This easy falafel recipe is baked, not fried, but still gets a golden exterior and plenty of bright, bold flavor thanks to fresh herbs and garlic. While not 100% traditional, the use of canned chickpeas makes it possible to make this falafel recipe in under 30 minutes. They’re gluten-free, vegan, and served with a quick + easy tahini sauce that’s perfect for dipping or drizzling.
The other day I was struck with an overwhelming craving for falafel. Like, OMG I NEED FALAFEL RIGHT NOW OR I’M GONNA DIE.
Yes, I know, it’s so very dramatic, but, like, so is using upwards of ten commas in one sentence, for god’s sake, and look at me go!
For the record, I could have squeezed another few commas in there, but my goal here is to make you read all the way down to the recipe, not to get excessive eye rolls and immediate page closings.
Overeager millennial-isms aside, these falafel were the brainchild of said intense craving, where I knew I didn’t have time to soak my own chickpeas overnight (the traditional way to make falafel that helps achieve the best chunky interior texture) and would clearly perish if I didn’t get some dang tasty falafel in my mouth ASAP.
So, I got to work, and while I was at it, I decided to bake these instead of frying them since I never have enough oil in my house to deep fry anything, and buying enough quality oil to fry these in (peace out canola and/or vegetable oil) would cost me a literal arm and a leg.
Does baking falafel make them less super-crunchy on the outside? Yes, it does. Am I mad about it? No, not at all. Will I continue to ask and answer all of my own questions? Probably (see below).
How do we make these not-fried and not-made-with-soaked-raw-chickpeas falafel still taste, well, like falafel?
Lots of fresh parsley, cilantro, and garlic. Lemon zest. Cumin. Cayenne. Salt.
Aka: aallll the FLAVOR.
I also added a super sneaky falafel ingredient that just felt right at the time, and I don’t regret in the slightest: baking powder. Just a teeny bit helps give these nuggets of chickpea joy a little extra fluff and lift in the oven, which we would otherwise be lacking since we skipped over that whole soaked chickpeas bit and went straight for the soft, squishy, canned ones.
To make them, you’ll puree all the herbs + spices together in a food processor (or high powered blender ) <–affiliate links, then add in the chickpeas and some chickpea flour (I left a few other flour options in the recipe notes, as I’ve tried them with like 6 different flours and realize that not everyone has chickpea flour in their pantry), give a quick pulse juuuust to break up the chickpeas, then scoop and bake.
This recipe yields enough for 12 little baby falafel balls, perfect for tucking into pita, nestling atop a bed of greens, or dunking in tahini sauce and popping straight into your mouth. As such, you may want to double the recipe, since I’ve found that several of them tend to take the popped-in-the-mouth route, and you may find yourself with very few falafel to actually eat with a meal.
You’ve been warned.
Also, I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but there’s a super simple tahini sauce listed with the falafel, should you find yourself in need of instructions on how to mix tahini with lemon juice and season it until it tastes good to you.
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture of your little green falafel bites of joy and tag me in it on Instagram– I love seeing my recipes in your kitchen! Happy falafel-ing, friends!
Easy Baked Falafel with Tahini Sauce [GF + Vegan]
Yields: 12 1-inch falafel balls
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas
- 1 cup fresh cilantro (leaves + tender stems), loosely packed
- 1 cup fresh parsley (leaves + tender stems), loosely packed
- zest from 1 large lemon
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons chickpea flour (see notes below for other flour options)
- olive oil, to spray/brush the falafel before cooking
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas and set aside to continue draining while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or high-powered blender and blend until finely minced.
- Add chickpeas and flour to the food processor and pulse 8-10 times, just until chickpeas are broken up. Use a spatula to finish combining the dough, if needed, but take care not to puree this mixture or your falafel will have the texture of hummus.
- Scoop the falafel batter into 12 small balls (I like to use a small cookie scoop for this, or you can portion out each one to be 2 Tablespoons in size), rolling each ball between the palm of your hands and pressing down gently to slightly flatten. Place onto the prepared sheet pan and spray with olive oil spray/brush with olive oil to coat.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 minutes, for 20 total minutes in the oven. Remove and serve immediately with tahini sauce (recipe below), or let cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Tahini Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons water, plus more, to thin
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey, if your tahini is particularly bitter
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to combine, adding more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed, to achieve your desired drizzling consistency. Taste and add maple/honey, if desired, to balance the bitterness of the tahini. Serve with falafel (duh) or use to drizzle over salads, grain bowls, or roasted veggies. Leftovers keep in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week, and may need an extra splash of water to thin out after chilling.
Notes:
FLOUR OPTIONS: I’ve tested this recipe with lots of different flours. The best, in my opinion, are: organic all-purpose flour, arrowroot starch, or chickpea flour. Any of them can be used interchangeably with similar results. I found falafel made with almond, coconut, or oat flours to be a bit off, and wouldn’t recommend using them in this recipe.
DOUBLE THIS RECIPE: Double all ingredients, taking care not to over process the chickpeas into a mushy filling. All 24 falafel balls should still fit on one sheet pan, spaced about 1-inch apart. If just using as a drizzle over bowls or in pita sandwiches, the recipe for tahini sauce above yields enough for a double batch of falafel. If using to dip each one, or if you like lots of sauce, double the tahini sauce recipe as well!