You all gave these mouth-watering, freezer friendly falafel burritos the NUMBER ONE spot on my Top 10 Recipes of 2021 list. If you haven’t tried them yet, these freezer burritos are the secret to making eating healthy sustainable long-term. They’re loaded with perfectly spiced veggies, plant-based protein, fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro, and a dash of THE BEST homemade hummus. You can make the filling for this easy vegan burrito recipe in just one pan and then freeze the extra burritos to have fast and healthy breakfasts, lunch, and dinners for days! This is healthy comfort food at its quickest and most delicious.
Why these Falafel Freezer Burritos are so healthy
Make ahead freezer burritos are a staple in our household. I personally love them as an easy breakfast because you get in more nutrient-rich vegetables, herbs, and spices before noon than most people get in an entire day. It’s all the benefits I rave about with green smoothies in burrito form! The results of having veggie-packed breakfasts are literally life-changing for our gut health. Just listen to my Healthier Together podcast episode with Dr. Ranjan Chatterjee to hear how eating vegetables for breakfast positively impacts our gut microbiomes and can help with stomach issues like bloating, digestion, constipation, and metabolism.
So, I pondered: a meal this delicious NEEDS to be enjoyed in a variety of global flavors. So far, I’ve created Curry-Spiced Chickpea Burritos, Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos, Healthy Pesto Freezer Burritos, Fall Freezer Burritos and of course, the OG Healthy Breakfast Burrito that started it all. And now we’re welcoming these vegan Meal Prep Falafel Burritos to the club. Don’t worry, we’re not making actual falafel for these burritos – we’re way too lazy for that here. We’ll just toss chickpeas (which are falafel’s main ingredient) with a ton of delicious falafel spices. *Chefs kiss*.
The health benefits of adding parsley and cilantro to your diet
This delicious recipe offers SO many more health benefits than just being vegan, plant-based, gluten-free and dairy-free. We stuff these falafel burritos with fresh parsley and cilantro, which have shown in studies to have amazingly positive impacts on disease prevention, digestion, inflammation, hormones, kidney health, anxiety and so much more. You might be thinking, “I don’t struggle with hormones or anxiety. I just have unwanted belly fat that won’t go away.” To that I say, A) you’re beautiful exactly as you are and B) check out my Ask the Doctor podcast episodes on hormones and anxiety to see how these elements of your health are all related AND how they can be helped by eating more fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro. Here are the health benefits they’ve been studied for:
Parsley
- Fights against age-related diseases like arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease
- Fights against cancer formation and slows tumor growth
- Relieves bloating and IBS symptoms
- Improves digestion and boosts enzyme function
- Boosts immunity
Cilantro
- Reduces anxiety
- Lowers blood sugar
- Promotes heart health
- Prevents UTI’s and promotes healthy menstruation
- Settles nausea and stomach cramps
Everything you’ll need to make Falafel Freezer Burritos
This healthy burrito recipe is honestly the most delicious vegan make ahead meal for an easy breakfast, lunch, and dinner that makes you feel AMAZING. It can also easily be made gluten-free or grain-free with your choice of tortilla. Here’s what’s inside them:
- The protein: chickpeas and hummus
- The veggies: red bell pepper, red onion, carrots, lemon
- The spices: garlic powder, cumin, coriander, chili powder,
- The herbs: fresh parsley and cilantro
- The healthy fat: extra virgin olive oil
How to meal prep these burritos
This is a one-pan recipe, so prepare to do as little work as possible. Once you’ve got your chopped vegetables and chickpeas falafel-spiced and roasted, you’ll follow these easy steps:
- Toss them with lemon juice and chopped herbs.
- Spread a generous spoonful of your favorite hummus on a tortilla, add the roasted veggie mixture, and roll up the burritos (you can watch my fancy burrito-rolling technique here).
- Wrap each burrito individually in tinfoil and store them in the freezer until you’re ready to eat one! When it’s meal time, you can either heat it up in the toaster oven or the microwave.
For the toaster oven: keep the burrito in its foil to heat it up.
For the microwave: unwrap the burrito from the foil, and then wrap it in a damp paper towel. Microwave it in 30 second increments until it’s warmed through.
How to roll a burrito so it doesn’t tear
This is my BEST burrito-rolling tip – straight from the professionals at your local Chipotle. If you’ve ever walked inside a Moes or Chipotle, you know the first step to making an epic burrito is to heat the tortilla. We might not have industrial-sized tortilla presses at home, but all you really need to roll the perfect burrito is your oven. After roasting your vegetables and removing them from the oven, turn your oven off and let it cool down just a bit. Then while the oven’s still warm, place the tortillas in the oven for 30 seconds. This will warm them up and make them pliable so they don’t break or tear when you’re rolling!
Customize your hummus
Making homemade hummus is super easy and definitely worth the little bit of extra effort. My go-to restaurant-style hummus recipe is ready in just two steps with only five ingredients. Plus, you’ll learn my secret ingredient to making THE BEST homemade hummus. All you’ll need is a food processor! For Falafel Freezer Burritos, I make this hummus recipe and add a dash of ground turmeric for even more anti-inflammatory benefits! It also gives the hummus a beautiful, sunflower color that is just too pretty to pass up. Here’s a few of my favorite optional ad-ins:
- Ground turmeric
- Basil
- Cilantro
- Thyme
- Roasted red peppers
More healthy meal-prep ideas
- 4 Meals 1 Prep: Rotisserie Chicken Edition
- 4 Meals 1 Prep: Vegan Edition
- World’s Best Plant-Based Chili
- Hot Girl Summer Salad
- Veggie-Packed One Pan Southwestern Veggie Skillet
Enjoy, and tag me if you make it on Instagram (@lizmoody)—I can’t wait to see!
Print
The Tastiest Falafel-Spiced Vegan Meal Prep Freezer Burritos
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/4 teaspoon fine grain mineral salt
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3/4 cup hummus
- 4–5 burrito-sized tortillas of choice
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add onion, red bell pepper, carrots, chickpeas, and salt to the parchment lined pan. Drizzle the ingredients with olive oil and add the salt, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, and chili powder. Toss to coat the vegetables and chickpeas completely and spread them out in a single layer.
- Bake until brown at the edges, for about 45 min. Toss once, around half-way through.
- Remove the pan from the oven and toss with lemon juice and chopped parsley and cilantro. Add more salt to taste.
- Place tortillas in the warmed oven for 30 seconds to make them pliable.
- Once warmed, smear a generous amount of hummus onto each tortilla. Then, place the roasted ingredients evenly into the tortillas. Roll the burritos, then wrap each one individually in tinfoil.
- Cook Time: 45
