Description
This healthy baked falafel is excellent in a pita with veggies and tzatziki or tahini sauce, on its own for a snack or light meal, or as a delicious addition to salads and bowls.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry chickpeas (1.5 cups/165 g after soaking and draining)
- 1/2 cup diced white onion (80 g)
- 1/2 cup lightly packed, finely chopped fresh cilantro (20 g)
- 1/2 cup lightly packed, finely chopped fresh parsley (20 g)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp ground flax (14 g)
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp flour, see notes (25 g)
- olive or avocado oil cooking spray, or olive or avocado oil in an oil mister
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with a substantial amount of water, soak for 12-24 hours. The chickpeas are going to double or triple in size as they absorb the water, so make sure they have adequate room and water to do so.
- When you’re ready to make the falafel, drain the chickpeas and add 1.5 cups of the soaked chickpeas to a food processor.
- Add the onion to the food processor and pulse several times until the chickpeas are broken down and combined with the onion. Be sure not to over mix, we don’t want hummus but they should resemble a grainy consistency.
- Add everything except for the flour and pulse a few times to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Dump food processor contents into a large mixing bowl, and stir in flour until completely combined (or just mix it up in the food processor container). Let rest 10 minutes, don’t skip this part.
- Take spoonfuls of the mixture in your hands and form small patties, about 1/2 inch thick and 1.5 inches wide, you should get about 12. Place them on the baking sheet. Lightly mist with olive or avocado oil cooking spray, or use an oil mister to give them a light coating of olive or avocado oil. This is key for crispy baked falafel!
- Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and return to oven for another 10 minutes.
- Serve right away with tzatziki, hummus or tahini sauce, on their own or in a pita or salad.
Notes
Flour: Flour can be all purpose, whole wheat, spelt, brown rice, gluten-free flour blend, chickpea flour or oat flour. For gluten-free falafel, use a gluten-free flour blend, chickpea flour or oat flour.
Soaking: You may have more than 1.5 cups of chickpeas after soaking but just use 1.5 cups or 165 g. I listed 1 cup dry chickpeas just to be sure you’ll have enough after soaking.
Freshness: If you soak the chickpeas and they do not increase in size or absorb the water, they may be duds and won’t work in the recipe. If they don’t at least double in size, use different chickpeas.
Chickpeas: While this recipe will work with canned chickpeas, I highly recommend following the recipe as written and using the dried soaked chickpeas, the final result is miles better If you use canned chickpeas the recipe will work and the flavour will be good but the falafel will be very mushy, almost like a pancake that didn’t cook properly.
Storage: Let them cool them store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 2 months. If frozen, thaw in the fridge. Enjoy them cold or reheat as needed on the stoveop in a pan, in the microwave in 15-second increments or in the oven on a baking tray until warmed to your preference.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 104
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 337 mg
- Fat: 4.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.9 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 4.8 g