Easy falafel recipe. Authentic, crispy and light Middle Eastern classic loaded with chickpeas, herbs and spices. Transforming simple ingredients to flavorful snack or appetizers for your next gathering. These delicious bites make for a great tasting snack or add to pitas for a healthy lunch idea.
The real advantage of buying dried chickpeas is the fact that it can be stored in your pantry for a very long time. The only negative is that you have to plan ahead and soak them for at least 8 hours to reduce the cooking time. However, there’s nothing better than cooking a wholesome meal for your family with this delicious nutrition powerhouse ingredient.
Middle Eastern falafel recipe featuring super crispy crust and soft inside loaded with chickpeas, herbs and spices. This perfect snack is super nutritious and tastes incredible with tahini sauce. Honestly, I love that beautiful vibrant green that you see in the pictures.
Delicious, Easy Falafel Recipe
The key ingredient is, obviously, dried chickpeas. Canned chickpeas is a big no-no in this recipe. You will need a very coarse chickpeas paste, so dried chickpeas soaked overnight is the best option. Again, soaking is also super important to get the right texture. You can add a splash of water if required but it’s not necessary.
Once the chickpeas are ground to a coarse paste, transfer to a bowl and grind the rest of the ingredients except flour and baking powder. This includes all the herbs, spices, garlic and onions. You will also need a little flour for the binding agent and some baking powder to keep them light and soft. Add the puréed ingredients to the chickpea mixture and done.
Now all you need to do in this falafel recipe is roll small balls out of the mixture and cook them as per your liking - deep fry, bake or air fry. I highly recommend refrigerating the balls for about 20 minutes prior to cooking. Dip them in beautiful tahini sauce and enjoy!
More Chickpea Snack Recipes:
Easy Falafel Recipe | Video
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups dried chickpeas rinsed
- ½ cup parsley
- ½ cup coriander cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup spring onions scallions, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 green chili chopped
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour plain flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Yogurt-tahini sauce to serve (recipe in instructions below)
Instructions
- Place chickpeas in a large bowl. Cover with water. Soak for 24 hours. The chickpeas will absorb water and double in size. Drain. Place chickpeas in a food processor. Process to a coarse paste. Transfer chickpea paste to a bowl.
- To the food processor, add parsley, coriander (cilantro) leaves, spring onions (scallions), garlic cloves, onions and green chili. Grind to a smooth paste.
- Add this mixture to the chickpea paste.
- Add baking powder, flour, ground cumin, ground coriander and cayenne pepper (if using). Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Make small lemon sized balls out of the mixture. Place the balls in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- To deep fry: heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add chickpea balls. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Deep fry falafels. Drain on an absorbent towel.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 190C / 375 F. Arrange falafel balls on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spray with a little cooking oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- To air fry: Place the balls in basket and air fry at 350F or 180C for 8-10 minutes. Flip and fry for another 5-6 minutes.
- Serve with tahini yogurt sauce if you like. To make the sauce, grind together ¼ cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, a handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves and 2 tablespoons tahini. Season with salt and pepper.
Video
Notes
- Only use dried chickpeas in this recipe, no canned chickpeas
- To make this recipe gluten free, substitute all purpose (plain) flour with chickpea flour
- Preparation time does not include soaking time
- Do not over process the chickpea mixture
- I didn’t add water to the mixture while grinding
- Roll the falafel balls in sesame seeds before frying if you like
Nutrition
Like this easy falafel recipe? Then join Nish Kitchen on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Watch exclusive recipe videos on YouTube.
Leave a Reply