Baked Falafel
Comments(129)
I was so looking forward to pigging out at my favorite Mediterranean cafe but they were closed for the holidays. So I decided to make my own falafels, baked not fried, as part of my healthier 2009 eating initiative.
I thought they came out pretty good. They’re different than the ones I’ve gotten at restaurants, probably because 1. I used canned garbanzo beans instead of dried, 2. I didn’t use a food processor to combine everything and 3. It’s not fried.
Next time I’m going to try using dry garbanzos and a food processor but I’ll leave the frying for eating out as a treat. Besides, I’m much too lazy to clean up a big, fried mess. What? Did you really think I was going to stop being lazy in the new year?
Baked Falafel
Makes about 21 balls
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Put in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into small balls, about 1 1/2″ in diameter and slightly flatten. Place onto an oiled baking pan.
Bake for 15 minutes on each side, until nicely browned (since it’s baked, only the part actually touching the pan will be browned and crispy).
Serve with mini pita pockets, hummus, tahini sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and/or cucumber.
I found your blog via Foodgawker. This recipe looks wonderful! While a food processor would make the combining job easier, I actually like the texture that you’ve created here through fork smashing. My kids would enjoy these. YUM!
Thanks for this recipe! I saw a recipe for falafel months ago in the NY Times but it was fried and I didn’t want to bother. I will definitely use your recipe! I think my two-year-old will appreciate the bite-sized pieces.
I’ve never had falafel, and this recipe looks so tasty. I love “healthing” up recipes. Thanks, and I love your site!
Hi, I actually made a fried version of falafel two days ago. They didn’t turn out as great as I would have liked, and were pretty greasy; not something I would want to eat often. These look like a better alternative to fried falafel that I can eat more often. And I do love falafel! Thanks for sharing this recipe and I’ll be making it soon (:
Also, I wonder how you could bake these up to get the whole outside crispy? Because I think the crisp outer shell is what makes good falafel. Another thing I would do is seriously up the cilantro. Falafel mix should be green from it.
I make baked falafel all the time where I work- It’s our best seller! That picture look so amazing though, I would happily whip up another batch right now…
I love falafel, but don’t make it because I don’t want the mess of frying. This will definitely work for me. I don’t think I knew you could bake them. They look delicious, and I’m sure they will taste the same. Thanks.
No frying required when they turn out as golden and lovely as your falafel! They really do look great and I look for any excuse to eat hummus.
Best,
Emily
www.justeatfood.com
Yours look lovely. I’ve fried as well but they were a little too dry for my liking.
you can still be lazy just keep up the mouth watering photos! Looks delish.
Those falafels look good!
All your food looks so gorgeous!!! Makes me drool.
LOVE falafel. I had it first time in Israel in a pita filled with Israeli salad and French Fries.
The recipe looks great, and I do like the idea of not having hot oil all over the kitchne.
Wow, I love falafel but I hate to fry. I’ll have to try this one.
Yum! I love falafels but hate the fact that it’s fried, so this looks perfect!
Ooh, those look incredible! All crispy and nicely browned.
My favorite falafel place is Falafel’s Drive-in in San Jose whenever I’m driving through there before they close, but I’m curious — where is your favorite Mediterranean cafe? Is it delectable?
I want that Right Now, it looks so delicous!!!
I have yet to have success with baked falafel, I’ll have to try your version – the picture is beautiful!
This looks so tasty. I live alone, so 21 little falafels would take me a while to eat. Do you know if they freeze well?
I love falafel but sometimes the oil from frying makes my belly unhappy. I can’t wait to try these!
I get an upset stomach everytime I eat fried foods, not to mention how bad it is for you! What I like to do with falafel mix is shape it into patties and pan fry them with very little olive oil in a non stick pan. Since it cooks faster than in the oven, it has less time to dry out :) Your recipe sounds delicious!
Thanks everyone for your comments! I had no idea falafels are so popular.
Jo – I’m not sure you can get the whole outside crispy by baking. Maybe if they’re flattened more, like patties, so there’s more surface area touching the pan.
I thought the mix should have been green too, that’s why I think a food processor would blend it all together better.
