Inspired by our trip to Israel, I created a easy baked falafel recipe that is just as easy as it is tasty! It’s made with canned chickpeas so there’s no soaking necessary. These protein-packed patties are great for topping bowls and salads, plus they’re vegan and gluten-free.
Ever since our trip to Israel last November, I’ve been hooked on Israeli food. Not only does it take me back to that time and place, but it’s just so fresh and the flavors used in their cooking are incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of Middle Eastern food. I just stumbled across this article by Food52 that says “the U.S. appetite for goods and products from (Middle Eastern countries) is on the rise.” Apparently I’m on trend… totally not mad about it.
SEE HOW TO MAKE THIS EASY BAKED FALAFEL:
Rather than just daydreaming about these flavors or depending on a local restaurant, I decided I needed to create my own recipe for baked falafel.
The main reason these falafel are so easy is that I used canned chickpeas. Traditionally, falafel is made using dried chickpeas that have been soaked overnight. No, soaking is not hard, but sometimes I forget to start the process the night before and when mama wants falafel, mama wants falafel. 😉 I typically like to keep my pantry stocked with a variety of spices, so I usually have most of the ingredients for this recipe on hand. Score!
If you’ve never tried falafel before, you’re in for a treat. I like to eat these on their own, with a sauce or dip (can’t go wrong with hummus or tahini), or as a vegetarian protein option for pita sandwiches, salads and bowls.
Are you a falafel fan? Have you ever tried making your own?
If you make this easy baked falafel recipe please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. We love getting your feedback and it helps other EBF readers who are thinking of trying the recipe!
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Inspired by our trip to Israel, I created a baked falafel recipe that is just as easy as it is tasty! It’s made with canned chickpeas so there’s no soaking necessary. These protein-packed patties are great for topping bowls and salads, plus they’re vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- pinch of cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 Tablespoons oat flour
- olive or avocado oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a baking sheet with oil.
- Add chickpeas, onion, garlic, oil, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, salt and cayenne into a food processor (affiliate link) and pulse until just combined. You don’t want to over-process the mixture or you’ll end up with hummus. Plus, having a few chunks of chickpeas gives the falafel a nice texture. Stir in baking soda and oat flour. At this point your mixture should be holding together quite well.
- Scoop spoonfuls of mixture out and form into small patties; you should get about 15. Place on prepped baking sheet.
- Bake 10-12 minutes, flip patties and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until falafel are golden and cooked through.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 falafel
- Calories: 143
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 648mg
- Fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 6g
Keywords: baked falafel, easy baked falafel
Whitney says
March 17, 2018 at 8:31 amThis looks fantastic! Can’t wait to make the recipe? Just a quick question – is there any reason not to use Chickpea flour instead of oat flour, to keep it gluten-free? Are there consistency differences or would it just be an easy 1:1 swap?
Brittany Mullins says
March 17, 2018 at 12:30 pmGood question! I haven’t tried it with chickpea flour so I’m not sure if it’s a 1:1 swap. I would add the flour last and do 1 Tablespoon at a time until the dough has the right consistency… holding together well but not too dry. Just a heads up, you can get gluten-free oat flour. I buy the Bob’s Red Mill brand. 🙂
Lynn says
March 17, 2018 at 11:47 amCan’t wait to make these. Can they be prepared and then frozen before baking ?
Brittany Mullins says
March 17, 2018 at 12:31 pmHi Lynn. I think I would bake and cool them, then freeze. Then all you would need to do is thaw and reheat when you want to enjoy.
Mariam says
March 17, 2018 at 9:45 pmHey dear, can I use regular flour? Much love.
Brittany Mullins says
March 19, 2018 at 3:32 pmSure!
Katy says
March 23, 2018 at 3:11 pmI made these today and they were delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
Melissa says
June 11, 2018 at 9:17 amThese are ridiculously amazing….
I have made these a few times now (double batch each time), and used my FoodSaver to freeze some to take with me while traveling.
In the last batch I used 2 chipotle peppers (in adobe sauce), and used a bit less salt, and it was amazing too.
Thank you for this recipe!!
★★★★★
Brittany Mullins says
June 11, 2018 at 10:41 amHooray! So glad that you enjoyed these, Melissa. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment with your feedback and suggestions too. It’s so helpful for me and other EBF readers. <3
Juliann Bunna says
September 17, 2018 at 2:14 pmCan you use any other flour? Almond flour of coconut flour?
Michelle says
September 18, 2018 at 7:39 pmMine are delicious but they are crumbly and splitting as they bake.
Brittany Mullins says
September 19, 2018 at 10:00 amOh no! I’m sorry to hear that, Michelle. Did the batter seem too dry to begin with?
Monica says
September 26, 2018 at 6:22 pmJust made it. A little too salty for me, but it tasted amazing! Thanks!
Brittany Mullins says
September 26, 2018 at 10:40 pmOh shoot! Sorry it was a little too salty. Hopefully next time you can cut back on the salt a little bit. 🙂
Edie C. says
November 19, 2018 at 7:16 pmI made these quick and easy, tasty, chunky monkeys and they were fantastic! Next time I’ll be cutting back the sea salt to 1/2 tsp. though. Other than that I wouldn’t change a thing.
Making again tonight. Love them in lettuce wraps with salsa verde or balsamic glaze on the side. Yum yum.
Thanks Brittany.
★★★★
Madelyn says
December 10, 2018 at 9:56 pmMade these last night for dinner and even the sceptics LOVED them! Really quick and easy to make, and they made great leftovers to pack in my lunch today.
★★★★★
Emily B. says
January 9, 2019 at 9:52 pmMade these tonight and they turned out great! Made only minor changes and cooked them in my air fryer. Delicious served with homemade tahini.
I added more garlic cloves and some garlic powder because we like things garlicky. Didn’t have enough fresh parsley, so I threw in some fresh cilantro and a little dried parsley on top of the fresh parsley I had. I didn’t measure out salt, just did some twists of my shaker. I only had regular flour, so I used that.
I made mine into balls not patties and “fried” them in my air fryer at 390 degrees for about 10 minutes. After draining the canned chickpeas, I blotted them dry on a paper towel. I was skeptical attempting this with canned chickpeas, but it was super easy and turned out great. Thanks!
★★★★★
Peg says
February 5, 2019 at 6:37 pmLooking forward to making these! I am on an oil free diet right now. Do you think they would turn out ok without it?
Chrissie says
February 10, 2019 at 1:10 pmFantastic! No other comment necessary!
★★★★★
T says
February 26, 2019 at 10:43 pmI tried these tonight, and I hope my critical comment will be taken with a grain of salt… I think its because of my middle eastern background but they aren’t traditional falafel; they’re more of a vegan chickpea patty to me… still yummy, but they weren’t too crunchy, they just didn’t have that traditional falalel feel/taste. 🙁 I followed the recipe to the T! but they just wouldn’t bake – they were raw on the inside and nicely coloured on the outside.
may says
April 8, 2019 at 7:57 amOh I love this recipe! It looks fairly easy to make so I won’t mess it up haha great recipe, thank you!
★★★★★
Kristen Mullins says
June 10, 2019 at 8:53 amI made these yesterday and they were a huge hit! My only question is how you get 15 patties out of the recipe–I only got 9 and they looked like they were roughly the same size as yours. Next time I will double the recipe because they will definitely be in our regular rotation!
★★★★★