World, meet falafel. Falafel, meet your eaters.
What is Falafel?
Falafel is a Middle Eastern dish made from chickpeas and/or fava beans. Traditionally, it is deep fried to yield a crispy texture and often served in a pita.
Since I eat falafel so often at restaurants, I wanted a recipe I could make at home and really enjoy. I wanted it to taste traditional, but without being deep fried or labor intensive. I believe I’ve gotten as close as humanly possible without busting out the fryer – a feat I have yet to attempt.
How to Make Falafel
This recipe really threw me for a loop! But after multiple rounds of testing, I believe it’s perfected and ready to be enjoyed by all of you.
Simply add chickpeas, parsley, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, and spices to a food processor or blender and pulse the mixture until combined. All-purpose flour (or your flour of choice) is added to soak up some of the moisture.
Hands on prep is minimal, and the only waiting period is 1-2 hours for chilling the dough (which is optional but recommended). Otherwise, these little gems come together with minimal effort and time.
Then they are ready to cook in a large skillet until perfectly browned, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside.
These falafel are simple:
- Require just 10 ingredients (give or take a spice)
- Come together in a blender or food processor
- Sauté up beautifully in just 5 minutes
What are the ingredients?
Traditionally, falafel is made from dried chickpeas and/or includes fava beans. I opted for a more simple version, using canned chickpeas so you don’t have to wait for the chickpeas to soak overnight or worry about not being able to find ingredients.
For flavor, we included fresh parsley (or you can use cilantro in a pinch), garlic, shallots, sesame seeds, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cardamom and coriander can be added to step it up a notch.
The magic ingredients for making it crisp up are all-purpose flour (or see recipe for gluten-free alternatives) and avocado oil (for cooking). Panko breadcrumbs are optional and can be used for an even crispier coating.
Flavor Variations
If you want to try other flavor variations, consider adding ground turmeric, DIY Shawarma Spice Blend, or DIY Curry Powder. Or, try cayenne or ground chilies for spicier falafel!
How to Eat Falafel
What is a falafel without a good sauce? My 4-ingredient garlic-dill sauce is not to be missed. While your falafels are cooking, whip this up in just 5 minutes to elevate this dish to the next level of awesome. Trust me on this one – you’re gonna want that sauce.
For more sauce & dip ideas, try our:
Serve these in a pita with tomato, onion, lettuce and my garlic-dill sauce and you’re seriously good to go. Hummus and vegetables make an excellent side dish. Otherwise, serve these atop a bed of greens for a lighter option.
For more serving ideas, try these recipes:
I hope you all love this recipe! It’s:
Simple
Flavorful
Crispy on the outside
Tender on the inside
Garlicky
& Super satisfying
Who needs take-out when you can make perfectly delicious falafel at home?
Prior to this recipe, I’ve made two other falafel recipes for the blog. First were my Better Than Restaurant Falafel, which still rank up there as one of my all-time favorite plant-based recipes! And more recently I made these Baked Falafel Burgers, which are all kinds of hearty and delicious.
And since then, I’ve gone falafel-crazy and come up with recipes for Classic Vegan Falafel (Gluten-Free), Kale Falafel Hummus Wraps (30 Minutes!), Simple Vegan Falafel, Smoky Quinoa Black Bean Falafel. Friends, that’s how much I love this stuff.
If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment and rate it, and don’t forget to tag a picture #minimalistbaker on Instagram so we can see. Cheers, friends!
Easy Vegan Falafel (Freezer-Friendly!)
Ingredients
FALAFEL
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed, drained and patted dry)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (or sub cilantro)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium shallots (minced // 2 shallots yield ~ 3/4 cup or 65 g // or sub white onion)
- 2 Tbsp raw sesame seeds (or sub finely chopped nuts, such as pecans)
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin (plus more to taste)
- 1/4 tsp each sea salt and black pepper (plus more to taste)
- 1 healthy pinch each cardamom and coriander (optional)
- 3-4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (or sub oat flour or gluten-free blend with varied results)
- 3-4 Tbsp avocado oil for cooking (or sub any neutral oil with a high smoke point)
- Panko bread crumbs for coating (optional // see instructions // gluten-free as needed)
FOR SERVING
- Garlic Dill Sauce (for serving // found within the Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potato Recipe)
Instructions
- Add chickpeas, parsley, shallot, garlic, sesame seeds, cumin, salt, pepper (and coriander and cardamom if using) to a food processor or blender and mix/pulse to combine, scraping down sides as needed until thoroughly combined. You’re looking for a crumbly dough, not a paste (see photo).
- Add flour 1 Tbsp (~8 g) at a time and pulse/mix to combine until no longer wet and you can mold the dough into a ball without it sticking to your hands – I used 4 Tbsp (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. I added a bit more salt, pepper, and a dash of cardamom and coriander. You want the flavor to be pretty bold, so don’t be shy.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to firm up. If you’re in a hurry you can chill in the freezer for 45 minutes or skip this step – but they will be a little more fragile when cooking.
- Once chilled, scoop out rounded Tablespoon amounts (~30 g in weight // I used this scoop) and gently form into 11-12 small discs (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).
- OPTIONAL: Sprinkle on panko bread crumbs and gently press to adhere – flip and repeat. This will produce a crispier falafel, but it’s optional.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to generously coat the pan – about 2 Tbsp (30 ml). Swirl to coat.
- NOTE: If not cooking all of the falafel right away, FREEZE uncooked falafel between layers of parchment paper and store in a container in the freezer up to 1 month. Then just thaw and cook as instructed!
- Once the oil is hot, add only as many falafel as will fit very comfortably in the pan at a time – about 5-7.
- Cook for a total of 4-5 minutes, flipping when the underside is deep golden brown. Repeat until all falafel are browned – the deeper golden brown they are, the crispier they’ll be. They will also firm up more once slightly cooled.
- OPTIONAL: For even crispier falafel, bake in a 400 degree F (204 C) oven for 5-10 minutes after pan frying (either on a baking sheet or your skillet if it’s oven-safe)!
- Serve warm with garlic-dill sauce or hummus, inside a pita or naan, and with desired toppings or atop a bed of greens.
- Best when fresh, though leftovers will keep in the refrigerator covered for 4-5 days. Freeze after that to keep fresh for up to 1 month. From thawed, reheat in a 350 degree F (176 C) oven for 15 minutes or until hot.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without sauce or optional ingredients.
Kyla says
Yummy recipe… I did end up adding more herbs (parsley, cilantro, and dill) as I found it needed a little bit extra flavour. Texture-wise these turned out great and it was really nice having a canned chickpea falafel recipe to follow. Will be making these again!
Lovely! Thank you for sharing, Kyla! xo
John Matthews Ramones says
Once again, a great recipe, thanks. I have been making your vegan kimchi for years and was pleased to see you had one for falafel.
Hoping to prepare a delicious “simple” meal for TWENTY people we tried a test batch and got the OMG that’s delicious from my husband so decision made. Admittedly not as easy to make 80 pieces due to food processor limitations but cooking them on an outdoor grill in cast was pretty easy.
Served on nests of roasted bell peppers with roasted cauliflower and tahini dressing was delicious.
Happy Summer
John & Jon
Aw, LOVE this! Thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review, John & Jon! xo
Sarah says
I’ve made this recipe a few times and love it. However , ever time I make it , the falafel balls are always falling apart on the stove. What am I doing wrong ? I chill the mixture in the fridge as recipe states ,beforehand. Only thing I don’t do is add sesame seeds.
Sorry that’s been happening, Sarah! These are more tender than traditional falafel due to using canned chickpeas, but they shouldn’t fall apart. They may have needed to blend longer in step 1. If it happens again, you can try adding a bit of tahini to help them stick together better. Hope that helps!
Anna Geracoulis says
I don’t understand how some of the reviews say it fell apart, mine turned out beautifully! I did take the liberty of adding a good bit more flour, probably 1/4 of a cup, but I went back and added more cumin and a little salt and pepper to adjust. But this was seriously some of the best falafel I’ve ever had!
We’re so glad you loved this falafel, Anna! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Debbie says
I just made these exactly following your recipe. Except that I didn’t have any panko. Also didn’t chill for 1-2 hours. Was eager to try. Took a chance and cooked them right away! Very delicious. Crisp on outside, tender on inside. And no falling apart (cooked only 4 at a time so as not to crowd them). What a great, flavorful treat.
Thank you!
Amazing! We’re so glad you enjoy the falafel, Debbie. Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Lauren Martin says
I made this recipe but didn’t have cilantro in the house so I used rosemary instead (just a sprig pulled from my Christmas rosemary tree) and it was delicious!!! Very savory almost like rosemary bread. Sharing in case you want to do a Christmas spin on falafel next year.
Great idea, Lauren! Sounds delicious!
Ashley says
Can I substitute all purpose flour / oat flour with almond flour?
Hi Ashley, almond flour will be more tender, but might work! We’d recommend using more of it since it’s less absorbent. Let us know if you try it!
CMC says
Second time making these, even better than the first! Air Fried the second time. 1st time oil fried, and made them for non WFPB people and they disappeared like hot cakes! 🤣 a keeper recipe like all of the recipes from MinimalistBaker that I have made. Thanks for what you do!
We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes! Thank you for your kind words and lovely review! xo
Lili says
Absolutely crunch on the outside and creamy inside! Wonderful recipe, really appreciate it! Those comments about them not sticking together are totally untrue, I even ended up added some lemon juice in the blender because it was very dry. Next time I have to use the food processor instead.
We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lili! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Emmie says
Made this with my air fryer and it was so delicious 😋 100/10! Will definitely make this more often
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Emmie! That’s great to hear it worked in the air fryer too. Thank you for sharing! xo
Danielle says
You can’t put “taste and adjust” after the step where you add raw flour to a recipe. You could hurt someone with advice!
I’m currently chilling the mix in the fridge, but so far I added 5 tbsp flour and it is still a paste. So I’m doubtful that they will cook easily but maybe the airfryer will work.
Linda says
Can you bake these in the oven instead of pan frying?
Hi Linda, the texture will be slightly different but that should work. They would work best on a parchment lined baking sheet as they might stick, and would probably take 20-30 minutes at ~400 F. We recommend lightly oiling the baking sheet and possibly spraying/brushing the tops with oil as well, since without oil they might not get “crispy”. Hope this helps!
Cindy says
This did not turn out as described. I altered it to add more spices, but otherwise kept to the recipe. After adding 4 TBSP of flour the mixture held together well, so I scooped it out and placed it in the fridge for almost 4 hours. I took them out, coated them in bread crumbs and proceeded to pan fry them in avocado oil. They would not cook through though, and just started to disintegrate in the pan. I scooped them out with a slotted spoon and put them on paper towel and left the debris in the pan to scrape out afterwards. I touched the tops of each of them and it left an indent in every one of them. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else I could have done. I think adding more flour would just turn it into a “flour patty”, frankly, with little added protein value. I think this recipe definitely needs a binder, something like a vegan egg (chia seeds and water) perhaps might save it. I may try to salvage it by baking what’s left of them once they’ve cooled down, but this is a big fail for me.
Hi Cindy, we’re so sorry it didn’t work out well for you! If they weren’t cooking through, we wonder if perhaps the patties were formed larger than what’s pictured? Or another possibility would be if the chickpeas weren’t thoroughly patted dry, they could have been adding too much moisture.
Lisa says
I wish I would have read the comments first. This is exactly what happened with my batch. My balls were small since it was going in a salad, but ended up making falafel confetti. :/ Will try to bake them next time, maybe that will work better.
Hi Lisa, we’re so sorry that happened! This recipe has worked for many readers, so we’re not sure why more recently readers are mentioning issues with it. We’ll revisit and see if we can troubleshoot what’s going wrong. Did you make any modifications?
Hi Lisa, A few ideas: 1) They may have needed to blend longer in step 1 2) If you didn’t let them chill, make sure to do that or 3) You can try adding a bit of tahini to help them stick together better. These are more tender than traditional falafel due to using canned chickpeas, but they shouldn’t fall apart.
L8747 says
use soaked chickpeas next time, the starch that releases when chickpeas are cooked will act as a binder. this recipe is kinda bad in my opinion
Jess says
First time making these. The flavor was really nice and pleasant even for my younger kids who sometimes are overwhelmed by spices. I had the problem of my mixture being crumbly and hard to keep into a shape. I ended up baking them on a pan instead of trying to fry them. They browned nicely. Half were mostly falafel shaped and the other half falafel sprinkles.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Jess! We’re glad you enjoyed them overall! It sounds like it needed to mix a little more in the food processor or blender. You don’t want it to be a paste, but if too crumbly, it could have trouble holding together.
Stel says
Is 3 Falafels a serving and is it 91 cals for 1 falafel then?
Hi Stel, that’s correct! But feel free to have as many as feels right to you for a serving.
Anna says
I’ve made numerous of your recipes and I’m never concerned as they always turn out great.
This was another winner with the whole family. Thank you for everything!
We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed them, Anna. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Lily says
Hi! I am looking to make falafels using this recipe. I am just wondering if adding more parsley/cilantro to the recipe could also work? I’d like to achieve a greener falafel if possible. Thanks!
Hi Lily! That should work! They might be a bit more fragile.
Logan says
This is the first time I’ve made falafels and they were AMAZING! I rarely leave reviews, but I really want others to know that this is an absolutely delicious recipe. I added a bit more parsley than called for and za’atar along with the other spices which I found to be really nice. I also generously coated each piece in bread crumbs before pan-frying them in a cast iron skillet and it resulted in one of the nicest, crunchiest falafels I’ve ever had. I think I should have used a bit more flour though because my chickpea mixture was a bit moist and was on the verge of falling apart while cooking. My partner and I ate them in a wrap with veggies and we literally did not have words to describe how good and authentic they tasted! 100% will be making again
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Logan!
Kamielle says
I have made this twice now, and I really feel like I got it this time. Sooo good! I have attempted making falafel a few different ways with different recipes and methods, and it always felt like more trouble than it was worth. I really thought I had to go out to buy falafel in order to get a delicious meal. No longer! I love the way these falafels turned out and will definitely be adding it into a regular meal rotation.
I followed the recipe almost exactly (subbing onions for shallots). I don’t have a food processor but I do have a 2 cup ninja “express chop”. I filled it with chickpeas to start, processed until they were crumbly, then separately processed the rest of the chickpeas, onions, garlic, and parsley. After that, I put it in a big bowl and mixed in the spices and flour by hand.
What I did differently than the recipe is use much more oil than suggested, and I think this is what made them so much better the second time I made them. I used my cast iron skillet and pre-heated it while I formed the falafels (chilling for 2-3 hours was definitely important). I added the oil after the pan was nice and hot and I filled the pan, waited a minute and then added my falafel. I followed the suggestion to pop them in the oven afterward and this absolutely took them up a notch! I will be doing exactly the same thing next time I make them. So delicious! I couldn’t stop eating them!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Kamielle! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Angie says
These falafels are much better than store bought, even though I must have done something wrong. I made sure the mixture was crumbly, but the balls wouldn’t really hold together and fell apart even more when I flipped them over. Does that mean too much flour? Should they have been wetter? Because they were so crumbly, the bread crumbs wouldn’t stick to them, just made them fall apart even more.
The other thing I wasn’t sure about was the oil. When I put them in my pan, they absorbed all the oil, so when I flipped them, I had to add more oil. This happened with each batch. Is this to be expected?
A tip for other people living in small places. I don’t have a food processor, just a mini chopper/grinder. I mixed all the ingredients with only half the chickpeas. I ground the other half separately, then mixed the two halves together in a bowl.
Hi Angie, we’re so glad you enjoyed the flavor! Yes, that’s normal with the oil, especially if you’re not adding a lot at a time. As for the texture, it’s possible the mini chopper/grinder didn’t mix them enough to hold together. Other ideas: they may have needed additional flour as it acts as a binder. Or, if you didn’t let them chill for 1-2 hours, that would be our other suggestion. Hope that helps for next time!
Rebecca Hartley says
LOVED this recipe!! Even my husband who isn’t a huge fan of most things labeled “vegan”, loved this. Planning on making a few batches to freeze next time!
We love hearing this Rebecca! Thank you for your lovely review! So glad you and your husband enjoyed them. xo
Chris says
Hello.
I’m wondering do you remove the skins or leave them on?
Hi Chris, we leave the chickpea skins on.
Donald Schueman says
Made my first batch and liked the flavor of the Falapel. Frying in Veggie Stock is doable but time consuming. The crust is lighter but it was easy to make mush in the frying pan next batch I will try in an air fryer. Made a batch in olive oil and the mix soaked up much more oil than we care to eat.
Abby says
Can I make this batter and store in the fridge for 24-48 hours, THEN take out and fry on the night of? We love your recipes, Minimalist Baker!
Hi Abby! That should work!
Carola says
Delicious and simple recipe. I doubled the recipe, as I was cooking for a crowd (and secretly wanted leftovers for myself, lol), and it worked out great! I used cooked chickpeas instead of canned. Instead of chilling before forming, I shaped the patties, put them on a baking sheet, then chilled in the fridge. I pan fried them a day ahead, and they were perfect when reheated for 10 minutes in the oven. I will definitely be making them again, thanks for the great recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Carola! Thank you for sharing! xo
Tamara Doyle says
Think I’m going to do this as I won’t have time to do it all tomorrow when I plan to serve them! What temp did you reheat them at?
Niamh says
Made these to put in wraps as a last minute meal. I blitzed the onions, etc, first a little bit before adding the chickpeas, which I just drained. Got a lovely crumbly but slightly sticky texture that formed perfect balls after adding 2 tablespoons of flour. Also added a sprinkle of chilli flakes and dried parsley since I’d no fresh parsley in the house. Fried them up straight away, slightly flattened, as I’d no time for chilling. Even with the quick and easy method they were wonderful! Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Niamh!
Lucy says
Omg they turned out perfect! I have tried a lot of falafel recipes and most of the time it doesnt turn out great, but these ones were the best. I flattened the balls a bit, fried them in a pan on each side, then put them in the air fryer on 400 for 11 mins. Yum!!
Yumm! The air fryer probably makes these soo delish! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Lucy!
Melissa says
This was delicious and I can’t wait to make them again. The only thing I would do differently is double the recipe. Everyone loved these – adults and children. I didn’t have sesame seeds so I ended up using sunflower seeds and it turned out great. Did the Panko and baked them in the oven- so yummy!
Amazing! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing, Melissa! xo