Falafel recipe – A detailed step by step photo guide to make delicious chickpea falafel at home. Apart from serving these as a snack with tahini sauce or hummus, you can also stuff them in pita bread or wrap them in a flatbread with pickled veggies & tahini sauce. These falafel can be fried or even baked for a healthier option.
What is falafel?
Falafel is a deep fried ball or patty made with ground chickpeas or fav beans, spices & herbs. These are a traditional dish from Middle Eastern cuisine and are popular across the globe as a fast food.
As falafel are naturally gluten free, vegetarian & high protein food they became very popular globally. These are great for people on meat free diet.
How is falafel made?
Traditional falafel is made by soaking dry chickpeas. Then they are processed along with spices, herbs, onions & garlic to a coarse mixture. This is then formed to balls or patties and fried in hot oil or baked.
However falafel can also be made using canned chickpeas which are precooked but they taste entirely different from those made from the dried chickpeas.
In the past I had made these a few times with cooked chickpeas and the results were compromising. The cooked chickpeas have too much moisture in them which tend to make the falafel softer. So a lot of flour has to be added which alters the taste.
Tips to make falafel
- For best results make the falafels from scratch using dry chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas, then use about ¾ to 1 cup flour for 1 can of chickpeas. To make it gluten free use chickpea flour.
- Process the mixture right for a good binding. The processed mixture has to be coarse like the couscous. Very coarse mixture tends to disintegrate the falafel in oil. Too much processing will make the falafel mixture pasty altering the texture of falafel.
- I do not use flour as I have never felt the need. But if you are making the falafel for the first time then you can add about 1 to 2 tbsp all-purpose flour for binding. For a gluten free version use chickpea flour.
- The ground falafel dough, balls or patties can be refrigerated for up to 4 days in an air tight jar. Just bring it to room temperature before frying. I usually process a large batch and refrigerate the dough in smaller containers. Take out a box each time and use up.
- To make herbed falafel, add in more parsley, celery or cilantro while processing.
You can very easily bake these in the mornings for breakfast or lunch box. My kid’s love these plain with some garlic yogurt dip for their breakfast.
I also wrap these in the parathas or rotis along with some fresh veggies & tahini sauce for the lunch box. I have shared the dip and sauce in the recipe card below.
You may also like
Shawarma
Veg Burger
Chicken Burger
Vegetable Cutlet
Chicken kebabs
Chicken nuggets
Falafel recipe | How to make falafel | Chickpea falafel recipe
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients to make falafel
- 2 cups dry chickpeas or kabuli chana (uncooked/ raw)
- oil as needed for frying
- 1 medium onion cubed
- 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¼ to ½ cup parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander (powder)
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper (powder)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder or ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour or all-purpose flour (optional)
How to make the recipe
Preparation for falafel
- Wash and soak chickpeas for overnight or at least for 6 hours.
- Discard the water and rinse them well. Drain them to a colander.
- Process together chickpeas, cumin, coriander, pepper, cayenne, salt, onion, garlic, parsley and flour to a coarse mixture.
- The mixture must resemble wheat semolina or couscous.
- If the mixture is not processed well the balls can break in the oil. Refrigerate for an hour if possible.
- Heat oil in a deep pan just enough to half immerse the falafel.
- The trick i found to prevent the falafels from disintegrating is to use oil just enough to half immerse them.
- Optional: Make a very small ball and drop it in the hot oil to check if it is binding well. It should not break or fall apart.
- If it breaks, then add more flour or process the mixture a bit more.
Frying falafel
- Make lemon sized balls and press them gently to bind the mixture well.
- If you have added flour then you may slightly flatten them.
- Gently slide them one after the other to the hot oil. Do not disturb them for a minute or two.
- Deep fry them on a medium flame until golden & crisp. Remove the falafel to a steel colander or kitchen towel.
- Serve falafel with favorite dip or as a stuffing in pita bread or wraps.
For serving
- To make tahini sauce – I used ¾ cup tahini, ¼ cup + 2 tbsp warm water, 2 large garlic cloves, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, salt as needed, 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley. Process all the ingredients in a processor until pale, creamy and thick
- To make a quick yogurt dip, use ¾ cup greek yogurt or hung curd, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt, 1 garlic clove, deseeded green chili (optional). Blend them and add parsley.
NUTRITION
Notes
Preparation for falafel recipe
1. Wash chickpeas thoroughly under running water. Soak them for 8 hours in a large bowl with lot of water. Do not cover the bowl.
2. Rinse them well and drain them completely to a colander. Then transfer to a blender or a processor along with chopped onion, garlic, corainder powder,cumin, pepper powder,salt and parsley.
3. Process it until it reaches a coarse texture. No water is added. Take a small portion of this mixture and try to make a ball. The mixture should bind well otherwise it may fall apart while frying.
You may process it more or less until it binds well. But the texture must still be coarse. Also using 2 tbsp of all purpose flour helps to bind it well. Since i did not use flour, i had to process it to a less coarse mixture.
4. Refrigerate for an hour. Take small portions and make balls. If using flour, you may flatten them a bit otherwise they tend to break while frying.
