Falafel
October 30, 2010 in Meatless
Last night when I was making our little falafel balls, I got to thinking about how easy meal prep is when the meal is meatless. There’s no meat to worry about – don’t have to stress over expiration dates (don’t tell me I’m the only procrastinator here), don’t have to pull anything out of the freezer, etc. I just opened the cabinet, grabbed a can of chickpeas, and was ready to cook.
To make this recipe even simpler, I went ahead and processed everything but if you don’t have a processor, just diced your veggies and use a fork to mash the chickpeas. You don’t want a smooth paste so mashing works just fine.
I’ve made these twice in the past 2 weeks. That’s saying something because you know I hate frying things. (I burnt my eyelid last night, thanks for asking.)
We love this recipe, obviously. Sometimes I make pita to go with them and sometimes we make lettuce wraps with broken up falafel, tomatoes, and yogurt sauce. It’s good just about any way you can think of.
| Falafel |
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dash pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- oil for frying
- In the bowl of your food processor, add chickpeas, onions, parsley, and garlic (I have a very tiny processor and just did this in 3 batches). Process until pieces are small but haven’t turned into a paste. You want it a little chunky. Pour into a large bowl and add egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and baking powder. Stir together to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Add bread crumbs and combine.
- In a large, heavy bottomed pan, heat about 1 inch of oil over medium high heat. When oil is ready shape falafel into balls or patties and fry until golden brown, just a couple minutes per side. Drain on paper towel lined plate.
adapted from AllRecipes






I love falafel & haven’t tried making it yet, yours looks great! Have you ever tried a baked version? Frying intimidates me!
.-= Natalie (The Sweets LIfe)´s last blog ..Housekeeping- Cookies- a Review- and a Giveaway! =-.
I tried baking it once and they were so dry! I’m pretty sure it was just a bad recipe but it scarred me and I haven’t had the nerve to try again. I did make them in the crockpot once: http://www.amanda.fakeginger.com/?p=74. They turned out good but I still think frying is the best method for them.
Hey! Couldn’t help noticing you said to use a “dork” to mash up the chickpeas. It’s good to know you include recipes that get the husbands involved in cooking too! Haha!
haha! I can’t believe no one else pointed this out to me!
I need to try these…I LOVE me some falafel! Your poor eyelid…I splattered hot chocolate on my eyelid this morning. What’s the deal? haha.
.-= Julia´s last blog ..Beef Bulgogi =-.
I made these the other night when we had a late dinner and needed something fast! they were so flavorful! I think my texture was off because they were a little difficult to keep the shape. either way, they were a big hit with the boys. i made a simple yogurt dip to go with them. Im glad i found this recipe!
These look delish! The boy and I love Falafel and I’ve been looking for the right recipe! I’ll have to try these out…thanks for sharing :)
Very good!! I didn’t have garbanzos so subbed Cannellini and they were just super.