Crispy, satisfying, and filled with flavor, homemade falafel is shockingly easy to make at home! Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern dish usually made from ground chickpeas or fava beans (or a combination of the two), herbs, and spices. They are golden brown and crispy on the outside and beautifully green on the inside.
While naturally vegan and gluten-free, falafels are so satisfying to eat that everyone will love them. They’re always a crowd-pleasing recipe, and you can easily scale up the recipe for a party. All you need are some simple, everyday ingredients, and you’ll have this recipe ready in no time. For another tasty Middle Eastern recipe, try my tabbouleh recipe or mujadara recipe. You could also make the two dishes to serve alongside the falafels!
Key Ingredients You Need
- Chickpeas — You want to use soaked dried chickpeas for this falafel recipe as canned chickpeas will be too soft and wet so that they won’t hold their shape. Canned chickpeas will also cause the falafels to disintegrate as they fry. Some recipes call for canned chickpeas but require flour to help bind the falafel, but you may end up with a doughy and textureless bite.
- Fresh herbs — Parsley and cilantro add a ton of flavor to the falafels and give the interior that beautiful vibrant green color.
- Spices — Cumin adds a rich earthy flavor with a hint of citrus, whereas coriander is mildly sweet with a lemony flavor. They compliment each other wonderfully as they share an earthy, slightly spicy flavor. Add cayenne for an extra kick.
- Baking soda — It may seem odd to add baking soda to a savory recipe, but it helps keeps the interior texture of the falafels fluffy.
How to Make Falafel
Step 1: Soak the chickpeas in a large bowl of water for at least 8 hours.
Step 2: Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then add to a food processor along with the onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Process until the mixture has a consistency that holds together when you squeeze it in your hands. Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour.
Step 4: Form the falafel mixture into balls, about 1.5” in diameter.
Step 5: Carefully add the balls into a saucepan of oil at 350F and fry for 2 to 4 minutes until each ball has become golden. Fry in batches as not to overcrowd your pan.
Step 6: Place the cooked falafel on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
Step 7: Serve with pita bread, hummus, tahini sauce, diced cucumber, and tomato.
Tips For This Recipe
- Before rolling, you can use a cookie scoop to portion out the mixture for perfectly uniformed falafels.
- Chickpeas double in size as they soak, so use a large enough vessel when soaking them.
- Do not skip chilling the mixture. It helps the mixture firm up, so they hold its shape better.
- It’s important to keep the temperature of the oil steady at 350F. If the temperature drops (usually by adding too many falafels into the oil at once), the falafel won’t be as crisp. If the temperature is too high, the exterior will burn before the interior cooks.
- When shaping the falafels, do not pack them too tightly. They will become dense and tough if you’re squeezing them hard.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can prepare the falafel mixture ahead of time and leave it covered in the fridge for a few days before shaping and frying them. Cooked falafels can keep for a few days as well, but they’re best freshly fried so the exterior stays crispy.
Falafels freezes beautifully! Shape the falafels into balls and flash-freeze them on a lined sheet pan. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag, and you can fry them from frozen whenever the craving hits.
If you prefer baking to deep frying, heat the oven to 425F and place the rolled balls on a lined sheet pan. Spray them with oil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
You can serve falafel in various ways. They are lovely on their own as an ??appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce. You can also serve them on top of a salad, as part of a platter, or stuffed in pita bread! Whichever way you decide to enjoy them, they’re definitely going to disappear fast.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Falafel Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Falafel Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked dried chickpeas do not use canned chickpeas
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley stems removed
- 1 cup fresh cilantro stems removed
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp cayenne optional
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp baking powder
- vegetable oil for frying
For Serving
- pita bread
- hummus
- tahini sauce
- diced cucumber
- tomato
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in a large bowl of water for at least 8 hours.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then add to a food processor along with the onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper, and baking powder. Process until the mixture has a consistency that holds together when you squeeze it in your hands. Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour.
- Fill a medium saucepan with about 3 inches of oil. Heat until it reaches 350 F.
- Form the falafel mixture into balls, about 1.5” in diameter. Carefully add the balls into the oil and fry for 2 to 4 minutes until each ball has become golden. Fry in batches as to not overcrowd your pan.
- Place the cooked falafel on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
- Serve with pita bread, hummus, tahini sauce, and diced cucumber and tomato.
Video
Notes
- Before rolling, you can use a cookie scoop to portion out the mixture for perfectly uniformed falafels.
- Chickpeas double in size as they soak, so use a large enough vessel when soaking them.
- Do not skip chilling the mixture. It helps the mixture firm up, so they hold its shape better.
- It’s important to keep the temperature of the oil steady at 350F. If the temperature drops (usually by adding too many falafels into the oil at once), the falafel won’t be as crisp. If the temperature is too high, the exterior will burn before the interior cooks.
- When shaping the falafels, do not pack them too tightly. They will become dense and tough if you’re squeezing them hard.
Leave a Reply