We are big falafel fans! It is fun street food that feels like a very light, but still substantial meal. It also is so versatile that we never really get sick of it: Good on salads, sandwiches, pitas, rice bowls, etc.
Falafel is a go-to at our favorite local restaurant (also where they have the life-changing chicken shawarma that I did my best to recreate when we moved away), but is not hard to make at home!
The hardest part is that you must use dry chickpeas and you must soak them. Which isn’t even hard so much as it requires forethought. I’ve tried to work around this by using canned beans so many times, but the texture comes out all wrong. Forethought is worth it for not-gummy falafel!
(But also if you successfully make falafel from canned chickpeas, tell me your ways.)
Once your beans are ready, you toss them in the food processor (possibly my favorite kitchen appliance, we have this) with garlic and parsley and lots of spices and then form into patties and bake and BAM. You’re looking at a bright future of falafel salads, sandwiches, wraps, and bowls.
Unlike fried falafel, baked falafel keeps really well. They’re good hot, room temp, or even cold, which makes them ideal for meal prepping!
No matter how we’re eating this, we always have tomatoes and cucumber and and red onion and LOTS of hummus on standby.
Baked Falafel
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups dried chickpeas
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup chopped curly parsley
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- Place dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with water by 2-3 inches. Soak 12-24 hours, until beans are soft enough that you can crush one between two fingers. Drain chickpeas and place in food processor along with garlic, onion, cumin, cayenne, parsley, flour, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and baking soda. Pulse until coarsely minced – about 30 seconds. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheeet. Form bean mixture into small patties, using roughly 2 tablespoons per patty. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Bake 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Once crisp and brown, remove from oven.
Inspired by Mark Bittman.
