Vegan falafel: the sauces, breads and sides that keep it vegan
Falafel itself is vegan: chickpeas, herbs, onion, garlic and spices, fried in vegetable oil. If that is news, the long answer is on our page asking is falafel vegan. This page is about everything else on the plate, because that is where a falafel meal usually stops being vegan. The sauce, the bread and the salad next to it decide the answer far more often than the falafel does.
Which falafel sauces are vegan?
Most of the classic ones, as long as they are made the traditional way.
- Tahini sauce is sesame paste loosened with lemon juice, garlic and water. Nothing in it comes from an animal. Ours is on the menu as Tahini Sauce, and as the lemon tahini dip that comes with our falafel.
- Garlic sauce is the one to ask about. In a lot of kebab and falafel shops it is made with mayonnaise or yoghurt. Ours is not: the Garlic Dip on our menu is marked vegan as served.
- Harissa is a paste of red peppers, chillies, garlic and olive oil. Vegan.
- Tatbeeleh is the Jordanian green chilli sauce: green chilli in a lemon and garlic dressing. Vegan.
- Pomegranate molasses is pomegranate juice cooked down until it turns thick and sharp. Vegan.
The one sauce that is not vegan
Yoghurt tahini dressing. It looks almost the same as tahini sauce, and that is exactly why people get caught out. Tahini thinned with yoghurt instead of water is creamier and milder, and it contains dairy.
On our menu it goes on the Falafel Crunch bowl, which is why that bowl carries an outlined leaf rather than a filled one. The outlined leaf means vegan on request: ask for the non-dairy dressing and the bowl comes without the dairy. The same goes for the Cabbage Slaw, which is dressed with yoghurt, lemon and vinegar. Traditional Falafel, Falafel Balls, Stuffed Falafel, Hummus & Falafel, Falafel Rolls and A Bit of Everything all carry the filled leaf, which means they are vegan exactly as they are served. What the two leaves mean is written out on its own page.
Is the bread vegan?
Usually, but not always. Pita is normally flour, water, yeast and salt. Some flatbreads are made with milk or brushed with butter, so if you are eating falafel somewhere else, it is worth asking.
Here, the warm pita our falafel comes in is part of dishes marked vegan as served, so the bread is not the problem. The Traditional Falafel sandwich carries the filled leaf from the pita to the mint on top.
What to eat with falafel
In the Levant, falafel is rarely the whole meal. It is one part of a table. All of these go with it, and all are vegan as served on our menu:
- Dips: hummus, spicy hummus, baba ghanouj, msabbaha (warm whole chickpeas with tahini), foul mdammas (slow-cooked fava beans) and muhammara (roasted red pepper and walnut)
- Salads: fattoush, the Tomato and Tahini Salad, and the Farmers Salad of cucumber and tomato
- Something crisp: Makali, which is fried aubergine, courgette, cauliflower and potato with a tahini dip, or Batata, fried potatoes with the garlic dip
- Something sharp: Mixed Pickles and Fresh Vegetables
Three ways to order a vegan falafel meal here
- On your own, at lunch: a Traditional Falafel sandwich, EUR 8.00 full or EUR 4.25 half. Four falafel smashed with hummus in warm pita, with tomato tahini salad, pickles, fresh mint and lemon tahini sauce. Harissa or tatbeeleh go in for free.
- As a plate: Hummus & Falafel, with 3, 6 or 12 falafel on our hummus with warm pita, at EUR 10.50, EUR 13.50 or EUR 19.25.
- For the table: A Bit of Everything, EUR 22.50. Seven falafel, Makali, a small hummus and lemon tahini dip, with fresh vegetables, pickles, olives and warm pita.
If you have not had it before, add a Stuffed Falafel at EUR 2.50 each. It is the Jordanian one: a larger falafel filled with onion and sumac, and vegan as it is served, like the rest.
Our kitchen is vegetarian and every dish on the menu can be made vegan, so eating vegan here does not mean ordering from a corner of the menu. It means most of it.
Allergens
Tahini is sesame, so most of the sauces above contain sesame, and muhammara contains walnuts. The allergen line for each dish sits on the dish itself on the menu page. Our kitchen handles all of the allergens listed there. Equipment and utensils are shared between dishes, so we cannot guarantee that any dish is completely free of an allergen, even when an ingredient is left out on request. Please tell our staff about any allergy before you order, and they will check the specific dish with the kitchen.
Where to eat vegan falafel in Rotterdam
Nabäti Eatery is on Keizerstraat 168 in Rotterdam Centrum, about five minutes on foot from Blaak. The short version of what we cook is on our page about vegan falafel and hummus in Rotterdam.
Frequently asked questions
Is falafel sauce vegan?
Tahini sauce, harissa and tatbeeleh are vegan. Garlic sauce depends on the kitchen, because many are made with mayonnaise or yoghurt; ours is vegan. The one to watch for is yoghurt tahini dressing, which contains dairy.
Is garlic sauce vegan?
Not always. Garlic sauce made the traditional Levantine way is garlic, oil and lemon, but many takeaway versions use mayonnaise or yoghurt. The Garlic Dip at Nabäti is marked vegan as served.
Is tahini vegan?
Yes. Tahini is ground sesame seeds and nothing else, and tahini sauce adds lemon, garlic and water. A yoghurt tahini dressing is a different thing and contains dairy.
Is pita bread vegan?
Usually. Basic pita is flour, water, yeast and salt, but some flatbreads contain milk or are brushed with butter. At Nabäti the pita comes in dishes marked vegan as served.
What do you eat with falafel?
A dip such as hummus or baba ghanouj, a fresh salad such as fattoush, pickles and warm pita. In the Levant falafel is usually one part of a shared table rather than the whole meal.
Where can I get vegan falafel in Rotterdam?
At Nabäti Eatery, Keizerstraat 168 in Rotterdam Centrum. Traditional Falafel, Falafel Balls, Stuffed Falafel, Hummus & Falafel and Falafel Rolls are vegan as served. The Falafel Crunch bowl and the sharing boxes are vegan on request.
