Falafel

Falafel are cute and tasty chickpea patties with a crispy outer crust and a soft, compact, and tasty interior.

They are packed with flavor from nutty chickpeas, fresh herbs, and fragrant spices.

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to make falafel at home and cook them in an oven, air fryer, or deep fryer.

Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet. It’s low in cholesterol and saturated fats.

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Falafels are mouthwatering chickpea patties with a crunchy outer shell and a beautifully soft but compact inside.

They are gracefully flavored with lovely fresh herbs such as parsley and mint and fragrant spices such as cumin and coriander.

Due to their immense popularity, falafel can be dubbed the hamburger of the Middle East.

There are many variations of falafel, from Egyptian Ta’amia, made with a base of fava beans, to Syrian and Lebanese Falaafil, prepared with a combination of chickpeas and fava beans, to Yemeni-style falafel with chickpeas and eggs.

Serve falafel as a snack, appetizer, or main course with hummus, baba ganoush, tabouli or shirazi salad, tahini sauce, and warm pita bread.

Dried chickpeas

You’ll need dry chickpeas or garbanzo beans to make falafel.

Before making falafel, soak the chickpeas in water for 24 hours. Optionally, add a teaspoon of baking soda to soften the chickpea skin.

Canned chickpeas are not ideal for this recipe, but you can make chickpea fritters instead.

Spices

Falafel is flavored with ground cumin and coriander.

Fresh herbs

Use flat-leaf Italian parsley as the main flavoring herb. Optionally, you can add fresh mint and fresh coriander (cilantro).

Onion

White or yellow onion.

Garlic

Fresh garlic and chickpeas are excellent together, and this is an essential ingredient.

Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper

Season with sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or chili powder for spiciness.

Baking powder

Baking powder lightens the falafel balls, making them less compact, airier, and lighter.

Oil

If you deep-fry the falafel, you’ll need frying oil. If you air-fry them, you’ll need some extra virgin olive oil.

1. Soak the chickpeas

The day before making falafel, soak the dried chickpeas in a large bowl with plenty of water for 24 hours.

The day after, drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas under running water.

Tip: You can soak the chickpeas for up to 48 hours. In this case, soak them in the refrigerator.

2. Blend the ingredients

To a food processor, add the onion chopped into 4 pieces, peeled garlic cloves, fresh parsley and mint, ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.

Blend until finely chopped.

Tip: It’s easier to blend the herbs first and add the chickpeas later.

Add the soaked chickpeas and baking powder and blend until finely coarse, scraping down the sides of the food processor often.

It should take you about 2 minutes.

Here’s what the texture should look like. It’s finely coarse but not pureed.

3. Shape the falafel

You can shape the falafel by hand or use a falafel scoop, ice cream scoop, or cookie dough scoop.

Grab some mixture into the scoop and press it with your hand to form a small ball.

Take the ball out of the scoop and gently press it between your hands to flatten it slightly.

The balls should be compact but not overly so; otherwise, the falafel will be too dense. The mixture should stick well together and easily keep its shape.

If it doesn’t, add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour or chickpea flour to the mixture to help it stick together.

Rinse the scoop with water after every 3 falafels or when they start sticking to it.

Arrange the falafel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or brushed with olive oil.

Air frying is the best alternative to deep-frying. The falafels turn out crisp on the outside and delicious!

Brush the bottom of your air fryer with olive oil. Arrange the falafels in the air fryer on a single layer.

Air fry at 400°F or 200°C for 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.

5. How to cook falafel in the oven

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. If you have a convection oven (with a fan), use that.

Arrange the balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or brushed with oil.

Oven-baking dries out the falafels, so we recommend brushing them with olive oil to accelerate cooking and make them tastier.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

6. How to deep-fry the falafel

Deep-frying is the most traditional and tastiest method. You’ll need a saucepan or a small pot and about 4 cups of frying oil (or more if your pot is larger).

It’s essential to use enough oil to cover the falafel fully. If they are fully submerged, they will absorb less oil.

Open your windows or make sure you have enough ventilation in your kitchen.

First, add the oil to a small pot with tall edges. Ensure you fill the pot to only half its height because the oil will expand as it warms up and as you add the falafel.

Second, warm up the oil to 340°F or 170°C. Use a kitchen thermometer to check the oil temperature.

Dip the falafel in the oil gently, one by one. We recommend frying 3 or 4 at a time.

Cook them in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Move the falafels around as they cook to ensure even frying.

Make sure the oil temperature stays constant at around 340°F or 170°C.

Take the falafels out of the oil and arrange them on a plate lined with parchment or kitchen paper.

Repeat this until you run out of falafel.

Deep-fried falafel is unbeatable. They taste delicious, have a gorgeous crunchy shell, and have a lovely, soft, moist, aromatic interior.

Serve falafel as an appetizer with warm pita bread on a bed of hummus and with a drizzle of tahini sauce.

You can sprinkle it with fresh parsley, sesame seeds, and sumac.

Make a meze platter with a selection of small dishes from Mediterranean and Middle-Easter cuisine. You can add:

• SALAD: Shirazi salad or Tabouli salad
• SPREAD: Hummus, baba ganoush, mutabal, muhammara.
• PICKLES: quick pickled onions, sumac marinated onions, pickled beets, or jalapeños.
• BREAD: pita bread, crackers, or flatbread.
• VEGGIES: grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, roasted peppers, and olives.
• SAUCE: tahini sauce, tzatziki sauce, or yogurt tahini sauce.
• CHEESE: grilled halloumi, feta cheese, labne.

You can also make a Mediterranean bowl with similar ingredients.

Or smash them into a decadent wrap for a quick lunch. We recommend stuffing it with hummus, shirazi salad, tahini sauce, and something pickled.

Or use the same ingredients to make a crunchy and creamy falafel sandwich with warm pita bread.

Refrigerator: Falafels are excellent for meal prep. You can store the mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Cooked falafels keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Freezer: If you have leftover falafel, let them cool down completely, transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw: defrost in the microwave.

Reheat: we recommend warming the falafel in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes max.

Similar recipes

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• Lentil patties
• Chickpea fritters
• Black bean salad
• Chickpea salad
• Chickpea pasta salad
• Curry chickpea salad
• Chickpea curry