Trader Joe's Falafel Mix | BecomeBetty.com

The pros: Trader Joe’s Falafel Mix is a new mix that is vegan and gluten free and very easy to prepare.

The cons: You won’t be able to make this instantly as the box requires you to wait 30-60 minutes before cooking. You can’t skip this step.

The verdict: Trader Joe’s needs to work on their timing. Last year Trader Joe’s released their Jalapeno Limeade right after Cinco de Mayo. This vegan item would have been much appreciated by this blogger prior to the end of Lent. Minor complaints about timing aside, this product is very well done.

This is as easy as it gets. All you need to do is add water. What you get is this soupy concoction that you hope will turn into a far more solid state. And so you wait. The waiting part is never so easy. Especially when you are going from hungry to hangry. Thirty to sixty minutes is the estimated wait time to get this mix rehydrated.

I opted to fry these, so that took my mind off of my hunger pains. Heating enough oil to the right temperature did take a bit of time. I got my candy thermometer out to make sure everything was the right temperature.

At 300F I got my scoop out. And yes, you’ll get about 9 balls out of one batch of these. After being fried briefly, I removed them on to a paper towel. They seemed to have been crisped, but were not at all greasy. Best of all, they actually look like the picture on the box.

What you get are smooth, brown vegan balls that are speckled with green parsley. The flavor of both the beans, the cumin and other spices that were mixed in. The result was delicious out of the fryer and reheated the next day.

In terms of authenticity, I won’t get into that as there are a number of variations of falafel. This article does help to clarify why some some falafel is green or brown and gives some insight on why falafel tastes different in various regions. Regardless, this is a solid option that is brand new to shelves.

For $2.99 this is inexpensive and well done even if you do have to wait.

Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:

The box of Trader Joe’s Falafel Mix:

The nutritional information and ingredients:

How to prepare:

After being cooked you get something that looks pretty darn close to what is pictured on the box. I put mine on a Garlic Naan with some Tzatziki and butter lettuce: