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 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
This 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?
Good 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. 🙂
Can’t wait to make these. Can they be prepared and then frozen before baking ?
Hi 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.
Hey dear, can I use regular flour? Much love.
Sure!
I made these today and they were delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
These 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!!
★★★★★
Hooray! 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
Can you use any other flour? Almond flour of coconut flour?
Mine are delicious but they are crumbly and splitting as they bake.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that, Michelle. Did the batter seem too dry to begin with?
Just made it. A little too salty for me, but it tasted amazing! Thanks!
Oh shoot! Sorry it was a little too salty. Hopefully next time you can cut back on the salt a little bit. 🙂
I 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.
★★★★
Made 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.
★★★★★
Made 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!
★★★★★
Looking forward to making these! I am on an oil free diet right now. Do you think they would turn out ok without it?
Fantastic! No other comment necessary!
★★★★★
I 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.