Easy Homemade Falafel

This Easy Homemade Falafel Recipe is perfect for when you’re craving falafel and don’t want to go out to eat! You can make it at home, and it tastes delicious! Stuff it in a pita or enjoy it on a salad.

Falafel is one of my favorite foods. I used to enjoy it only while eating out, but now that I’ve come up with this super Easy Homemade Falafel Recipe, I can eat it anytime I want. Falafel has a complex flavor, so it may seem like it would be difficult to recreate yourself, but it’s really so easy!

My favorite way to eat falafel is in a warm pita with veggies and tahini sauce, but you can top it on a salad or serve it as an appetizer as I do in this Butternut Squash Falafel Recipe.

What Is Falafel?

Falafel is a Middle Eastern food with chickpeas, herbs, and spices. The chickpeas are ground, mixed with fresh cilantro, parsley, garlic, onion, and spices, and then formed into patties or balls.

Traditionally, falafel is fried, giving it a nice crispy exterior while still being soft. I prefer to bake my falafel to make it healthier. It doesn’t get as crispy outside but tastes great and uses much less oil.

Falafel is usually served in a warm pita with a flavorful sauce. I prefer to use a lemon tahini sauce on my falafel, but you can always use tzatziki, a yogurt-based sauce with lemon juice, dill, and cucumber. I like to stuff my falafel pita sandwich with veggies like cucumber, tomato, onion, and lettuce. You can also add the falafel to a salad.

Homemade Falafel Recipe Ingredients

Garbanzo beans – I used canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed. You can make them in traditional falafel fashion by soaking dried chickpeas overnight.
Vegetables – I included chopped fresh garlic and white onion in the falafel, lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumber inside the pitas.
Herbs – Cilantro and parsley.
Spices – Cumin, and salt and pepper, to taste.
Flour –  This recipe calls for just two Tablespoons of flour. Gluten-free will also work if needed.
Additional ingredients – For serving, if desired: gluten-free pita bread, 
Tahini – I always suggest finding tahini you enjoy; some can be bitter, so be sure to taste-test before using.
Lemon – The juice of half a large lemon.
Baking powder
Olive oil
Water

How To Make My Easy Falafel

I must admit I cut a small corner when making my falafel. Traditionally, dry chickpeas are soaked in water overnight, but I always have canned chickpeas on hand and never remember to soak my chickpeas the night before.

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place the parsley, cilantro, garlic, and onion in the food processor and blend until chopped. Next, add all the remaining ingredients, except for flour, baking powder, and olive oil, to the food processor and blend until everything is broken down but not pureed. Next, sprinkle in the flour and baking powder and blend again until the mixture forms a ball. You may have to stop and scrape the sides down a few times.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to form the mixture into balls. You can make them as big or as small as you like. I used about 1 Tablespoon of mixture for each one. Place falafels on a baking sheet and brush the top of each with olive oil. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes, flipping once.
3. Make the sauce while the falafel is baking. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until combined and a creamy sauce is formed.
4. If desired, serve falafels in a pita with vegetables and tahini sauce.

Recipe Tips For This Baked Falafel Recipe

• I usually don’t have a problem with the falafel staying together once I form it into balls. Still, if you wanted, you could always make the falafel mixture ahead of time and refrigerate it so it firms up a little bit before baking.
• You can fry the falafel balls instead of baking them. Unfortunately, I haven’t done this myself, so I don’t have any suggestions for oil temperature and fry time.
• Falafel will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but I suggest reheating before eating the leftovers. It will just give them a nicer texture.
• As I said above, falafel is traditionally enjoyed with tahini or tzatziki sauce. I always have tahini and lemons on hand, which I usually use.

I like to make my falafel into balls because they fit nicely into the pita, but you can also make it into patties. If you make patties, it’s easy to fry them in a frying pan with oil instead of baking them in the oven. Thin patties also cook faster in the frying pan.

Do you have a question about this easy homemade falafel? Ask me in the comments, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Looking For More Falafel Dishes?

Open-Faced Vegan Falafel Pitas

Easy Falafel Soup with Crispy Pita

Roasted Butternut Squash Falafel Bites

Roasted Carrot Falafel Salad with Citrus Tahini Dressing

Easy Homemade Falafel

Yield: About 14 balls

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This Easy Homemade Falafel is baked in the oven and so flavorful!  It's perfect to enjoy in a warm pita or on a salad.

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Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped white onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons flour, gluten free if necessary
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Olive oil
• Additional ingredients for serving, if desired: gluten-free pita bread, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber

TAHINI SAUCE

• ½ cup tahini
• Juice of ½ large lemon
• 5-7 tablespoons water, depending on how thick you want sauce
• Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Place the parsley, cilantro, garlic and onion in the food processor and blend until chopped.  Next, place all the remaining ingredients, except for flour, baking powder and olive oil, into a food processor and blend until everything is broken down but not pureed. Next, sprinkle in the flour and baking powder and blend again until mixture forms a ball. You may have to stop and scrape the sides down a few times.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to form the mixture into balls. You can make them as big or as small as you would like. I used about 1 tablespoon of mixture for each one. Place falafels on baking sheet and brush the top of each with olive oil. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes, flipping once.
3. Make the sauce while the falafel is baking. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until combined and a creamy sauce is formed.
4. If desired, serve falafels in a pita with vegetables and tahini sauce.

Nutrition Information

Yield 7 Serving Size 2
Amount Per Serving Calories 269Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 0mgSodium 753mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 6gSugar 9gProtein 9g

*Information may vary based on brand of ingredient you use.