I mentioned recently that I made these for dinner because I have an excess of canned chickpeas (which is what happens when you buy chickpeas at Sam’s Club!), and several of you wanted the recipe.
The basic falafel recipe comes from my Dinner Illustrated cookbook, and the tzatziki recipe comes from an online recipe I found for gyros quite a few years ago.
A good prep-ahead option
I sometimes prep these before some work shifts so that I can come home and get dinner ready in no time flat (and with almost zero thinking involved).
The falafel can be mixed up and left in the fridge so that you can easily just take it out, shape the patties, and fry them when it’s time for dinner.
(Or you could shape the patties and refrigerate them until you want to fry them.)
Also, it’s actually ideal to mix up tzatziki sauce ahead of time so the flavors can meld as it sits in the fridge.
The tzatziki sauce makes a nice salad dressing or dipping sauce, so I sometimes double it. And I just really like a lot of tzatziki sauce in my pitas.
“More sauce!” is one of my life mottos. 🙂
The Method
A quick rundown of the recipe, in photos:
First, grate a cucumber. If it’s the sort with big seeds, you can remove them first. Otherwise, just grate it, peel and all.
Then place the shreds in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the extra liquid.
Combine all the rest of the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Then stir in the cucumbers, and refrigerate.
To make the falafel patties, tear up half of a pita bread and process it in the food processor until it’s pretty finely ground.
Then add the rest of the falafel ingredients.
Pulse until it’s all finely chopped and holds together.
Shape the mixture into sixteen little patties.
Heat a shallow layer of oil in a pan until it’s almost smoking, then add the patties and cook them for about 3 minutes on each side.
Drain on a paper towel.
Broil or toast halved pitas until warmed, then fill with patties, lettuce, tomatoes, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese, if desired. And you’re done!
Scroll down for a printable recipe!
Falafel Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 cucumber, seeded
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Falafel
- 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- pita bread (1/2 of a pita for the falafel, others for serving)
To serve
- grape tomatoes
- feta cheese
Instructions
- Make tzatziki sauce ahead of time to let flavors meld. Peel and grate cucumber coarsely; squeeze cucumber shreds in a tea towel to remove excess liquid.
- Mix cucumber with the rest of the ingredients; refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Tear half of one pita into small pieces. Process in a food processor for about 15 seconds. Add drained chickpeas, egg, parsley, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped.
- Form falafel mixture into patties, using 1 tablespoon at a time (16 patties). Set aside on a plate.
- Heat a shallow layer of oil in a skillet until it is nearly smoking. Add the patties and fry for 3 minutes per side; they should be a deep golden brown. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
- To serve, heat halved pitas under a broiler until warm, then split and fill with falafel, halved grape tomatoes, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese.
Irena
Thursday 16th of October 2025
Thanks for the recipes. I truly admire how much you make fresh at home.
But for me? Way, way way too much work, and time, to make these. I can get prepared Tzatziki AND frozen falafel (or an already made mix that you just add water or an egg, I can't remember) that save both time and money.
Time is money and I don't normally keep some of the ingredients for either the tzatzki or the falafel, so I actually save money to buy ready made.
I buy both on sale (and I buy infrequently because I can freeze the falafel but not the fresh tzatziki.) I am happy to use plain greek yogurt with a few herbs/spices thrown in (I actually pick the cucumbers out of tzatziki as I hate them.)
I also don't have the physical energy to prep from start for much these days and when I do it's simple ingredients to add to my proteins (Chicken thighs, ground chicken, grilled chicken strips) that cook up quickly. Salad prep sometimes takes longer than some cookups for those proteins.
And of late, I've been buying Trader Joe's chicken nuggets (for the air fryer) and it's grilled chicken strips more frequently. Cooking for one needs to be streamlined for multiple reasons including preventing food waste. (There is only so much the freezer of a regular apartment sized fridge can hold! I do keep leftovers and often end up not using them as frequently as I might expect.)
Kristina M.
Thursday 16th of October 2025
Thank you for the recipe, I love falafels!
For a pita bread substitute, try using lavash bread that Trader Joe's sells. It's thin and rolls into a wrap instead of a pita pocket. Tastes best warmed up. We use it to make grilled cheese, grilled cheese/veggie/egg/meat sandwiches too, it's very versatile.
And if short on time, I also have found the TJ garlic tzatziki pretty good.
Kim from Philadelphia
Thursday 16th of October 2025
I’ve also baked them in the oven. A Lower fat approach for those who might need that method
Jessica
Wednesday 15th of October 2025
These look so good, would love to try them in the airfryer...
Kate
Wednesday 15th of October 2025
I love your recipe posts! Your recipes always turn out well. Quite a few of them are staples in my house (whole wheat pancakes, buttermilk biscuits, enchiladas, cherry coffee cake).