Gluten free Falafel Bowls are everything you'd expect from a falafel, without the gluten filled wrap. They're a high fibre, nutrient dense bowl of goodness and this one has two sauces: a pomegranate tahini sauce and a pomegranate salad dressing. They're both so delicious I couldn't just pick one!

A bowl with rice, falafel balls, hummus and chopped vegetables with pomegranate dressing on the side.

You can’t help but see pictures of gorgeous food bowls all over social media. If you love bowls as much as I do check out my Buddha Bowl, Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowl and a Breakfast Power Bowl.

Jump to:

Ingredients
Homemade Falafel Balls
Stocking A Gluten Free Pantry
Middle Eastern Falafel Bowls

Ingredients

The beauty of food bowls is that you can change the ingredients based on what's in your fridge and what you like. You just need enough variety to make your bowls interesting. Meat is always optional.

Cooked rice or quinoa
Fresh spinach or arugula
Falafel balls - follow link to see my recipe
Raw veggies: tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and radishes.
Baked, grilled or roasted: peppers, zucchini or eggplant
Extra: Kalamata olives, roasted chickpeas, parsley
OPTIONAL: pork kebabs with za'atar spice or souvlaki with dried oregano

Pomegranate Tahini Sauce

tahini paste
lemon juice
pomegranate molasses
garlic

Pomegranate Salad Dressing

ground sumac - in the spice aisle or definitely at a Mediterranean food shop
olive oil
lemon juice
garlic
pomegranate molasses
honey

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Homemade Falafel Balls

Falafel balls are not as hard as you think, seriously! You do not have to cook the chickpeas, you simply soak them. Here's the 3-step process.

Buy dried chickpeas (usually a 1 pound bag). Dump them into a large bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight.
The next day drain the chickpeas and combine in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Puree then scoop into balls. Bake or pan fry and you’re done.

This recipe for Falafel Bowls includes all the fixins' for the bowl plus two sauces. Click here for the recipe to make falafel balls. I make a big batch and keep them in the freezer to make these bowls.

Family Style Falafel Bowls

For everyday meals prepare the basic bowl with a few ingredients like rice, spinach and falafel balls. This step is perfect when you want to divide a particular ingredient among all the bowls (the last 12 falafel balls out of the freezer). Serve the remaining ingredients and sauces on platters at the table family style.

DIY Falafel Bowls for a Party

Create a gorgeous buffet and let guests build their own bowls DIY style. This is fun but it's also ideal for groups with different dietary needs and preferences. For a big crowd serve the sauces at the table so no one has to get up for more of that deliciousness.

Where's The Meat

This is a fabulous vegetarian bowl but to meet everyone's dietary requirements and preferences you can add meat. Cook pork kebabs with za'atar spice blend and time it so the meat comes off the barbecue when everyone is seated.

Stocking A Gluten Free Pantry

There may be a few ingredients you don't have but I can help you use them up if you add them to your pantry. These are the less common ingredients I used:

Tahini is a staple for anyone who makes hummus. It should be a single ingredient, sesame seeds.
Buy pomegranate molasses on Amazon (find more ways to use it in this post, Pomegranate Molasses.)
When you buy za’atar spice blend check for gluten free; for anyone allergic to sesame I found a sesame-free za'atar. I had all the spices in the cupboard so I just made it myself with this recipe from Feasting at Home.
Gluten free sumac was easy to find online and also in a grocery store with a large section of ethnic foods. I already had some in my pantry from this Harvest Jewelled Salad I made last year.