This Flavourful Falafel Recipe is the staple that you need in your household. We have tried dozens of different falafel recipes and we guarantee that you won’t be disappointed with these delicious balls of goodness.
When you are plant based, you try a LOT of different falafel. The key to good falafel is to use lots of flavourings and to ensure that you don’t dry them out when cooking. This can be tricky when you are not deep frying them – but doable!
There is debate on where falafel originally came from, but one thing is for sure, it’s a welcome staple to a plant based eaters plate. Falafel is also something we always look for when travelling because it tends to be an easy plant based option to find. We have found wonderful Middle Eastern restaurants in places like Paris and Galway and greatly enjoyed their falafel platters. If you are ever in Paris, you have to go to L’As du Fallafel. It is possibly the most lively experience we’ve had in a restaurant and their falafel is to die for!
The chickpeas in these falafel have many health benefits. They can:
- Help control blood sugar
- Boost your friendly gut bacteria
- Help lower cholesterol
- Give you a rich source of fibre
- Provide a good source of plant based protein
There are so many ways to enjoy them! We love to serve these Flavourful Falafel with a salad, in a bowl with rice and veggies or on a platter with some pita bread, olives and greek inspired salad. Serving these with a sauce is also nice. We like to drizzle on some of our Tahini Mustard Dressing and Sriracha sauce. Some vegan tzatziki would also be great too!
You can enjoy this flavourful falafel as an appetizer, in a salad or as a main course. You might also want to try these vegan crabless cakes or White Bean and Artichoke Patties with this Indian Spiced Tomato Chutney. For more crunchiness, try out our Crispy Tofu Strips.
We want to hear what you think. Please leave a comment and a rating and don’t forget to tag us @plantedandpicked on Instagram and hashtag it #plantedandpicked. Remember that eating well is a life-long priority.
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup cilantro
- ½ cup parsley
- ¼ cup mint
- ¼ cup bread crumbs gluten free is desired
- ¼ cup spelt flour (or chickpea flour)
- ⅓ cup onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder optional
Instructions
- Mince garlic, chop onion, wash and chop herbs.
- Place chickpeas, garlic and herbs in a food processor and pulse a few time to combine.
- Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Do not over process.
- Dump into a medium bowl and mix well with hands.
- Removing a couple of tablespoons at a time, roll the mixture into a ball and place in a tray.
- You can bake the falafel in a 375° oven for 20 minutes. Brush the falafel with a little oil before baking. Halfway through, turn them over and brush with a little more oil.
- Alternatively, you can shallow fry them in a pan with oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes, flipping occasionally.
- You could also cook them into an air fryer. Brush a little oil on the falafel, and air fry for about 15 minutes, turning about 1/2 way through.
- Be careful not to overcook the falafel or they will dry out.
The dark, organic tahini I buy is too expensive to use, so I will substitute with sesame seeds, and hope it works well, thankyou.
Hello Sheila, you can certainly make your own tahini and it is quite cost-effective! We’d love to here how it worked out.