If you live in the northern hemisphere, you should be able to get almost all of the ingredients for this bowl locally right now. Apples, potatoes, beets, and pumpkin are all cheap and easy to find at this time of year, and they taste the best now too.
Nourish/buddha/abundance bowls are one of my favourite things to make, especially in the cooler months, and they’re packed with healthy, great tasting nutrition. I like to use a mix of cooked and raw ingredients but generally stick to more cooked when it’s chilly out, and more patties instead of dressed lentils or chickpeas.
I’ve added fresh turmeric in this recipe (you can use dried, though), ginger, apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice, and oats. Falafel is usually fried but I love these little patties to get a crispy outer crust without using so much oil. Think of it as an autumn inspired chickpea patty, with plenty of warming spices and lots of flu-fighting ingredients.
This recipe uses soaked chickpeas instead of canned and I really recommend that you stick to that instead of using a big old can of beans. I promise that, if you soak them for the full 24 hours, that you won’t have the side effects that you’re thinking of and the texture is a million times better. These tend to get a little soggy with canned chickpeas, and dried are more budget friendly anyway.
Feel free to change out some of the ingredients included in the bowl of you prefer something different, like sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes or another root vegetable if you hate beets. I just chose some of my favourites. The potatoes and beets need to go into the oven a few minutes before the falafel if you’re making it all at once, so keep that in mind.
The pumpkin falafel is great not in a bowl, too, so you could have it in a more traditional pita, wrap, or as part of a salad. I paired them with a tahini and apple cider vinegar dip and it was surprisingly good – I used to be big on garlic yogurt for falafel but since yogurt is no longer part of my diet, this was a great substitute. Don’t omit the apple, it’s perfect with the spicy pumpkin falafel.
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Baked Pumpkin Falafel + Fall Nourish Bowl
Description
Ingredients
Pumpkin Falafel
- 1 ½ cups roasted pumpkin or butternut squash
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 cm (1.2 inches) piece ginger
- 2 cm (0.8 inches) piece turmeric**
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tahini paste
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- 1 ½ cup chickpeas soaked for 24 hours beforehand
Fall Nourish Bowl
- 2 medium beets
- 2 medium yellow-flesh potatoes
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 apple sliced
- 4 pumpkin falafel
- 2 scoops tahini dip
- Pomegranate arils optional
Tahini Mustard Dip
- ¼ cup tahini paste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon honey/maple syrup see warning
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Pumpkin Falafel
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the pumpkin into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it's pureed.1 ½ cups roasted pumpkin
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and spices, and pulse until finely chopped and incorporated.1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic, 3 cm (1.2 inches) piece ginger, 2 cm (0.8 inches) piece turmeric**, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes, Salt and pepper to taste
- Add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, tahini, oats, and chickpeas, and pulse again until the chickpeas are broken down into mostly small pieces (the occasional whole chickpea is fine) and you have a mixture that holds together when pressed.2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon tahini paste, ⅓ cup rolled oats, 1 ½ cup chickpeas
- Form ping-pong sized balls of falafel and place about 3 cm (1.2 inches) apart on the baking sheet. You may need to wet your hands every once in a while to keep the mixture from sticking to your fingers. Bake at 200°C for 25-30 minutes, or until golden.
- Serve hot, or leave to cool completely on a cooling rack and then keep them in the fridge for up to three days. They’re best fresh and pretty good cold, but tend to dry out a little when they’re reheated, so I suggest eating leftovers cold in a wrap or pita.
Fall Nourish Bowl
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet with paper.
- Wash and slice the beets and potatoes in 1 cm (0.4 inches) slices. Drizzle some heat-safe oil and sprinkle some salt over them and turn a couple of times to coat. Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden.2 medium beets, 2 medium yellow-flesh potatoes
- To assemble the bowls, place half of the ingredients in each bowl, top with the dip, and drop a few pomegranate arils onto each one if you're using them.1 avocado, 1 apple, 4 pumpkin falafel, 2 scoops tahini dip, Pomegranate arils
Tahini Mustard Dip
- In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the honey until combined. Then add the honey and stir until it’s just incorporated.¼ cup tahini paste, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon honey/maple syrup, Salt and pepper to taste
- If you mix for too long with the honey, the dip will no longer be smooth as liquid sweetener will cause seed and nut pastes to solidify (you can see in the pictures that I stirred just a little too long). It won’t taste different, it just won’t look as appealing.
Notes
• I usually put the chickpeas in water when I’m making dinner the day before so I don’t forget.
* If you can’t get fresh turmeric, you can omit it or substitute 1/2 teaspoon powdered turmeric.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
I just finished making the tahini mustard dip to have ready in the morning when I make the falafel. I think I could eat this dip by itself it is so delicious! It’s going to be a new recipe I am going to be obsessed with. Thank you.
Hi,
It looks delicious. I wanted to know if you can use canned pumpkin instead of the fresh butternut squash. If yes, how much of a 15 oz can should be used?
Thanks
Hi Rachel, I would measure out a cup of the canned puree and that should be fine. Hope that helps!
Hi, how many servings does this recipe make? 🙂
2-4, depending on how hungry you are!
Hey! Thank you so much for this! Just wandering: we use dried and raw(!) chicpeas, so they cook in the oven? We don’t have to cook them first?
Hi Milou! Yes, falafel is traditionally made with dried (soaked) chickpeas, rather than cooked. It makes for a lighter texture – though of course since these are baked rather than fried it’s a bit different – but they will cook in the oven : ) just make sure you soak for long enough beforehand.
Thanks!!
Hi, Just wondering if you soak 1 1/2 cups of dried chickpeas or soak 3/4 cup to get 1 1/2 cup because I know they expand….
Thanks! These look delicious!
Do you have to soak the chickpeas even if they are canned or is it only for dried chickpeas?
Hi April, these falafel are made with dried chickpeas. You can use canned, but you’ll probably have to add a little flour to keep them from being too wet.
I’m so happy to hear that, Nicki! Yes, butternut squash is winter squash, of which pumpkin is a type. You could use a different variety like sugar pie or Hokkaido if you’d like 🙂 whatever kind of pumpkin you have should work!
Dear Alexandra,
I love your blog. It has become my cooking bible.
I plan to make this tomorrow. Is there pumpkin in your pumpkin falafel?
Nicky
This looks so good! I like the combination of cooked and raw ingredients. Falafel is a favorite of mine but I always make them either to dense or to soft that they fall apart. I think baking them instead of frying them may help as well!
Oh MAN this looks amazing. I hope to recreate it myself soon — I've just pinned the recipe. Gorgeous flavours (and photos!) as always, Alexandra!
Such beautiful photos! I love the look of these little fritters. I can't wait to give this a try!
This bowl is absolutely beautiful and your pictures are amazing. I love the idea of adding winter squash to falafel (which I also love). I can't wait to try your version!