Homemade Falafel With Pineapple Habanero Vegetables

There is a running joke between Dane and I that we can never find a Middle Eastern food truck when he is craving it, only when he’s stuffed to capacity, and then of course we see one on every corner. If there’s one thing to know about my husband it’s that he can eat his weight in falafel, hummus and shawarma.

When Kelsey shared a link for an easy falafel recipe, I was all in. I have tried it many times with pretty lousy results. When I saw the recipe was from Minimalist Baker, I knew there was a good chance of success for me! Dana’s recipes are AMAZING. If you don’t read her blog, add it to your Bloglovin’ immediately.

Anyway, when I decided to surprise Dane with the falafel, I needed a solid backup plan. If it turned out anything like my previous attempts, I knew we would wind up hangry. I decided to mix up a bunch of my favorite veggies, some fresh pineapple and pineapple juice and a habanero pepper. I chopped up all the vegetables (peppers, carrots, broccoli & brussel sprouts), added in the pineapple juice, fresh pineapple and habanero and tossed it all together in a bowl. I added some salt, pepper and a squirt of lemon juice and let it sit in my refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Spoiler alert: The falafel turned out AMAZING! Be sure to make the garlic dill sauce to go with it! While my falafel was cooking, I threw the veggies and some chicken basil sausages in a pan with the marinade juice and some coconut oil.

All in all, the meal was amazing and we both gave it two thumbs. If you’re looking to make this meal entirely vegan, you’re in luck! Dana’s falafel already fits the bill and you can easily omit the chicken sausage to fit your dietary needs.

Enjoy!