Vegan Cheese Falafel Recipe

Close up of 4 vegan cheese falafels on a grey slate board with lemon slices and a dollopof aioli inthe corner. One falafel has been halved revealing a melted vegan cheese centre

It’s when the weather begins to turn and the nights draw in that I start craving comfort food. Slow cooker stews, homemade soups, and basically potatoes… lots and lots of lovely stodgy potatoes. But too many potatoes is never a good thing and so I set to work trying to create a recipe that captures the comfort factor of our much loved spud. Which is how this delicious vegan cheese falafel recipe came about.

Now let’s not beat around the bush here, I’m not vegan. Never have been, and in all honestly, probably never likely to be. However, I do love a meat free meal every once in a while and these are absolutely spot on. Falafel are about as close as you can get to the texture of a potato cake without the use of potato. And the addition of, quite frankly the best vegan cheese slices I’ve come across so far, makes for a droolworthy dinner.

You can pick and choose what spices you put in your falafel when you make them so long as you keep the quantities the same. I’ve gone for a spicy middle eastern vibe with the addition of Ras El Hanout, because I love its complex range of spices. A really cheap, quick and easy to make meal that is as equally good served as part of a main course, or alongside some vegan cashew mayo or aioli as a starter.

To truly take advantage of the delicious gooey melted cheese centre you should eat these while they’re hot.

It’s enough to convert anyone to veganism!

What’s In It?

How Do I Make It?

Drain and rinse the tinned chickpeas and put into a food processor along with the whole cloves of garlic and the roughly chopped red onion. Blitz until the chickpeas are blended  – you will still see chunks of red onion, but this is good as it helps add texture.

Add all of the seasoning (Ras El Hanout, Sriracha Sauce, dried Chilli Flakes, salt and pepper) to the food processor and blitz again until well combined.

Blend in 1 tbsp of flour at a time, making sure to scrape any mixture down from the sides in between blitzes. The mixture should resemble a sticky dough.

Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead into a ball.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces and flatten into circles.

Cut each vegan cheese slice into quarters and press into the centre of each of the 8 flattened pieces of dough.

Fold the dough around the cheese until it is completely covered and form into patties by cupping your hands around each one and turning in a circular motion.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the falafel in two batches, turning every now and again to ensure they are evenly cooked through.

The falafel should be golden brown in colour and have a crisp coating.

Remove from the pan and place on a piece of kitchen towel on a plate to help soak up any excess oil.

Serve with a big dollop of aioli and some lemon wedges.

TOP TIP – Always make sure you heat the oil up first so that the falafel start sizzling from the moment you place them in the frying pan. This helps to seal them off quickly and creates a gorgeous crust rather than absorbing the oil and becoming too greasy.

*Follow Your Heart Products gifted for review (see full review here) but recipe developed by me purely for my own benefit 🙂


Do you have a Vegan Recipe you’d like us to feature on our page?

Get in touch!

You can comment and follow us on:

Or leave us a friendly comment below.

More from Becky Stafferton
A/W Beauty Trends You Need In Your Life!
Falling leaves and frosty mornings means the A/W season is well and...
Read More
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *