Easy Vegan Falafel (Freezer Friendly!)

I made this last night and it was so good! I left out the cilantro (I am not a fan) and didn’t have sesame seeds on hand so I used finely chopped and blanched almonds in place. I also used chickpea flour in place of regular flour to enhance flavor. Otherwise everything else was the same. The falafel came together nicely and held it’s shape, and the taste was excellent, especially in a Mediterranean style pita. I am saving this recipe for more falafel in the future!

Thank you for this recipe! Great that it works so well with canned chick peas. Made this at least 4 times now and it’s delicious each time! Simple and actually quite quick in terms of hands-on time – just throw everything into a blender and its done. We freeze each time for the 45 mins rather than refrigerate, which I originally tried in my first go, and I’ve not noticed a difference.

These turned out amazing! I made traditional falafel in the air fryer using soaked chickpeas a couple weeks ago and they were way too dry for my kids to really enjoy them. They devoured these! Even my picky 17 month old! So impressed thank you for this wonderful recipe!

I love that you use cooked chickpeas for this recipe, it comes together very easy and tastes delicious. Would definitely make again!

Have made this recipe twice and it was a winner both times. I

Amazing falafel recipe. Delicious and doesn’t fall apart when you cook it! It will definitely be my go-to now. Thanks!

This recipe is a winner! I made it with cilantro, not parsley and cooked in my airfryer for 15 mins. So lovely.

I’m a huge fan of your work, Minimalist Baker :)

These went beyond my expectations! I skipped the cumin (not a fan) and added a bit of paprika. I used chopped walnuts in place of sesame seeds and about 5-6 tbsp of flour. Had a few leftover for lunch the next day and they were great after popping them in the oven for a bit. I will be making these again and again!

These are amazing. I just made them with my two children, as we’re testing out new recipes for school lunches and these were a hit.

I’ve made this recipe twice. It is delicious! Both times, I’ve had to add water to the chickpea mixture to get it to blend, but it turned out amazing. Putting them in the oven was a good tip!

So good!

These falafels are really delicious for being such an easy recipe for someone who is trying to eat more vegan food. I would have rated these 5 stars, the only issue was that I had a hard time blending the mixture with a Nutri ninja blender (the kind that has a cup and not a big jug) and so I added some water. It ended up still not blending completely, so I just mashed up the parts that weren’t blended with a fork. Because I added the water I had to add about 6 tbsp of flour instead of 3-4, so I added more spices for the flavor to stay. I also used regular breadcrumbs instead of panko breadcrumbs and it worked out well. I thought I would not like these because I have tried frozen falafel from the grocery store and it was bad but I tried these and they are really good.

Love this recipe! Made these falafel today and the family loved them. I prepared them with gluten free flour and used tahini instead of sesame seeds. Chilled them in the freezer as I didn’t have 1 – 2 hours to chill them. Then I fried them in sunflower oil. They were super fluffy and crispy and really really tasty. Even better then the falafel from our favourite falafel joint Maoz in Amsterdam ;-) Thank you for sharing!

Amazing! I used 1/2 cup fresh parsley and 1/2 cup cilantro, subbed out the sesame seed with walnuts and in place of the flour I used 2 tbsp almond flour and 2 tbsp oat flour. So wonderful and fresh tasting! I baked them at 425 for 25 minutes on a preheated cast iron and sprayed with a little avocado oil and they were perfectly crispy and stayed together perfectly. Thank you for this wonderful canned chickpea falafel recipe!! I definitely recommend everyone try.

This is a great recipe would recommend. tastes great 👍🏼 I am overly thrilled with how my falafels came out. If you are a first time falafel maker then this is for you. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe

I’ve made this recipe a few times now. its pretty f-ing dope not gonna lie.

This recipe was excellent. Although neither myself nor my girlfriend are vegan, she is a vegetarian and lactose intolerant so we tend to adapt a lot of vegan recipes for her. Came out crispy and delicious! Unlike so many other recipes out there, this one calls for canned garbanzo beans which are much easier to come by when you live out in the sticks. Rolling in panko was a great way to get them extra crispy at the end. My girlfriend loved the dinner I made!

Thank you Dana for another delicious recipe. So easy to make in the food processor.

After deciding I wanted falafel for lunch, I realised I didn’t have enough chickpeas, so I used half chickpeas and half cannellini beans, and this worked perfectly well.

I baked in the oven at 210 degrees celsius for about 30 minutes on a lined baking tray that I sprayed with oil, also spraying the top of the falafel with oil to help crisp them up, and flipping them over half way through baking. Amazing!

I cooked this with my sistor, Moses. She did most of the work, but I watched. The recipe was simple enough, but we don’t know how to cook. Thus, it was too hard. Eh, whatever. We had a good time making balls of peas. Unfortunately, they’re not spicy enough. Other than that, lovely treat.

I love the recipes you have on here and my wife and I have made several of them. One suggestion I would make is to put the recipe at the top of the page and let those who want to read the book on it scroll down.

WOW. This recipe is amazing!!! Will definitely make again. :)

I loved this recipe! I’ve become a bit obsessed with Cava and have been trying to find some good vegan recipes for friends and family with dietary restrictions, so wanted to give it a try and I’m so glad I did! I did add extra garlic, cilantro, and parsley, and a little cardamom and coriander. I also didn’t have any whole sesame seeds, so subbed in tahini, and served with roasted potatoes, roasted green beans, and roasted carrots, and plan on making arugula salads with these for the week.

I just Fried this recipe and IT turned out amazig. I tastes super good and they didnt fall apart. I had to substeute some of the seasonings and the sesame bevise i didnt have it. I usedvanlig walnuts instendig and a curry seasong and they turned out so good.

Made these yesterday and will be making again today! I’ve made many other falafels (also delicious), but these are by far the best!
1. SIMPLE
2. Didn’t fall apart
3. Delicious!!!!
Thank you!!! Your recipes are fool proof.

I’ve never made falafel before and these were genuinely the nicest Falafel I’ve ever tasted! Do tone the garlic down if you’re not a fan though.

I ended up cooking mine in the oven with a sprinkling of flour on the outside and a few drips of oil on each. They were unreal with salad in a flatbread. New favourite work lunch I think!

I made this for dinner tonight, and it was wonderful. I followed the recipe as-advised, the only substitute being walnuts for sesame seeds. I also held them in a 400-degree oven to finish baking after getting them golden brown in the pan. I served with chopped tomatoes, roasted sweet peppers and a tzatziki sauce.

I have had falafel fails in the past (disintegrating in the pan) with canned chickpeas, so I was a little afraid to try it again. Glad I did. I think the chilling plus the careful attention beforehand to getting the right texture (and not over-processing) may be key. Thanks so much for this recipe!

These were delicious, I did not add nuts only because I had none. I are them with a tzatziki-type sauce.

I made the falafel about twice as big, which probably kept them from cooking as well – they were pretty moist inside. I enjoyed them with hummus. I would double this recipe for 3-4 people if it’s a significant part of the meal (not accounting for the pita, which I didn’t use). I think I ate more than half the batch myself… (with coleslaw on the side). Can these be baked? I’d rather not use oil.

Loved it! So simple and tasty. I kind of messed up and rinsed and left the canned chickpeas in the fridge over night, but maybe it helped get that “dry chickpea” feeling. I doubled the batch to freeze for leftovers, and instead of stacking between parchment paper as suggested I just layer the disks flat on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer and transferred to a freezer bag this morning which worker very well. Thanks again!

This recipe was so good! I made it once and then went back to restaurant falafel to compare, and this recipe still wins out. I didn’t have any sesame seeds so I used pistachios with great results! Also I’m not a fan of cilantro but used it anyway (the store didn’t have parsley), but I barely noticed any cilantro-y flavor (bonus for me!). I also don’t have a food processor so I mashed everything with the bottom of a cup and then re-fluffed it using a fork. Recommend it to anyone, especially college people looking for a quick healthy meal!

Delicious! Thank you!

Patted the chickpeas dry with two paper towels and used about 3 tablespoons of flour.

After freezing the dough for an hour (accidentally froze parts of it, beware!) they shaped nicely in my hands. While the patties are waiting to into the pan, I blotted extra moisture with more paper towels.

Once cooked, the falafels stayed crunchy for the duration of dinner! Super happy with this recipe, though it’s true I should be bolder with the cumin next time :p

Thank you, Dana and team!

Unbelievable taste. This dish was a real change of pace for me. I’m a barbaric meat eater that usually scoffs at a vegetarian choice. The sauce was key, don’t miss the creamy component. You might opt to use your favorite creamy salad dressing (no judgement). I do think the instructions underestimate how fragile the dough is. It’s crucial to chill before pan frying and equally important to give the patties space. Crowding makes mush. But …. even the mushed ones made a delicious wrap.

I’m going to make this again next week using dry chickpeas which I will soak for 24 hours and pat dry.

delicious recipe!! great job. i accidentally made my falafels a bit more like potato pancakes because i did not fully drain the canned chickpeas, still delicious.

We had these for dinner tonight and they were amazing. I made a double batch with the intentions of having extra for the next couple of days but there is none left! Even my four year old demolished everything on her plate! This recipe will definitely be on our regular rotation now, thank you so much!

So easy, so delicious. Has become part of my weekly rotation of weeknight dinners. If you haven’t made it already- do it! And make sure you serve it with the garlic-dill sauce

Awesome recipe, they were so delicious! I baked my canned chickpeas and to dry them out before putting them in blender. I also suggest you double the recipe – you won’t regret it!

Very tasty! Made a nice lunch. Used cilantro instead of parsley. I formed the patty’s first then popped them into the freezer for 35 minutes. They did not fall apart. I’d make it again!

Easy and delicious!

Fantastic recipe that’s super easy to follow! I’ve made this twice now and have let my canned chickpeas air dry throughout the day so I haven’t used flour as they’re tacky enough as is. I don’t have a food processor so I’ve used my blender and have pulsed in small batches (have also had to simply pinch a few chickpeas that dont get ground up) which makes things a bit more time consuming but still gets the job done nonetheless.

Made with the garlic dill sauce and it is deeelicious!

We loved these falafel. The recipe was detailed and easy to follow. They cooked up perfectly. We had your Garlic Dill sauce with them. Thanks for another great recipe.

This was the most amazing falafel ever! Thank you for adapting it for canned chickpeas. I added the optional ingredients and I added curry powder to 1/3 of it, and shawarma mix to another 1/3. The curry was my favorite–thank you for the suggestion!

Well this is my first time making falafels and they were a bit disappointing as they wouldn’t stay together. So I think I’m going to add an egg to my next batch. Also, I had to add almost triple the amount of spice.
But definitely a great base for a recipe.

I love a lot of the recipes on here, but this was just ok for me. It was a little too much shallots. The center wasn’t cooked enough and I even baked it in the oven after for 10 min. Maybe I blended it too much. The flavor was nice, if I make it again I would cut down on the shallots and add more parsley. I used a gluten free flour, maybe that didn’t help.
I will probably wait until my favorite Mediterranean restaurant reopens.
Thank you for all the recipes though. Other people like this so maybe I didn’t prepare it well.

This was the best falafel I’ve had! Even better than most of the local Mediterranean restaurants around here. I added in the optional cardamom and coriander and you should too! Pressed some Panko into them too. Served with Dana’s 3 ingredient tahini, hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers and roasted red peppers. Absolutely delicious

Holy moly, these were excellent! Subbed mixed roasted nuts for the sesame. Added 4.5 tbsp flour. Didn’t bother to pre chop the ingredients and still turned out so well! Made the garlic sauce as the accompaniment. Can’t say enough good things about this recipe!

Turned out perfect, thank you! I substituted breadcrumbs for corn flour as I did not have them, baked in the oven after roasting. Yummy!

So delicious!! I subbed hemp hearts for sesame seeds and it worked out great.

Be sure to add the flour!!! It held together nicely when I formed it so I thought I didnt need it. I chilled it and started to cook the patties and they disintegrated in the oil.
But the small bits I rescued had a good flavor so I will try again and this time USE FLOUR! ?

Mixture was definitely too wet (paste, puree texture). That is why using tinned chickpeas is discouraged. Used a lot of flour to dry up the mixture which compromised the taste and shape. Substituting white onion also added more moisture. This recipe definitely should be revised to include the instructions to pulse the chickpeas minimally, or in batches to avoid a “paste”.

Ok. Needed to add a ton more seasoning for my taste, and maybe I over processed the dough. I ended up adding chili, chipotle, more cumin, coriander powder and fresh cliantro, garlic powder, chili flakes, sesame oil… I basically just kept adding stuff until it had some flavour. Before adding more seasoning, was nearly tasteless. I also doubled or tripled the sesame seeds because the texture was off. Next time I will process it less.

Super easy to make! I was a little nervous that I’d over process to get the right consistency, so I’ll definitely be good next time. So yummy and love the oven tip!

I have to admit it, I’m a terrible cook, I’m not creative in the kitchen and I need to follow recipes in order to be able to cook whatever, and since I started following your blog, I’m making delicious, flavorful and super yummy food! My hubby thanks you ?and I do too! I like that your recipes are simple, only 10 ingredients and BOMB! This one is my favourite so far as I love falafel! I also made Tahini from scratch, Hummus and Baba Ganoush, which were a huge hit ??THANK YOU!

This was the recipe I was looking for! I’ve made falafel a few times using dried chickpeas soaked overnight but they always came out dry and crunchy on the inside.

I tried this one last night and added in a few extra spices (chili, garlic powder, and paprika) then put them in the air fryer at 370°F for 12 minutes and they were perfect! Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and they held together great.

Thank you for sharing this recipe!

This is my first falafel from scratch experiment and it was great! Loved using processor and we used mostly cilantro and little parsley…it was what was on hand…and loved the garlic dill dressing. We used tahini. Unfortunately there was nothing left to freeze. We had iceberg with it in pitas. We paired with a kiwi, pineapple, mandarin & pomegranate arils salad dressed with lime & honey. I know I should’ve used agave or something, but, as a vegan for almost seven months, it’s the only thing I sometimes cheat on. I used a reviewer’s’ note and used chickpea flour as the grain. Loved adding the panko. I must add that without so many of your recipes, I’m not sure I’d be as successful as I have been with this vegan lifestyle. Especially since my omnivore spouse loves all the things I make as well!

My son made this recipe for us about 2 years ago and I loved it and sent me the link. We were hosting New Years party for a group of friends and I thought I would try something a little different and a little more healthy than other heavy snacks or nibbles. Found the link and saw that it could be made and frozen ahead of time and I was sold. I actually even cooked them a head of time and when it was time for the party I spread them with EVOO and reheated in oven. They did not come out as crispy as they did when my son fried them and we ate them fresh but everyone loved it. I served it in some little pitas I had found with a choice of a cucumber dill sauce or a garlic hummus. There were none left!

Made this a few weeks ago for my vegan daughter (I’m an omnivore). Great instruction on how to prep the ingredients. Seemed like more parsley would better. Making it today and will jack up the parsley.

This recipe is wonderful! I used a small onion in place of the shallots and they came out tasty. Thank you for sharing!

I followed this recipe to make falafels at home and they came out great!

However, I made some modifications –

I used EVOO opposed to avocado oil.
As suggested, I used a pinch of coriander.
I also threw on a few sprinkles of panko bread comes before frying.
I ended up both frying and baking them.

Last night for dinner, I created a falafel platter with – falafel, hummus, pita bread, olives, artichokes, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, stuffed grape leaves and tabouli salad.

I can’t wait to make them and enjoy them again!

Loved this! Did mix cilantro and parsley, then finished of in my air fryer instead of oven, and they got super crispy! The next day reheated again in air fryer and they were good as new! Super stoked to make these again, and it’s giving me so many ideas on ways to make these with all different spices!

Awesome! I have been enjoying a falafel wrap from a local restaurant near my work about once a week, and always wondered how difficult it would be to make. Found this recipe, had a friend come over and we doubled the recipe. Easy to make and I must say it was hard to save some for tomorrow! I didn’t have all Ingredients to make the wraps, so was just eating the falafel balls, can’t wait to try it on a pita with the dill sauce!

Yum yum yum! Made this yesterday! Served the falafel nuggets over a fresh green salad. Used cilantro instead of parsley (as always, I love cilantro, not so much a parsley fan) and it was so yummy. I did add extra salt and cumin and corimander and it was so good! I also made the fill dressing but I didn’t have hummus. So instead I used some canned white beans and some oil. My hubby said “don’t forget this dressing recipe!” He loved it.

I made this today and it was SO good! Ladies with your dill sauce, a warm pita, cherry tomatoes and spinach it was as good or better than what I buy at the local green restaurant! I used home cooked chickpeas – which ended up being a sorta estimate on volume but with a little taste testing I think I got the flavor right and I was able to make it the night before and chill. That way I just came home. Made the little falafel balls and fried them. Quick and easy! definitely making this (new) vegan thing so much easier for me! Thank you.

This recipe calls for way too much shallot/onion. I used exactly 3/4 cup and the flavor was really overwhelming. It’s all I tasted when I bit into the falafel. Really unpleasant. I maybe would give this recipe another try with less onion.

Just finished scarfing down your falafel! My husband and I both love this recipe (and if you knew my husband, you’d know what a big deal that is!). The first time, I did the freezer for 45 minutes and made the lovely garlic dill sauce to go with. Tonight (2nd time around) I did the fridge for 2 hours and also did the extra step of baking them in the oven. I was too lazy to make the sauce this time, so I just slathered some roasted red pepper hummus on some whole wheat pita bread and garnished with cherry tomatoes and baby greens. I think it’s safe to say that I could eat this every day!

This was so quick, easy, and delicious! Was skeptical of using tinned chickpeas but they turned out really well and now I make this recipe regularly! I rolled the dough into balls and then put them in the freezer for 10 minutes and they stayed together just fine during the cooking process! I only put a tsp of cumin and half the garlic, as I felt the suggested amounts were too much for me :)

Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!! We tried falafel in a restaurant and really enjoyed it. So when we came across your recipe, we decided to try it at home and see if it was as good. Well, it absolutely was just as good as, if not better than, the restaurant! We also love that there are so many “alternate” spices and seasonings we could use to make the adaptable to sandwiches or other ways of serving them. We’re going to use sage type spices to make it more like a sausage to use on a breakfast burrito! Thank you for a great recipe!!

This recipe is truly delicious. I did coat mine in Panko crumbs before frying AND baked mine in the oven at 400 for 10 mins, as suggested, and the results were excellent. Crispy on the outside and so tender and delicious on the inside. Great recipe!

This turned out great. I thought 2 shallots would be a lot but it tasked delicous! Easy to prepare and cook! My friend’s son who doesn’t like falafel liked it! I used non-gluten flour for my vegan friend. and added 5 T based on the comment below from Ivette!

Tasted really great , I used oat flour and I think maybe next time I’ll add more because I would have liked a little firmer but it was very good and really easy. I ate it with a tomato, avocado and red onion salad.

I’ve been wanting to try a good falafel recipe, and this one did not disappoint. So tasty and easy to make! I’m happy I have a bunch frozen now :) Thanks so much!

Delicious! Easy to make and freeze. So yummy.

Very tasty recipe! Just make sure you don’t have the pan on too high a heat as I did, because my falafels burnt before they had properly cooked. Aside from that, will definitely make again, perhaps adding some chilli flakes for a bit of heat. Thanks :D

My first week trying out vegetarian recipes and I literally get to hit the jackpot by trying this falafel recipe. It’s incredibly easy, savory, and you can adjust it to your liking. The best part is knowing that I can save part of it to make next week since I’m lowkey lazy (I really just have a crazy busy schedule as many of you can relate) and would love to get away with not having to repeat efforts yet still yield the same, incredible results. This goes excellent on a bed of arugula with a lemon/honey dressing too, just saying!

Sooo good and easy!