Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls (Vegan GF)

Deliciously smoky and creamy hummus and rich sun-dried tomato baked falafel balls make for the best taco bowl. Fill your homemade tortilla taco bowls with fresh salad, charred corn and homemade pickles.

Falafels and hummus are staple for a lot of vegans (and vegetarians, too) especially when you’re eating out. You can’t go too wrong with falafel and hummus, well, you’d like to think so. But I’ve had one too many bowls of hummus that lack flavour and texture and too many falafels that are so deep-fried you can taste nothing but oil and that’s it. So, next time you’re out, skip the falafel and hummus and make your own instead.

These Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls combine a few of my favourite recipes: delicious flavour-packed baked falafel balls with the creamiest paprika hummus and also these pickled red onions. Alone they are all delicious but combine them together inside a homemade taco bowl shell and they are something magical.

I have called this taco bowl “homemade” but it actually uses your favourite tortilla wraps. Make sure you use a GF wrap if needed and these ones here are gluten-free sweet potato wraps which I am hooked on.

How to make your own taco bowls?

• Brush your tortilla with oil: this helps the wraps to hold their shape and crisp up.
• Using an oven-proof bowl/cake tin/domed dish: shape the tortilla wrap around the dome to make a bowl shape.
• Bake until golden: this only takes 5 minutes or less.

Then it is time to fill these Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls. As mentioned, these are some of my favourite recipes to stuff inside these taco bowls. The sun-dried tomato falafel has so much flavour thanks to the rich sun-dried tomatoes and lots of fresh herbs, too. Throw all the ingredients into a blender or food processor to firm a chunky mix:

• Chickpeas: the base for all good falafels. Or you can use another bean like white cannellini or butter beans.
• Sun-dried tomatoes: these add all the richness to the falafel and are so good for adding flavour and texture. I use the ones in oil, just drain away the oil slightly.
• Spring onion: for some fresh onion-goodness. Use the white and green parts, just trim the ends.
• Garlic: nothing beats fresh garlic and I love the flavour without it being overwhelming. If youu don’t have fresh garlic, you could use 1/2 tsp garlic granules.
• Spices: ground cumin and hot smoked paprika work so well with the sun-dried tomatoes and fresh herbs.
• Tahini: I love adding this to all my falafels as it adds a lovely creaminess and is great for binding the mix, too. Make sure you use your favourite tahini for the best taste.
• Fresh herbs: I love adding lots of fresh coriander and parsley to my falafel balls. Failing that, you could also use some spinach leaves.
• Flour: this goes into the batter at the end to help bind the falafel mix together. My favourite is to use oat flour (GF-certified if needed) but you could use plain or GF plain flour, spelt, buckwheat, wholemeal flour etc.

Allow the mix to chill and then bake into 12 deliciously moreish falafel balls. They are rich and intense but not overwhelming and too heavy.  As the mix is quite wet, they are quite light and airy, too. They’re also so good in wraps and sandwiches or as part of other buddha bowl recipes. And I love to add them on top of shakshuka, too! You can see my other falafel recipes here, too.

Now onto the paprika hummus. This isn’t spicy by any means, but has a lovely rich and smoky flavour which I love. You could use any flavoured hummus, though. I love my Herby hummus for these Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls as well, or even my Smoked Pumpkin Hummus.

There are a few tricks to the best hummus:

• Aquafaba: when you drain your chickpeas, make sure to save the chickpea water (known as aquafaba). Instead of adding oil into my hummus, I love streaming some of this aquafaba in as you blend for the creamiest dip.
• Season well: make sure to taste as you go. Add more or less ground cumin/paprika/chilli to suit your tastes and add salt and pepper, too!
• Tahini: the quality of your tahini really shows in hummus so make sure to use a tasty one. My favourite is the one from Belazu which I use for everything.

Apart from that, you are good to go! Blend until really smooth and then pop in the fridge to chill until ready to use. It will be so delicious spread onto toast as a snack or alongside soups. Try this hummus with my other buddha and grain bowls, too. Or just dip in some carrots, it’s one of my favourite savoury snacks.

A few more things I love about these Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls:

• Charred corn: simply slice off the corn kernels from the cob and fry with a splash of oil until really charred. The favour is amazing and allowing them to charr adds that smoky BBQ element.
• Pickled red onions: recently I always make sure to have a glass jar full of these in the fridge. They take 2 minutes to prep and are so delicious on salads, on top of curries, in sandwiches and they are so good on top of these Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls. They are tangy, slightly sweet and beautifully pink – and the colour only gets better the longer you leave them.

These Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls are truly something special and make for a delicious lunch or dinner for one or for friends and family. If you are cooking for one, all the elements will keep well, but make sure to prepare the taco bowls just before serving otherwise they may turn chewy. All of the components have so much colour, nutrients and texture, they are so good. Naturally vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and simple to prepare, these taco bowls are a great one to have on your midweek meal rotation.

If you are looking for more dinner or lunch ideas, how about my:

• Garlicky Kale Tahini and Almond Salad
• Mushroom and Butterbean Chickpea Flatbreads with Herby Hummus 
• 2-Ingredeint Pumpkin Flatbreads
• Aubergine Chickpea and Tomato Harissa Stew
• Beetroot Flatbreads with Crunchy Slaw and Chickpeas

I hope you will love these Sun-Dried Tomato Falafel Hummus Taco Bowls so please let me know what you think of them below. If you make these taco bowls, I would love to see so please remember to tag me! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With taco bowl love x