5. I used up half of the processed mixture and then refrigerated the rest for the next day. To make baked falafel, I add 1.5 tsp baking soda to a tsp of water. Stir and then add it to the mixture. Knead it a bit and then make thick patties. Bake in a oven at 200 C for 12 minutes on each side.
How to make falafel
6. Heat oil in a fry pan on a medium flame. Next make a tiny ball and drop it to check if the oil is hot. It must float and not sink. This means the oil is hot enough. The ball also should not break. If the ball breaks then, you may need to process it a bit more or add more all purpose flour. Do not over heat the oil. As they may brown the balls without frying them inside.
7. Lastly when they are golden fried, drain them on a kitchen towel. They do not absorb oil.
8. Serve falafel with a tahini sauce or your favorite dip.
I have shared the recipes of quick yogurt dip and tahini sauce in the recipe card.
Ramana says
I am the mfg of vegsnacks for starters for event purpose can u suggest good recipe
Rizwana says
And also i dnt find parsley where i stay…can i dhaniya leaves instead?
swasthi says
Hi Rizwana,
Yes you can use dhaniya. For the chickpeas, 1 cup dried chickpeas will make about 2.5 cups soaked, a little more or less. Even if you have not used 2 cups dried chickpeas, it is still fine. Just cut down the cumin approximately. Hope this helps.
Rizwana says
Hi swasthi..
I have soaked chickpea..bt not sure if i soaked 2 cups dry chickpea..can u tell me how many cups i will need for soaked chickpea to make this recipe
mike nunes says
I do not have a food processor. Can I blend by with fork?
swasthi says
Hi Mike.
You can just pulse it in any blender.
Chef dwiti says
Hi friends,,, that falafel recipe is very good, nice testy food ,thanks.
swasthi says
Hi Dwiti,
You are welcome. Thank you
Cecilia Del Vitto says
Hi there! thanks so much for this amaizing recipe. I have a doubt about the nutritional information. is it 190 cal per ball? and how many falafels would you serve per person? Thanks!
swasthi says
Hi Cecilia,
You are welcome. It is 92 cal per ball. I rechecked it. You can serve about 4 per person. Regarding the nutrition: it is just an approximation as the amount of oil that is absorbed by falafel is unknown. So I just calculated that each falafel absorbs about 1 tsp oil. About half a cup for the entire recipe but actually they do not absorb so much oil. So they may be lesser than 92 cal. Hope this helps.
Laxmi says
Hi Swasthi,
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipes site. I have been trying your recipes of late and they always come out great just like in your pics :). Thanks to your easy to follow step by step instructions with stunning pictures to add to the detail. Your way of explaining is what compels me to try the recipe without a second thought :). Thank you and keep posting! Best wishes!
swasthi says
Hi Laxmi,
You are welcome. Very happy to know the recipes are useful. Thanks a lot for the comment.
🙂
Ambika says
Hi Swasti, I’m very glad I found this recipe. I’m such a huge fan of falafels and have always imagined making them must be tedious. But not so anymore though. It’s much similar to our parupu vada. Very excited to try this though. In the recipe you have mentioned this can be baked instead of frying. how do you bake them? For how long? Do you sprinkle oil on top etc. Pls can you share those details. Thank you.
Ambika x
swasthi says
Hi Ambika
You are welcome. Yes similar to the paruppu vada. Yes I bake these at 220 C in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 mins. I flatten the balls a bit, not much otherwise they will fall apart, grease a wire rack with oil and then place these over the rack and bake. After 12 to 15 mins, I brush them lightly with oil or ghee and then flip and bake for another 4 to 5 mins Hope this helps.
Annie says
Hi,
Can i use can chickpeas ?
Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Annie
you can use. However falafel is made using soaked & uncooked chickpeas. But can chickpeas are cooked. you may need to add more flour or bread crumbs when you process them as they turn mushy and sticky. The taste too differs. But the recipe works
Judy says
I”m going to try your recipe it looks properly spiced and the last time I made homemade falafel with a different recipe I used canned, ab DS boy did that not work out great…. Dissolved in hot oil ? not good eats btw.
swasthi says
Thanks Judy,
Yes do try. Anytime before you fry the entire batch, just fry one to check if it dissolves. If it does, add more flour or bread crumbs to the mixture..
Lesleen says
Hi. I am not sure anyone mentioned it but it would be helpful if you indicate if rhe 2 cups of chickpeas is dry/uncooked or tinned/cooked. I used 1 cup cooked chickpeas (I only wanted to make a small batch) but after mixing everything it looks like I can only make 4 lemon sized balls. So I think you meant here 2 cups of dry/uncooked chickpeas. Thanks!
swasthi says
Hi Lesleen
Yes it is 2 cups of raw or dry chickpeas.
Falafel taste best with soaked chickpeas not cooked ones.
🙂
Since I have given the recipe from scratch – soaking etc. It is dry chickpeas otherwise I would mention soaked chickpeas and would skip the step of soaking them. Thanks for the mention. I will update it more clearly.