Emily – The place is Jaffa Cafe in San Luis Obispo, I was down there for the holidays. On the peninsula, I like Mediterranean Delite in San Carlos. I’ll have to check out Falafel’s Drive-In (love the name) next time I’m down in SJ.
Valerie – I haven’t tried freezing falafels before so I can’t help you there. But you can probably just make half a recipe pretty easy.
Ooh, yum! My single attempt at baked falafel was not-so-great, but I’ll have to give these a try!
I made these last night for my husband and myself and Loved them! I posted about them on my blog.
rawforamonth.blogspot.com/2009/01/baked-chickpea-falafel.html
I will make these again and again!
Arika
My Yummy Life
um. YUM. :)
Melisser – Baked falafel is worth another try. :-)
Arika – Glad you loved them, yours looks great!
tofufreak – It sure is. :-)
Your falafel looks so appetizing I like the chunkiness. It seems wherever I go they are made a bit different.
I made these for dinner tonight. They were super easy and so yummy! I think these will be a staple in our house. Thank you for this great recipe!
These were SOOO good! We had them in whole wheat pitas with homemade hummus and vegan sour cream and romaine lettuce, and it was just incredible. I think we’ll be making these weekly! Thanks for the awesome recipe :)
Just had these for dinner. They were quite yum!
Funny, I just made baked falafel from a cookbook yesterday. The recipe I used was very similar, except baked at 450. They were a little loose, but tasted great. I’ll try your recipe.
Hi! In my baked version I substituted the flour for crushed bran cereal flakes (seriously), and they came out great!!! I used a cereal called Fitness, by Nestle, not sure if you guys get it over there. Well, give it a try sans-flour and I guarantee you won´t miss it!
Cheers :)
Thanks everyone for your comments!
Ambar C. – Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try it sometime without the flour and with the bran cereal flakes. Sounds interesting!
Jo and Chow,
A lot of falafel are made with half chick peas and half fava beans. The fava beans give the interior a brilliant green color. Perhaps this is what you’re missing?
Great recipe, but a bit dry, likely because I used re-hydrated dried beans which are never as moist as the canned variety. Will definitely make them again though!
[...] Baked Falafel Makes 10 large or 20 small falafel Adapted from Chow Vegan [...]
[...] See all photos here » Recipe from ChowVegan » [...]
[...] (recipe Chow Vegan) [...]
Hi! I loved your recipe, but for some reason, mine came out a little dry. I used my own cooked chickpeas instead of canned. I also omitted the baking powder (because I didn’t have any!) Any idea how I could make them more moist in the future? Thanks!
Carly – I haven’t heard of the half chickpeas and half fava beans before. Sounds interesting, I’ll have to try that sometime. Thanks!
Laura – Not sure why they came out a little dry. The baking powder makes it fluffier. Maybe it’s as Carly mentioned above the dried beans aren’t as moist as the canned chickpeas.
My first batch came out kinda dry, too.
For the record, I used canned chickpeas.
For my second batch, I added a little seranno pepper and more olive oil.
I rolled them into balls and then smashed them more flat to cook, and they crisped up more on the outside (I used a cooking spray on the sheet), and we’re much better.
Love the recipe, but I jacked the oven temperature up to 450 in order to get a good crust on them. Way to go, this is going to be come a staple in my repertoire! Thanks so much!
Posted a picture on my blog: icooksheeats.blogspot.com/2009/10/meatless-tuesday.html
Yummy! We’ve made these several times. My husband, who hates anything too healthy, loves them too. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello! I just stumbled upon your recipe and just made it for lunch…the only ingredient i did not have was cilantro but otherwise i followed it exactly and ate the falafel balls over a salad with tahini-lemon dressing…it was AMAZING!! THANKS
[...] 27, 2009 by Maggie Tonight for dinner I made baked falafal. I found the recipe from Chow Vegan. I made them tonight and there’s enough for six meals. I put three of the [...]
I have made these twice now, the second time had to be a triple batch! Fantastic recipe, I’m not vegan, or even vegitarian for that matter, but I can honestly say that my family and I lived on these for the last week. My brother avoids anything that isn’t meat and potatoes and he’ll eat these. Eat them with pita and lettuce, hummus and pickled turnip, soooo good. Thank you soo much, they will definitley make repeat appearances in our kitchen.
