Being from Buffalo, I’m always looking for an excuse to put Buffalo sauce on anything, as well as pair it with celery, carrots, and bleu cheese. These Buffalo Falafel Pitas with Pickled Carrots & Celery, Bleu Cheese, & Feta are truly *chefs kiss*. And I bet you didn’t know that falafel is SO easy to make at home and can be baked instead of fried!
I’m really excited to announce that this recipe is in collaboration with Follow Your Heart! They’re one of my favorite brands, and I’ve gotten so many requests to make more recipes using their products from y’all, since they’re so accessible across the US. The products I used in this recipe are their bleu cheese dressing & feta crumbles! They’re so dang good and really send this recipe over the top!
Ingredients
Falafel:
- 2 15oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ a large red onion
- 8 garlic cloves
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- ½ tbsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½-1 cup all-purpose flour
Pickled Carrots & Celery
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 2 cups thinly sliced celery
Misc.
- Pitas
- Follow Your Heart Feta Crumbles
- Follow Your Heart Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
- Fresh Cilantro
Method
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add your water, vinegar, salt, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and bay leaves and stir until warm/the salt & sugar are dissolved. Pour this over your carrots and celery in a mason jar, add a lid, and let cool on the counter for 2-3 hours. Transfer to the fridge overnight ideally.
- For the falafel, first preheat your oven to 375F. Add all your ingredients besides the baking powder and flour to a food processor and process until everything is uniform. You can leave this as chunky as you’d like, but a smoother consistency will work best.
- Once processed, add your baking powder and flour (starting with less) and process until smooth. Add flour until the dough isn’t incredibly sticky/wet and holds together in a ball.
- Form patties that are about ½” thick and 2” wide. Oil a baking sheet generously with olive oil and place your patties on it. Brush the tops with more olive oil, then bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping half way, until golden brown.
- To assemble your pitas, toast your pita and place that down first. Next add falafel, buffalo sauce, pickled carrots & celery, Follow Your Heart Bleu Cheese & Feta Crumbles, and fresh cilantro. Dig in & Enjoy!
