Raise your hand if you love falafel! I’ve gone back into the archives to highlight my all-time favorite homemade falafel recipe. Making falafel at home can be tricky, but this recipe is easy.
Six reasons to love this healthy falafel recipe:
- These falafels are golden brown and crispy on the outside. The insides are tender, delicious, and full of fresh herbs.
- They’re baked instead of fried, so they contain significantly less fat than fried falafel. And your house won’t smell like fried food for days. Winning!
- Once your chickpeas are sufficiently soaked, the falafel mixture comes together in no time. If you have someone to help shape the patties, they’ll come together even faster.
- These falafels are gluten free and vegan, so they’re a great party appetizer.
- These falafels freeze well, so they’re a fantastic protein-rich option to keep on hand for future salads and pita sandwiches.
- On that note, this recipe is easily doubled! See recipe notes.
Are you convinced yet? Let’s make some falafel!
How to Make the Best Homemade Falafel
Bake it, don’t fry it. I say this because frying requires a lot of sizzling hot oil, and that scares me. I also don’t have a good vent over my oven to take the fried food smell far, far away. Plus, you can use a reasonably amount of heart-healthy olive oil in the baked version.
Coat your rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. That way, you get a fried effect in the oven, and you don’t have to brush the little falafels individually with olive oil. Winning!
Use dried chickpeas, not canned. Canned chickpeas do not work for falafel. They’re far too wet. If you try to use canned chickpeas instead of dried and soaked chickpeas, you’ll end up with sad falafel pancakes. Some recipes try to counteract the wetness by adding flour, which significantly dulls the flavor and makes the texture more doughy.
Soak the dried chickpeas for at least four hours. If your chickpeas aren’t sufficiently softened, you’ll have unpalatably tough pieces of chickpea in your falafel. There’s just no workaround here.
Choose your dried chickpeas wisely. Try to buy your dried chickpeas from a store with high turnover, because old chickpeas need longer to soften. If you have options, pick the chickpeas that are the smallest, since they’ll soften faster.
Watch How to Make Crispy Falafel
Falafel Serving Suggestions
Serve falafel as an appetizer, wrap it into a pita sandwich, or add it to salad for a protein-rich topping. Falafel goes great with any of the following ingredients:
- Pita bread, warmed or toasted (tear it up for pita “croutons”)
- Fresh greens (such as spring greens or chopped romaine)
- Tomatoes, sliced
- Bell peppers, cut into strips
- Cucumber, thinly sliced
- Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- Raw red onion, thinly sliced, or quick-pickled onions
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Sauce: Something creamy like tzatziki, hummus, or tahini sauce, and maybe a spicy sauce like zhoug or shatta, too
Here’s a tahini dressing recipe that goes great with this falafel, too:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- Zest and juice of 1 small lemon
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- Pinch of cayenne
- 1/3 cup water
In a small food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend well. You can also whisk the ingredients together by hand in a small bowl, just note that you’ll need to chop the fresh herbs and zest more finely than you would if you were using a food processor.
Please let me know how you like these falafel in the comments! I hope you love them as much as I do. ♥
PrintCrispy Falafel
- Author: Cookie and Kate
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes (plus 4-hour soaking time)
- Yield: 12 falafels 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
This homemade falafel recipe is absolutely delicious, and remarkably crispy! Be sure to allow 4 hours soaking time for the chickpeas, preferably overnight. Then, the falafel mixture is super easy to make in a food processor. Recipe yields 12 to 13 falafels (see notes on how to double).
Ingredients
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup dried (uncooked/raw) chickpeas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator
- ½ cup roughly chopped red onion (about ½ small red onion)
- ½ cup packed fresh parsley (mostly leaves but small stems are ok)
- ½ cup packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves but small stems are ok)
- 4 cloves garlic, quartered
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon (about 25 twists) freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into a large, rimmed baking sheet and turn until the pan is evenly coated.
- In a food processor, combine the soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Using your hands, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Shape the falafel into small patties, about 2 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Place each falafel on your oiled pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully flipping the falafels halfway through baking, until the falafels are deeply golden on both sides. These falafels keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for several months.
Notes
Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
Make-ahead option: I haven’t tried this, but the original recipe notes that the uncooked falafel patties can be refrigerated on a parchment-lined baking sheet, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours before baking.
How to double this recipe: Preheat the oven with two oven racks near the center of the oven. Double all of the ingredients. If you have a large food processor (guessing 11+ cup capacity), you can mix all of the ingredients at once. Use two baking sheets, and swap their positions (top to bottom, bottom to top) when you flip the falafel halfway through baking.
Recommended equipment: I love my 11-cup food processor (affiliate link).
Michelle
These are fantastic!! I don’t recommend a Ninja bullet (only appliance I had for these), but the effort was still worth it.
I’m starting my whole food vegetarian journey with these and they will be a part of my regular rotation. Thank you for the deliciousness.
Helena
I just had to make them with a Magic Bullet also…. safe to say I won’t be doing that again hahaha! Still in the oven so hoping the turn out as great as yours did. :)
Elena
It’s very good!
Jen Williams
This is my 2nd recipe from your site (first was that incredible veggie lasagna), and this did not disappoint! The whole family liked it, and my husband, big meat eater, LOVED it. 2 for 2 – thank you & will be searching for #3 next!
Mindie Cantrell
So good!! Because of these, we now have falafel Wednesdays. Thank you!!
Ash
I normally don’t comment on recipes but these are fantastic! Both my brother and mom thought they were wonderful, and everyone wanted more! I served these with your hummus and baba ganoush recipes, and everything paired perfectly. The spices really came through. Tomorrow I might just have to make some pita bread to go with all this :D
Kate
I’m glad you did, Ash!
Ellie
Baked mine in the bbq, use low heat when doing so :)
Super tasty! Will try adding lots of chillies next time
Kate
Thank you for your review, Ellie!
Nancy Darrow
My daughter made these baked falafel for dinner! I ate 3! They are so amazing!
Nancy D
Lucie
Flavor was good but did bind together and were soft and crumbly. Will try adding flour next time.
Kady
I almost gave up on homemade falafel until I found this recipe – it is now a staple dinner at our house. I always double it and freeze the extras. So good! While we love the flavor, do you you have other seasoning suggestions to switch it up?
Kate
I’m glad you didn’t give-up! I love this as it is. You can always increase what you like in it. I love this with my best tahini sauce!
Heather
Do they freeze well?
Galina
Hi there, I had high hopes for this recipe but it didn’t turn out at all. The beans were really hard even though I soaked it for for 13 hours and the mixture fell apart when I trying to form them into patties. Any suggestions?
Toni H
Use canned chickpeas perhaps?? I don’t do well with dry beans. Last time I TRIED using them (for chili), it was a disaster! Soaked the beans for 24 hrs but they STILL came out dry/hard, even after cooking my chili in a slow cooker all day! I vowed to never again to even attempt working with dried beans.
Kate
Hi Toni, I didn’t have luck with canned for this one. But, if you do that is great!
Denise Zenaldin
No, don’t use canned beans. I did and it was a disaster. They were so runny and were never really patties. The taste was delicious but they were more mush than patties.
Renu
Always soak beans overnight to get the best results
Renu
Toni H
Renu, I soaked them for TWENTY FOUR HOURS, n they were still too tough!
Roba
The same thing happened to me all i did is i added a little bit of flour say 1 tablespoom and it turned out amazing
Tamara
hey there, we cooked the chickpeas for a few minutes after soaking, which helps.
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Galina! Unfortunately, I have found beans can really vary. Sometimes they need to be soaked even longer.
Byron Turrell
Hi there, I had a similar problem so I’ll try soaking for longer next time but they *just* about held together as I placed them very gently onto the baking tray! I wonder whether a little gram flour (which is chickpea flour) might help bind them together? Tasted unbelievable though so I will definitely be persevering.
Lily L
These were so good! Made double batch. Will be making them again soon!
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Lily!
Rachel B
Wow! We made falafel once before following a recipe from another site and it was unsuccessful. I was nervous to try again, but I love falafel so much I was desperate for a home-cooked version. I was hopeful with the soaked chickpeas (rather than canned), and Kate, KUDOS! This falafel truly is crispy on the outside, full of flavor on the inside and so delicious. Thank you!!
Gina Gaeta
These were tasty and worked well with the “quick” soak option on my bag of dried beans but just too much oil in the pan in my opinion! They were greasy Which is disappointing because that’s the reason I looked for something baked instead of fried.
I will try to make these again and use less oil. Thanks for sharing!
Catherine
These are wonderful!! And so much less mess and healthier than if you pan fried them. I really enjoy your recipes. Your blog is helpful, rather than verbose. I’m so glad I found your site.
Kate
Thank you, Catherine! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe and others from my blog. :)
Sarah
This has to be the best falafel I’ve ever had! And I live in the Middle East and have had loads of different falafels….and like all your recipes, it so easy to follow…I served it with your tzatziki —soooo good
Kate
That’s a huge compliment! Thanks so much for sharing, Sarah.
Ashley
Excited to try this recipe!
I don’t have a food processor.
Do you think a simple blender or even an immersion blender would work?
Thanks
PS I have made your pumpkin muffins like 40 times. So good!
Kate
You could try your blender! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Gordana
The taste is great and I followed the recipes fully but some of them fall apart. I checked the other comments but nobody mentioned that. I am wondering what was wrong?
Thank you
Kate
Hi! Sometimes it’s the chickpeas, unfortunately. There is no way to tell how old some are when buying them in the store. Sometimes the older they are, the more dry result you can get. I wish I had a solution!
Katherine Socarras
I found these really hard to digest with the raw/soaked chickpeas. I would love some suggestions because I like the idea of the recipe. But the gas following the consumption was impressive! Fyi: I soaked the beans for at least 24 hours in fridge…
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that! You baked them following, correct?
Kelli A Fox
I love all of your recipes but this one seems to be my favorite. I crave this one often. It feels so nutritious and tastes sooo good. I mostly eat them alone or on a salad. I love them as leftovers as well.
Kate
I’m glad you love it, Kelli! Thanks for your review.
Katherine
Yes, I followed the baking directions.
Soo
Hi, Kate.
I was looking for a baked falafel recipe online and found this one and tried it out today. I ended up making burger-sized patties because my blender was fighting me so I had a chunkier mixture than I would have liked, but the falafel still ended up being delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I saw a baba ganoush recipe here as well, and I can’t wait to try that one next :)
Sowmiya
Hi,
I have some cooked chickpeas on hand. I had soaked them overnight and cooked to use it in another recipe and have some left. Can that be used in this recipe? Please let me know. I really would love to try this sooner than later as I have all ingredients ready.
I have tried several recipes from your blog and this has become my go to place for anything vegetarian and HEALTHY. Thank you very much !!!
Kate
As long as you have the quantity, it could work. I didn’t use cooked prior to the processing. It might be a little different consistency, but worth a shot! Let me know if you try it.
Sowmiya
Sure and thank you.
Paula Levine
Hi,
Has anyone used beaten egg whites to hold the falafel together instead of an oil?
I’m a newbie to making falafel and would like some of the skilled, seasoned chefs to comment on my thought.
Thanks,
Paula
Kate
Hi Paula! The recipe as written works really well! Just ensure you have quality chickpeas to start with and soak them long enough. The result should be amazing!
Marg
Thank you for this recipe. It is amazing. So simple, quick and bursting with flavour. I have tried 3 other recipes, as well as 2 packets that you add stuff to. This is the best by far, and is now my new go-to falafel recipe. Your tahini sauce is also perfect for my taste.
I will share this recipe with all.
I did double the recipe and used only one pan with 1/4 cup of oil for the double batch. They came out perfectly…trying to cut where I can, as I love cooking and eating!
Cheers,
M
Kate
I’m happy it turned out so well for you, Marg!
Allison
We are new to your site and really enjoyed this. A recommendation for portioning them: I used a #30 “cookie” scoop/portioner to get them to be equal sizes and it worked great. That size is just about 2 Tbsp.
Mackenzie
I’ve had store bought falafels before and these didn’t even compare. I was so surprised at how good they tasted since the ingredients are so simple and healthy. They were insanely delicious and the whole batch was eaten immediately and now I have to make them again ASAP! We’re trying to eat less meat and having this recipe really helps! Thank you!!
Kate
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review.
Nigel
This is #2 of your recipes that I’ve tried this week, and it is a winner! (Well, they both are.) This took me literally 15 minutes from opening the fridge to popping them in the oven. I was dubious about baking instead of frying, but I liked these so much better than the fried falafel I’ve had. Thanks for all the great recipes – you are bringing new life to our kitchen! (I love your tip about the dried beans btw; it definitely made the difference.)
Kate
Love that, Nigel! Thank you for your review.
JAMIE
Great recipe! I made this for the first time today and my husband said I should make a double-batch next time. I was going to make it yesterday but the beans were too hard after only a 4 hour soak, so I put them in the refrigerator overnight. They ended up soaking for 26 hours before I used them. I also made your hummus recipe, which turned out great (2nd time making it, I’ll review it separately, but we preferred the flavor of boiling the canned beans without the baking soda. The hummus was a little less creamy but tasted much better to us this way).
Kate
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Jamie.
Christine
Loved these first time I’ve made them I had some dried chickpeas and was looking for a recipe to use them up and this didn’t disappoint. Made them in my Thermomix thanks for the recipe I will be making them again.
Kate
Great to hear, Christine!
Emily
Made these today and they were wonderful! I was out of fresh herbs so I subbed mini peppers – they turned out great!
Jennifer
These are delightful! I made them the first time and they came out a bit crumbly. I added an egg and they were perfect!
Kaveh
These came out very good. Even though they broke up apart too easily, they had a nice crispy texture. Would make them again choosing ‘puree’ instead of ‘chop’ on my small food processor so they’re smoother and easier to form patties. Also will soak chickpeas overnight.
Vivien
Thank you! I am loving virtually all your recipes :) I am a garlic lover and I thought 4 cloves was a touch overpowering, might try with 3 next time. Apart from that, this was a winner. 4.8 stars!
Best wishes from Vivien ♥
Kate
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you loved it, even though the garlic seemed strong.
Myja Raghuvanshi
I tried making this with cornstarch added because I could tell it was way too runny to actually bake. No luck. Also tried panko on the outside…no luck there either. I’m going to try putting it in the fridge for a few hours to set (with panko coating at the end) and will let you know how it turns out.
Kate
How much liquid did you add? These shouldn’t be runny.
Saving4Supper
What’s the best way to reheat these after they’ve been refrigerated?
Kate
Gently in the microwave works!
SplashingInPuddles
This falafel is excellent and I’ve made it many times. I recommend soaking the chickpeas over night. When I do that they turn out great but with shorter soaks I’ve had problems. Twice they wouldn’t break down in the food processor – once with a 4 hour soak and once after 5 1/2 hours, after 10 minutes running the food processor I still had big pieces of chickpeas and had to dump the batch.But with a nice long soak, this makes fantastic falafel.
Kate
There can be a lot of variance in chickpeas! I agree, if you can soak overnight preferably. Thank you for your review!
James Puricelli
Doubling the recipe is awesome, but blend it in two batches in the food processor to get the best consistency.
Kate
Thanks for sharing, James!
Jen
Just made these. They are very tasty. I failed to use puree and used chop on my processor so I had some trouble with making them patties (and new turning would be difficult). To rescue the recipe, I used a curved ice cream scoop pressed against my hand and then gently put the ‘ semi-balls’ into our air fryer on 375 for about 10 minutes. The outside was nice and brown and the inside moist in half the time.
Kate
I’m sorry these didn’t work out great for you! Need to make sure everything is chopped very fine to form the correct patties.
Kaelyn
Absolutely delicious! I only soaked the chickpeas for 5 hours and they turned out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Theresia
Very good. Flavors mixed well. I was out of olive oil & used sesame instead but had too much, so they were a little runny but still very good. Thank you.
Michael Hansen
They fall apart… I was thinking when reading the recipe, that if I add an egg, that will do the job. But I followed the recipe :-)
Fifth try at making falafels, fifth failure ;-)
But… this was by far the best try! Still… a failure!
My wife’s comment “wow, you can cook everything, Mike, but falafels you’ll never get right”, still haunts me :-)
Eva
Would the measurements be the same if I used dried cilantro and parsley?
Kate
Hi Eva! They would not. I’m not sure how this would turn out with dried herbs.
Lenda
The best baked falafel recipe I have tried. Crispy, soft and flavorful all at once! The whole family loves. I’ve been making them since the Summer. ❤ Thanks
Colin
Absolutely loved these! Was just wondering if the flattened shape makes for faster baking only, or just a matter of being done without too much browning…
Kate
Hi Colin! I find they help them bake better and evenly.
Elizabeth
Delish! Tried tonight for the first time and they were a hit. What is best way to freeze without freezer burn?
Kate
Hi Elizabeth! I’m glad you love this recipe. Make sure they are in an airtight container that’s freezer safe. That should work!
mary
really these arent to be boiled in advance only soaked? do you have any instructions for taking some of the gas producing factor down a bit?
Kate
Hi mary, I found this worked well soaked long enough and then baked.
Donna
Hi Kate,
What is the best way to reheat these if frozen?
Kate
Let thaw completely and you can gently warm in the microwave or oven if you like. I hope this helps, Donna!
Chantal
Wish I would have read the comments BEFORE trying this recipe. Yes, the Ninja Bullet is not the best tool for blending the ingredients. Had to add extra EVO to try to blend everything together. Ended up giving up halfway through and used some elbow grease. They are in the oven and smell delicious. I’m sure they will be fine.
Molly
Fala-fail. I promise I followed the instructions to a T, but these did not work for me. They came together ok, and held their shape until they were in the oven. They crumbled on the sheet pan, and crumbled when I touched them. Not sure the cook temp was hot enough, they were not browned at all.
The crumbles tasted great though.
Kate
Hi Molly, I’m sorry to hear that. How long did you soak your chickpeas?
Mr. Pasta
Hi Kate, here is again Mr. Pasta…. this recepie is a little too spicy for me, but better then the fried rice so I’m going to give you two stars only becaouse I want encourage you
Gav
Greetings
Going to try this out tomorrow but I have a neurotic health-related question as I know other pulses carry a toxin. Do you go straight from soaking the chickpeas into the food processor – i.e. you don’t need to boil then in between?
thanks!
Gav
Kate
Hi Gav, no need to boil for this recipe. I’m not a registered nutritionist so I can’t speak more to your health related question, sorry!
Nancy Sulse
The flavor was wonderful but ours turned out super dry. I did have to make it in the Ninja blender and couldn’t get a smooth consistency though they held together well. My hubs just suggested more olive oil in the mixture. I also made the suggested sauce which was fabulous! Helped with the dryness LOL.
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that! Unfortunately, sometimes the chickpeas can vary.
Heather Giff
any mention of cooking these in an air fryer for a crispier texture?
Kate
Hi Heather, I didn’t test those methods and think this is a great result! I did several tests to get these just right. :)
Heather Giff
No worries .. I’m dealing with a broken oven so looking for alternative cooking methods for Superbowl Sunday haha
allegra
Powered through to make a double batch of these using my 1.5 cup food processor! Was worth it, they’re quite yummy. Thanks, Kate.
JoAnn Donohue
Would like to make. I can buy fresh raw chickpeas in the grocery store. Do you think they would work?
Kate
Hi JoAnn! You don’t want to use dried and then soak them? I’m not sure I can help you. I don’t have a recipe for that.
Mary Sweeney
Okay, I made this yesterday. Most disappointing. The patties do NOT stick together. What I was going to bring as a “gift” of sorts to someone in need, has now morphed into crumbles which I will use on MY salads.
Becky
Awesome recipe! These were super easy and super tasty. I made a batch for a dinner party last night and they were so good I had to make more today.
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Becky!
Ross
I found using toasted sesame oil instead of olive oil worked a charm! I also made the mixture as a base, then tried different flavours mixed in all of which turned out great (chilli powder in one, sultanas in another, and sweet potato in the third). Thanks for the recipe.
Marria Saqib
Falafel Is The Best Dish i love how you make the way and how you write the recipe
Angel
Made these last night and they were amazing! I’ve tried making baked falafel before but found them to be incomparable to the falafel I loved. Not the case with these! These will definitely be on regular rotation now.
Thank you!
Kate
I’m glad you love these, Angel! I appreciate your comment and review.
Sophia
I was really excited about these and soaked the chickpeas for 5-6 hours but my falafels still turned out so dry and hard. Maybe I overcooked/baked them. Will try again and see if I have better luck!
Jordan
Good flavor. Maybe a little too much cinnamon. Give a scant pinch. The patties stuck to my pan despite a quarter cup of olive oil.. I will use nonstick pans next time.
Kate
I’m sorry this recipe wasn’t perfect fo you, Jordan! I appreciate your feedback.
Tasha
SO DELICIOUS! When I formed the falafel patties I was nervous because the mixture was pretty wet and suuuper delicate but I trusted the process and they came out amazing! Not wet at all. Crispy. Wonderful. Our pita was not opening very well for pockets so we made a falafel pizzas of sorts… just piled everything on top of a warm pita and went at it with a fork and knife. I have leftover chickpeas so will likely make this again in a couple of days. And every week from now on lol Great recipe. Chef husband loved it too
Tori Stowe
Hello from South Africa. We’re looking to cut down on meat and this falafel recipe is very useful. Enkosi (thank you!)
Jessica DeJesus
I really love the flavor of these and the ease of recipe creation. Not sure if it was user error but my falafels didn’t hold together the best post-baking.
Adrieann
Hi Kate,
Going to try this (I’ve never made falafel). I always read comments for a recipe before attempting to address any pitfalls. Looks like sufficiently soaking the chickpeas is the only tough part. I’m curious how soft do you want the chickpeas to be? Like can you mush between your fingers soft? Less? Thanks!
Kate
Hi Adrieann! Great question. They won’t be complete mush, but soft so they are workable. If that make sense? There will still be some texture when you blend.
Sarah
I have not made this specific recipe, but I have used your oven cooking method for falafel. So good, gets them crispy like I like, but without the mess of cooking on the stove. Thank you!
Tereza
I love your site! I have tried a few recipes so far And the have ALL been amazing! Even my partner is looking at the recipes even though a big meat eater. Looking forward to making these in a bit!
Shelley
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. Appreciate it!
I love the falafels…taste awesome and very easy to make!
Jasmine
Excellent recipe. I love falafels and have eaten many so I know a good one. This recipe is fantastic. Thank you!
starting_to_cook
hi!
Just found your site and about to try this falafel recipe, looks really easy.
I did have a question about nutrition, its listed as 20g fat for only 3 patties, is this correct?
Are these greasy? In the video for this recipe, it didn’t look like the patties absorb all the oil on the pan. They looked crispy but not greasy.
(I’m guessing the nutrition took the 1/4 cup oil called for in the recipe and then just divided it by the 12 portioned patties)
Thanks in advance for any input!
Kate
Hi there! You’re right, the fat content is probably somewhat inflated because it’s hard to know how much oil stays on the pan vs. sticks to the falafel.
Lu Dann
This recipe is wonderful and was a huge hit at home across 3 generations. I stress tested it for future use by frying some, oven baking some, freezing some before -frying/baking and doing it a few days later. They tasted excellent regardless.
Sonya B
Awesome, as usual! Everyone loved them. I made the dressing you suggested serving them with, it was very good! I think I just need to go ahead and buy your cookbook since I’ve been making your recipes almost daily!
Amy Both
I have used this recipe many times and love it. The only thing I change is instead of the 1/4 cup of oil on the pan I use parchment paper. I double the recipe for leftovers to snack on with a little sour cream. Thanks for this recipe.
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Amy!
Joe
What a crap recipe. No measurements for use outside the USA, totally inauthentic recipe, how the hell you get cinnamon in there I have no idea… and baked? Srsly? Baked? Totally useless recipe.
Kate
Hi Joe, I’m sorry to hear this recipe frustrates you.
Erica
I always love your recipes. I cook exclusively from your site and cookbook. Unfortunately, this recipe didn’t turn out. I followed step by step. I used dried chickpeas and soaked overnight. The mixture won’t form a ball. I feel like I wasted so much food. :(
Kate
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. One variable that it could be is chickpeas and their freshness. I appreciate your feedback!
Carrie
I have a very similar recipe, but to shorten the “soak” time for the chickpeas, cook dried ones in the instant pot half way (under low pressure for 15 minutes, wait 5 minutes and pressure release them). Sometimes I bake them, sometimes I fry them. Tasty either way. When I need a bit of flour, I use chickpea flour.
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Carrie!
Cristina
These were great – the only substitution I made was to add dried cilantro as i didn’t have fresh (put in about 2 tbsp). They were my first home-made falafels but it is not the last time I make them! Delicious!
Tarin
Well, we finally nailed falafel thanks to your recipe and a few notes from another recipe :-) Couple of comments and notes from my trials: the cinnamon was a bit too much for the flavor we wanted, my hubby suggested mint instead or for me less cinnamon. It definitely ruled the flavors. I did add a sprinkle of cayenne to spice it up a bit! We have a terrible food processor, so I took note from another recipe to process the chickpeas separately into a bread crumb-like texture. Then process the other ingredients. That slurry was still too wet, So I did have to add in about 1 cup of chickpeas.
BUT…they smashed together and baked beautifully! They were green in color, super flavorful. YUMMMY
*Of course I also made homemade tzatziki (your recipe) also great. We don’t have lemons-which I do feel this recipe craves real lemons. But lime will have to do! We live in the tropics of Central America we don’t have access to this cuisine and now I can make it anytime with confidence.
Kate
Hooray! I’m glad you finally had it. I’m sorry you didn’t love all the spice combinations. But, I’m happy you were able to adjust to your taste and that they turned out great for you.
Fran
Loved this recipe. Came out perfectly. The only change I had to make was to swap fresh coriander for fresh mint, as that was all I had. I think it might have been a bit dry without the lovely tahini sauce.
Annelies Van Gijseghem
One word. DELICIOUS!
Kate
Thank you, Annelies!
Elyssa
This turned out great! Excellent with a tahini yogurt sauce!
Bernard
This falafel doesn’t taste like falafel at all. poorly balanced flavors, no crispness, floury and mushy inside. Definitely missing frying oil. Would not recommend even to vegans.
Ricardo GI
i just love it :) was the greats falafel i taste :)
SueW
Loved this recipe too. I ended up baking some and frying some on the stove with a little EVOO. They were both very good.
Has any one used a blender to make these as I don’t have a food processor here?
Kate
Hi Sue! If you have a higher power blender, that may work. However, there may not be enough liquid for it to process correctly. Let me know how it works for you!
Sue
No it does not work as the blender is just the wrong tool for the job. I will have to wait till we get home to enjoy these again. Thank You!
Andrew
It really turned out great! crispy on the outside and fluffy within!
Thanks a lot for the recipe
Rashell
Hello!
I bought dried Desi chickpeas by mistake. Will these still work for this recipe or do I need the Kabuli type?
