Buffalo Falafel Pitas w/Garlic Blue Cheese Fries + Ranch Style Tzatziki.

So you guys, do we still like all things buffalo sauce??

I mean, I know I still do, but I sort of feel like the whole “buffalo everything” trend has faded. Is this true? Is hot Buffalo Sauce, well… not so hot??

My family is still hard-core buffalo sauce people. I say buffalo sauce because we really do not even need the chicken, we just need the sauce. For us, it’s all about the sauce. Put it on fries, put it on quinoa…twice…third time’s a charm, toss it with shrimp, corn chowder, make a BLT with it, Thanksgiving stuffing? Sure why not. Make a salad, mushrooms + blue cheese guac, buffalo chicken poppers and even some buffalo fried goat cheese.

Whoa. I didn’t even realize I had that many buffalo recipes. Promise that I will not bombard you with many more… for a least the next month or so. After that all bets are off.

With today being the start of Monday Night Football I thought these Buffalo Falafel Pitas would be kind of perfect.

See, this is how I do guy food the “girly” way. And you guys, don’t tell my oldest brother Creighton (yes, the one who was home for a while after he broke his neck but is now back at work in Cleveland), but I totally got all of my remaining brothers to eat this falafel. I told them they were buffalo chicken balls and they believed me… until they bit into them and realized they were minus the chicken. BUT by some miracle, they didn’t ask what exactly they were. They just liked the taste and at that point, that was all that mattered. SCORE!!

FYI, if Creighton IS reading this, you should know he is probably dying and in horror that my brothers ate beans instead of chicken… willingly. He is also probably texting us all (meaning me, my immediate family AND my cousins and uncle) in our Group Me app.

This also means, that my whole family is probably getting a laugh. Well, except my brothers who ate the falafel. Yeah, they are probably scrubbing their tongues right now to rid themselves of the “health food”.

Anyway, this is totally guy food turned chick food, BUT – it’s still completely guy food. Meaning it’s perfect for everyone.

The first time I cooked this meal, I fried the falafel because it was my first time making falafel and I really wanted us all to like it. We did, actually, my dad is now calling this his favorite meal, but he really loves anything with buffalo sauce. The second time I made these, I baked the falafel and they still turned out awesome. Not gonna lie though, the fried falafel was just a tad better. Fried pretty much always wins, but I totally get it if you do not want to go to the trouble or want to make this healthier. The baked falafel are still delicious!

And the fries. Oh my gosh, the fries are addicting.

If you despise blue cheese (it’s my favorite), swap sharp shredded cheddar. Either way, you will love these fries. I used a mix of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, but use whatever your prefer.

Also, the tzatziki ranch, it’s not a must, but it just finishes everything off.

If you ask me, you can’t leave a good pita hanging without a little tzatziki. Total freak.

But hey, I just like good food.

Buffalo Falafel and Garlic Blue Cheese Fry Pita’s w/Ranch Style Tzatziki.

4.59 from 17 votes

4 Pita

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 1163kcal

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Prep25 minutes mins

Cook45 minutes mins

Total1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

A buffalo twist on a classic Middle Eastern dish

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Garlic Blue Cheese Fries

• ▢ 4 medium size potatoes or sweet potates, or a mix
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or basil, chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon kosher salt + pepper to taste
• ▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
• ▢ 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Falafel

• ▢ 2 (16 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1/2 sweet onion, roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ A good pinch of salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 small bunch fresh cilantro
• ▢ 1 cup prepared buffalo sauce
• ▢ 4 [homemade | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/traditional-greek-pita-bread/] or store-bought pitas, warmed

Ranch Style Tzatziki

• ▢ 1/2 cup of [your favorite ranch dressing | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/black-pepper-rub-chicken-fingers-greek-yogurt-ranch/]
• ▢ 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1//2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 a hothouse cucumber, chopped

Instructions 

Ranch Style Tzatziki

• Add the ranch dressing, greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, dried oregano, lemon juice and olive oil to a bowl. Mix until combined and then stir in the cucumber. Store, covered in the fridge until ready to serve.

The Rest

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place cut potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with oil, garlic, parsley or basil, salt and pepper. Gently toss with your hands or two spatulas to evenly coat. Spread on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then flip and bake for 15-20 minutes more. You want the potatoes to be crispy, but not burnt. If you want perfectly crisp fries I recommend spreading the potatoes onto a greased wire rack on top of a baking sheet and baking them as directed above. But this way is a bit of a pain. Once the fries are cooked, remove them from the oven and toss with the blue cheese and fresh chopped basil.
• While the fries are baking, prepare the falafel. In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, garlic, onions, olive oil, flour, baking powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse a few times.
• Once the mixture is combined, scoop out about 1-2 tablespoons worth and form into small balls. Place the falafel on a baking sheet (if baking) or a plate (if frying).
• To bake the falafel, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake on a greased cookie sheet for about 20 minutes or until crisp on top and cooked through. Remove from the oven and gently toss with buffalo sauce. Return the falafel to the cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes longer.
• To fry the falafel, add a few inches of oil to the bottom of a heavy pot. Heat to 375 degrees F.
• Fry the balls for 2-3 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towels and then immediately toss with buffalo sauce.
• To serve place the falafel on a warm pita. Top with fries and drizzle with extra buffalo sauce, blue cheese and green onions. Wrap up and serve with the Ranch style Tzatziki.

Notes

**To make your own buffalo sauce melt 1 stick - 8 tablespoons - unsalted butter (you can also use half olive oil, half butter or you can simply reduce the butter to 4 tablespoons). Add 1/2 cup of Franks Red Hot Sauce, 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.

Nutrition

Calories: 1163kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 1522mg | Potassium: 1447mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 30.9mg | Calcium: 418mg | Iron: 9.6mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.

And clearly this is good food. Seriously guys.