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Here are the best falafel sauce recipes for your falafel sandwich! Try cucumber sauce, tahini sauce, cilantro sauce and more.
Making falafel and not sure what sauce to use? This Mediterranean fried chickpea fritter is stuff dreams are made of. You can serve it on its own with sauce, or stuffed into a flatbread as a falafel sandwich. Or serve it as a falafel salad, on crunchy lettuce drizzled with sauce.
Falafel is served with a few different traditional sauces. Here’s a breakdown:
- Yogurt based sauce: often containing cucumber, dill or both
- Tahini sauce, typically with lemon, sometimes with herbs
- Cilantro sauce, herby and green, sometimes with yogurt or olive oil (like zhoug, used in Israel)
With this in mind, here are a few of the best recipes to use as a falafel sauce: whether you’re making a sandwich, burger, salad, or serving them as an appetizer.
And now…the best falafel sauce recipes!
This cool and refreshing falafel sauce you’ll want to slather on just about everything: cucumber sauce! Stir together shredded cucumber with Greek yogurt, lemon, garlic, and dill, and it’s nothing short of a revelation. It's perfect for authentic falafel sandwiches, but it works on any sandwich, burger, or even grilled veggie platter. Use it as a healthy dip, spread, or slather: you name it! The best part: it’s actually quick and takes just minutes to put together.
Another authentic falafel sauce is tahini sauce! It's made with the Mediterranean sesame seed paste and lemon, which gives it a bright zingy flavor. This sauce is perfect for drizzling on salad bowls and roasted veggies, but it's best on a tasty falafel sandwich or salad. Another plus: it's plant based and vegan!
This bright green cilantro sauce is perfect for falafel! It’s 100% plant-based and vegan, so it works for all sorts of eaters! The creamy body comes from soaked cashews blended with a bit of water. It becomes so intensely creamy that it makes the perfect sauce for dolloping. It’s even pretty mild on the cilantro flavor: so it’s not even offensive to avowed cilantro haters! Make the recipe below with lemon instead of lime when you use it for falafel.
Another tasty falafel sauce? Enter this Easy Dill Sauce! This one is all purpose and can be used for everything from salmon to grilled veggies to falafel sandwiches. The best part: it takes only 5 minutes and a handful of ingredients. The Mediterranean flavors of Greek yogurt, fresh dill and lemon combine into a beautiful sauce that’s simple and totally versatile.
One last falafel sauce: lemon dill sauce! The difference between this and the dill sauce is it's got some mayo along with yogurt as the base. It makes for a rich and creamy sauce that takes just 5 minutes to stir it together in a bowl! The amount of flavor you’ll get from the humble ingredients will blow you away.
Ways to serve falafel
Falafel can be served in so many ways! This tasty Mediterranean plant-based dish has lots of different spins. Here are a few of our favorite falafel recipes:
- Classic Falafel Serve with the falafel sauce as a dipping sauce!
- Baked Falafel Make shortcut baked falafel with canned chickpeas.
- Ultimate Falafel Sandwich Top with sauce and serve in a flatbread.
- Falafel Salad Add falafel to greens and top with tahini sauce.
- Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls This spin on falafel uses sunflower seeds and spices to make a raw salad bowl. Top with tahini sauce!
- Falafel Burger Serve it as a burger on a bun, slathered with the sauce of your choosing.
Best Falafel Sauce: Cucumber Yogurt or Tahini Sauce!
Here are the best falafel sauce recipes: cucumber yogurt and lemon tahini sauce! They’re perfect on falafel sandwiches, falafel burgers, or falafel salad.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 ¾ cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup grated cucumber (1 medium or 2/3 large)
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup full fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried dill*
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Water
Tahini Sauce
- ⅓ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (2 small or 1 ½ large lemons)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Cucumber yogurt sauce: Peel the cucumber and coarsely grate it. Place it in a clean tea towel or dish towel and squeeze tightly over a sink to remove excess liquid. In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients, then stir in about 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, until the sauce is smooth and creamy (the water amount will vary based on the yogurt brand).
- Tahini sauce: In a small bowl, combine the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, maple syrup, and kosher salt and whisk to combine. Add the water and whisk until a light and creamy dressing forms; add a little more water as necessary depending on the consistency of your tahini. Serve immediately or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving. Extra dressing keeps for about 1 month in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
More great sauce recipes
Want more sauces? Here are some more recipes to try:
- Cilantro Lime Crema Perfect for dolloping on tacos and roasted veggies.
- Special Burger Sauce Great for burgers and fries! It’s full of flavor: creamy, tangy, and reminiscent of a Big Mac.
- Creamy Cilantro Dressing It takes just 5 minutes and you’ll want to use it on everything: salads, tacos, fries, and more.
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce Easy to make, starring nutrient-rich cauliflower and protein-packed cashews.