Hey! I made these for the first time over the summer, and my family loves them so much that they beg me to make them whenever I come down to visit. I’m about to make a triple batch for our Christmas party! Thanks for the recipe :)
I can’t wait to make these – i think a higher temp. is a good idea and a little broil at the end will crisp up – the idea of a wee bit more olive oil sound good to keep from becoming dry. tahini sauce is a must – tahini, lemon and water – shake in a jar and keep to drizzle on these and almost anything. thanks for the recipe…
This was sooooo good! I have a food processor so I did go ahead and use it and they came out awesome. I made my sandwich with a little bit of hummus and baba ganoush (I included a picture on my flickr), romaine lettuce, tomato… and even some hot chili sauce.
Thanks for sharing!
I am planning to make these with 30 youth on Monday as part of our food program. Do you have any extra tips to ensure success??
Thanks!
Emma
Emma – That’s so cool! The recipe is pretty straight forward. The only thing I can think of, is if you haven’t made it before maybe try it first so you would know what’s all involved. Other than that, have fun! :-)
I just made this and it was sooo good. Everyone in my family loved it! You have convinced me that veganism does not equal starvation and I might have to reconsider becoming one (i fear that my addiction to honey might thwart my attempt). Thanks so much! I used whole wheat pitas which were about 110 calories for half and using the tahini sauce and hummus sparingly, this meal was pretty low calorie. Can you say BONUS?! Baked>fried.
Shelby – Glad you and your family love it! There’s plenty of good and tasty vegan food, no starvation here. :-) Maybe replace honey with agave nectar?
I made these for my annual Christmas Potluck, which was Mediterranean themed. They were delicious. I leave out the cilantro, but they are amazing. I use a masher instead of a processor as well. I found I have to broil them a bit near the end to get a good crispy outside, probably just my oven.
Thanks for the recipe, I make these all the time now!
After a failed lentil burger incident a few months ago because the ingredients didn’t bind well, I was extra cautious and threw in an “egg”(1 tbsp ground flax to 3 tbsp water). For double the recipe, I used about 3/4 of the “egg”. The falafel turned out just fine in the over, but GREAT in the pan with a little oil – not fried, just browned on low-med flame.
Fattoush is a really good (vegan!) accompaniment:
www.theepicentre.com/Recipes/mfatoosh.html
Best falafel I’ve had! Also – I made mine into triangles and baked then for 10 minutes or so a side, I think this helps with covering more area with crispy deliciousness!
I’ve made these almost every week for a month now!! MMM… falafel! Though I would love to find a good vegan version of a mint yogurt sauce – any thoughts?
Great idea on the triangle shape! Thanks! Seems like you could probably just whip up your own vegan mint yogurt sauce. There’s plenty of plain soy or coconut yogurt out there to choose from, add mint and whatever other ingredients. I haven’t tried researching recipes myself though…
These were super yummy, thanks! I made them in a food processor and they turned out great. Next time I’ll try the fork smashing technique.
[...] October 7, 2009 by Alex Baked Falafel Lettuce, Tomato, Tahini Sauce Recipe courtesy of ChowVegan My cooking schedule got a bit thrown off this week, so we ended up delaying our Meatless [...]
[...] Baked Falafel Hummus would be perfect with the falafel. You know me, always trying to find a way to bring hummus to a party. [...]
[...] Falafel Adapted from Chow Vegan Serves 4 (makes 20-24 [...]
I just made a slightly different recipe for dinner but it was fried and afterwards I vowed to never make falafels again! But I just found this recipe and think I will go for it and bake them next time. Thank you, thank you for posting this.
My favorite falafel restaurant closed several years ago and I still remember King Falafel in Grover Beach, CA with fondness.
[...] the agenda for tomorrow is Baked Falafel and Mango [...]
[...] chowvegan.com/2009/01/06/baked-falafel/ [...]
[...] friend. I wanted to try an adapted healthy recipe with no frying involved. I decided to give this Baked Falafel Recipe from Chow Vegan a whirl. However, I substituted where it called for flour with crushed sesame rice [...]
I made this and caramelized the onion first… So good! Beats the best falafel I’ve had out!
Renela – I never made it to King Falafel before it closed. :-(
Dg – Caramelized onions! That must have added a ton of flavor, great idea! Thanks!