These easy to make Homemade Baked Falafel are made with chickpeas and packed with flavour from onion, garlic, herbs, and spices. Best served with a creamy tahini sauce, they are healthy, vegan, gluten-free and absolutely delicious! Falafel are wonderful tucked into pitas, salad bowls, or all on their own. As always, please read through the notes section below for tips on making the best falafel.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr
Equipment
You will need: Food Processor
Ingredients
2cupsdried chickpeasdo NOT use canned or cooked chickpeas
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1small onionroughly chopped
2-3medium cloves garlic
1tablespoon ground cumin
2teaspoonsground coriander
1/2teaspooncayenne, optional
1 1/2teaspoonsKosher salt
1teaspoonbaking powder
1cuploosely packed parsley leaves (a few thin stems are fine)
1cupcilantro leaves(a few thin stems are fine)
¼cupchickpea flourcan use all-purpose, or GF all purpose flour
extra-virgin olive oil for brushing the pan and the falafel
Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 3 inches. Soak for 12-24 hours. Add 1/2 tsp of baking soda to the water and stir; this will help soften the chickpeas. The chickpeas will more than double in size as they soak so make sure you have added enough water.
The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place the onion, garlic, and herbs in a food processor and pulse a couple times to chop them up a little. Add the drained, RAW, chickpeas and process until mixture looks crumbly. You may need to scrape down the sides and pulse a few more times to make sure everything is evenly chopped, being careful not to overmix. It should resemble fine couscous not a smooth paste.
Tip the mixture into a bowl, then add the spices, salt and pepper, flour and baking powder and stir together until it’s fully combined. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to 1 hour.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the paper with olive oil.
Form the mixture into 20-23 small discs; I use 2, tightly packed, tablespoons. Place them on the oiled baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.
Bake for 12-15 minutes on each side or until golden. Serve warm with tahini dressing.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Jerusalem, and Honey & CoPrep time does not include the 12 hours+ for soaking the chickpeas. You will also need to chill the mixture for 15 minutes to 1 hour. TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST HOMEMADE BAKED FALAFEL
Soak the chickpeas with baking soda: Particularly if you are soaking for less than 16 hours, add a little baking soda to the chickpea water. The baking soda makes the water more alkaline which helps soften the chickpeas.
Try not to use very old dried chickpeas: Older chickpeas will take a lot longer to soften than fresher ones. If using older chickpeas, be sure to soak them with a little baking soda.
Chill the falafel mixture: The falafel mixture will be a lot easier to shape if chilled for 15 minutes to 1 hour. You can also keep it chilled, tightly covered, overnight or up to 3 days.
Shape flatter falafel: For frying, it is best to shape the mixture into small round balls. For baking, or pan frying, a flatter round shape is best.
Add more flour: If your mixture seems too crumbly, or wet, when you are shaping the falafel, and is not holding together, add a little more flour. About 2 more tablespoons should be plenty.
Wet your hands to shape the falafel: If you find the mixture too difficult to shape, try shaping with damp hands.