I was DONE with them, but the boyfriend-tulip-man pushed me on and voila!
I got them to work! And they don’t just work. They kill it. These are mildly spicy, majorly crispy, soft on the inside, perfectly paired with a creamy tahini yogurt sauce, and all wrapped up in simple homemade garlic flatbreads.
Ingredients
Bulgur Falafel
- ½ cup medium grind bulgur 100 g
- ½ cup boiling water 118 mL
- 1 ½ 15-oz can chickpeas 315 g, drained
- ½ cup chopped onion 1 small
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder or ¼ tsp cumin, pinch of cayenne, pinch of paprika, can add up to 2 tsp if you know you like spicy flavors
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 egg
- ½-1 cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup oil for panfrying 118 mL, a high heat oil like palm, canola, or macadamia
Sauce
- 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt 260 g
- 2 Tbsp tahini 20 g, or hummus
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ tsp honey
- Pinch paprika and ground ginger
You’ll Also Need
- 4 pita flatbreads
- Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and/or parsley
Instructions
- Mix all “sauce” ingredients. Cover and let the flavors mingle in fridge.
- In small bowl, combine bulgur and boiling water. Set aside 30 minutes or so, until water is absorbed. Drain off any excess water.
- While bulgur is doing its thing, combine chickpeas, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and chili powder in a food processor until it holds together in a dough. Don’t over do it though, we don’t want hummus! (If you don’t have a food processor, mash chickpeas with a fork, finely chop onions, and mix well). If dough seems overly wet and sticks to your hands, add flour 1 Tbsp at a time (I didn’t need to add any though).
- In a large bowl, combine bulgur, baking powder, parsley, egg, and chickpea mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours (skip this if you’re low on time, but your dough may be more fragile)
- Scoop tablespoon-sized rounds from the dough and gently pat to form balls or nuggets. Should make about 16 falafels.
- Pour breadcrumbs onto a plate. Roll each falafel in breadcrumbs to lightly coat.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium/high heat in a large skillet. Cook falafels, working in batches, for about 5 minutes each, flipping frequently, until light brown and crispy. Add more oil as needed and reduce heat if bits of falafel start popping out of the pan. Place cooked falafels on a dry paper towel until ready to serve.
- Spread sauce on a flatbread. Add lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and 4 or so falafels to each flatbread. As they say in Holland, “eet smakelijk!”
Jill says
I really love your step by step photos for this post. Very helpful and the falafel sounds delicious! I’ve never seen it with bulgur in it… will have to try 🙂 I watched your video too. You did a great job (and I am partial to the music). I just shot my very first video with my son about pizza bagels. http://www.foodtasticmom.com/2016/02/13/pizza-bagels/
Sarah says
Haha I LOVE that music! Though I suppose I’ll have to branch out for the next video, as iMovie has all of 2 good singles for cooking videos. I love your video too! Thanks for stopping by, Jill 🙂
Jenn Slavich says
Oh my goodness, get in my belly. I really cannot wait to try this recipe out. This really is up my alley. I am a sucker for wraps. Thank you for sharing!
Sarah says
You’re very welcome! Hope you enjoy it, Jenn!
Vicky @ Avocado Pesto says
Loooove all your beautiful step by step photos here! And your video looks great! I am just starting to venture into recipe making videos and seriously find the whole process so intimidating! Have already filmed too, but just letting them sit on my computer without editing them aaaah need to get on that! These look incredible though!
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Vicky! Yea I put off trying out video for so long because I thought it sounded so intimidating, but really it was just so fun! And after an entire day of filming my boyfriend/hand model wanted me to put the video together RIGHT AWAY so he could see, so there was no time for procrastination (probably a good thing I suppoooose). I look froward to checking yours out when you get it published!
Joy @ Joy Love Food says
I love that you’ve incorporated bulgur into falafel, this sounds amazing especially with the yogurt tahini sauce, yum! And congrats on your video, that’s awesome 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Joy!
Shreyashi says
Loved your video of the berry bake. So deftly done and the lighting is perfect. It’s so nice to have someone to work with while making videos. I struggle with my set up all the time because I do it all by myself.
That aside, what a genius idea to add bulgur to falafels. They sure do look very inviting. I am pinning this recipe to make the next time I work with either bulgur or feel like doing a falafel 🙂
Cheers!
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Shreyashi! Yea it would definitely be difficult without a sidekick, but I think I will try it out in the coming weeks to see the difference. Happy cooking! 🙂
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
This recipe looks soo good!! I love your photos especially the animated one. Can’t wait to try this recipe! I hope it turns out as good as yours 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks Sam! If you have any problems with it let me know!
Rivkah Rachel says
Hi!! where’s the recipe for the flatbreads?
Sarah says
Hi Rivkah! This is the recipe I use and love: https://minimalistbaker.com/garlic-herb-flatbread/
Jaimie says
Can I leave the mixture in the refrigerator overnight rather than 1-2 hours?
Sarah says
I actually haven’t personally tried this, but I don’t see why it would be a problem 😀
Roddy says
This recipe looks like real quality. Do you think they would cook well in the Air Fryer?
Sarah says
I haven’t tried this actually, but I think it would work! I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out 😀
Judi says
So easy tp make and with all the nutrition you need! We also put Sumac and Chilli Sauce into our wraps
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, Judi! Enjoy! 😀
Barrie Barrett says
Interested in the homemade garlic flatbread recipe but when I search only this recipe comes up and it does not have the recipe. Many blessings
Sarah Bond says
This is the recipe I used!