Thank you!
Kate
Hey Rashell! I’m sorry, I’ve never worked with Desi chickpeas, so haven’t tried them with this recipe. They may or may not work. The Kabuli type will work!
tae
These falafels were so easy and so tasty!! We had them for dinner two nights ago and my husband loved them so much that he decided to heat leftovers up for breakfast. we found that falafels aren’t the best breakfast food, but they are great for lunch and dinner! :) Thank you for another great recipe
Avneet B
This is hands down one my husbands favourites and he’s super picky. These are fairly easy to make! I use a cookie scoop to portion them out. Its a perfect recipe. I didn’t make any modifications. I did soak my chickpeas for about 12 hours.
I ended up making homemade pita with this recipe!
zahara
hi…wondering if the !/4 cup of olive oil goes in the mix or just the spoonful and the rest is for coating the baking sheet?
thank you !!!
Kate
Hi! You only use the 1 tbs in the recipe. The other goes on the baking sheet.
Krissie
A total disaster. Despite following the recipe and quantities as outlined, the mixture ended up so dry that it was impossible to shape them. I ended up with a tray of a crumbly mess.
Jana
I tried this recipe, unfortunately the Falafel remained very hard. I soaked the chickpeas for 4 Hours, because I didn’t have more time and some were stilll hard to bite after remaining in the oven. Was the soaking time not Long enough or do you have any other solution for this Problem? The actual taste was quite nice.
Kate
Hi Jana! I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes the chickpeas just vary and only way to get around it is soaking for longer, unfortunately. That’s what it sounds like here.
Alexa
Yum! My boyfriend is from Egypt and he LOVES these! He was so excited when we were eating them and said that they taste a lot like the authentic Egyptian ones (other than how Egyptian falafels use fava beans). We are definitely adding this to our weekend favorites. Thank you for all of your great recipes!
Kathryn
Would I be able to substitute the fresh herbs for dried ones? I realized I forgot the fresh parsley and cilantro when I went to the store yesterday, and I’m trying to limit my trips out of the house. Thanks!
Kate
Hello! I haven’t tried it in this one, but check out this post https://cookieandkate.com/food-storage-tips/ on how to substitute. Let me know!
Ruth
Made Falafel today! Wonderful! My husband’s eyebrows went up with the first bite. Did not have Cilantro, but used Culantro from my herb garden. Used a little less olive oil on pan to bake. Soaked beans more than 12 hours and after adding fresh water brought them to boil on stove while I chopped the other ingredients. Had no problem with them holding together. Made the recommended tahini dressing and it zinged! Thanks for recipe!!
mamta pandya
Turned out great.
Fran
Made this recipe today for the first time and it is AMAZING! It will definitely become a staple for my family! Thanks and I look forward to trying more of your recipes! Thanks a ton!
Kate
I’m glad you all loved it and it will be a new staple for your family, Fran. I appreciate your review!
marina
Delicious! a little bit dry but I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be :)
Jo Mammo
Mmm, I’m going to try this with potato flatbread, A good meal cooked completely from scratch
Hazel
Thank you for the recipe. The falafel were delicious but I would like to warm people as I got very bad food poisoning from the chickpeas. I followed the advice and presoaked the beans for 12 hours, however I do not have a food processor and my blender didn’t fully break down the chickpeas which meant there were still some entire beans in my finished falafel. They tasted great! But the following morning I started vomitting and continued all day. I can’t say 100% that it was a result of the chickpeas but my guess is because they weren’t broken down properly in the blender they were still poisonous. Be careful!
Vanessa Halvorsen
I normally love all of Cookie and Kate’s Recipes but unfortunately this one fell flat for me today. The cinnamon was too strong for the falafel and I felt like while you weren’t deep frying it, there was still a lot of oil used. With that said I have had baked falafel before, and this was the least dry of all of them.
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that, Vanessa! You can try to reduce the cinnamon, if you want to make these again. I appreciate your feedback!