Today I am sharing a popular recipe from Angelicious – sweet potato falafels. This recipe produces a delightfully creamy falafel with a wonderful blend of spices, flavour and sweetness.

They are easy to make and serve well hot, as well as cold (so perhaps you’d like to make a big batch and enjoy them all week long as little snacks or with your salads or in sandwiches).

Add tahini sauce or hummus and you’ll be in foodie heaven.

From regular falafels to baked sweet potato falafels

Falafel was traditionally a deep-fried middle eastern dish. You can enjoy this healthier, naturally gluten-free version by baking them in the oven instead – yay!

Cumin and coriander are great warming spices that not only complement our health but also add the sort of flavoursome bite that lends itself perfectly to middle eastern cuisine.

Sweet potatoes bring a gorgeous soft texture and creaminess to this dish, whilst adding a myriad of important nutrients (being particularly high in vitamins A & C, B vitamins, manganese and copper).

Health benefits of sweet potato

They are especially high in vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene)… in fact, one sweet potato is said to carry at least 400% of your RDA!

They also have high levels of Vitamin C & the B vitamins, manganese, potassium, copper, phosphorus, antioxidants – to name a few.

Who’d have thought that one of the most delicious vegetables could be such a nutritional powerhouse? As if that’s not enough, they’ve also been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels (even in people with type 2 diabetes).

There’s a printable recipe below with the ingredient list. It’s pretty easy to make them. You basically cook the sweet potatoes, crush the garlic, pop everything in the food processor or blender (see my tips for using hand blender which is my favourite method to make this sort of thing).

If you don’t have equipment you can even just use a good old-fashioned potato masher (and while we are at it, I have even made this by mashing the ingredients with a fork). So no excuses hahaha.

Place on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 6 or 7 (200 ̊C/220 ̊C or 400 ̊F/425 ̊F) for approximately 30 minutes or until tanned.

Baked Sweet Potato Falafels - rustic style, gluten-free, vegan Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Baked sweet potato falafels - naturally gluten-free and vegan. Serve deliciously with tahini sauce. Print Ingredients 300g sweet potatoes

2 large cloves garlic

1 handful fresh coriander leaves

200g chickpeas (1 tin drained)

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander

1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin

1 heaped teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons gram flour (chickpea flour)

Extra gram flour for rolling with Instructions Scrub and chop the sweet potato (skins on) and boil (or steam) until soft (approximately 10 minutes). Then drain and place in a mixing bowl. Crush the garlic. Chop the coriander leaves as small as you can with a sharp knife. Put all the ingredients (except the gram flour) into a blender or food processor. I find this actually works best with a hand blender, which means you can apply downward pressure and get in there nicely... if you use a jug blender or food processor it will work best if you keep scraping down the sides to loosen the mixture. Alternatively, you could go for the real rustic effect and use a strong potato masher to do the job instead. Whatever your method, blend until most of the mixture is broken down. It doesn’t need to be totally smooth - it can be quite rustic. Once blended, add the gram flour and continue to thoroughly mix with a spoon. If you leave the prepared mixture on the side for a while (half an hour or half a day) then it will warm up a little, making it slightly easier to roll. If I have time, I let it stand, but that’s not essential. Chickpea moisture varies from batch to batch. The mixture should be soft and pliable, easy to roll into a ball in your hands. Roughly divide into 12 and roll into balls. If your mixture is too soft to roll well, add a little extra gram flour or use gram flour to roll in. Place on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven at gas mark 6 or 7 (200 ̊C/220 ̊C or 400 ̊F/425 ̊F) for approximately 30 minutes or until tanned.

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