This Falafel recipe is a delicious and addictive Middle Eastern fast food prepared using chickpeas, herbs, and spices. These fritters (patties or balls) are crispy on the outside with a light and tender texture inside.
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Homemade Falafel Recipe (Vegan, Gluten-free)
Equipment
- Pan for frying
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chickpeas or Garbanzo, dried
- 1 Onion , roughly chopped, medium sized
- 5 cloves Garlic
- ½ cup Cilantro or Coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups Parsley , roughly chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds or ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Coriander seeds or ground coriander
- 5 Black peppercorns or approximately ¼ teaspoon pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon Red chile powder or Cayenne powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt , adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoon Sesame seeds (optional)
- 2 tablespoon Chickpea flour or all purpose flour (optional, check tips)
- Oil for frying
Instructions
Soak the dried chickpeas.
- Pour the chickpeas into a large container with cold water and let it soak overnight. See that it is properly covered in water. They will double in size as they soak.1 cup Chickpeas
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Make the falafel mixture
- Add chickpeas into a food processor, blender, or chopper and coarsely grind. Do not add any water during this process. Transfer this to a bowl.
- Grind onions, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, red chile powder, and salt in a food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary until the mixture is finely ground. Transfer this to the same bowl. (If you have a large food processor, you can blend everything together.)1 Onion, 5 cloves Garlic, ½ cup Cilantro, 1 ½ cups Parsley, ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon Coriander seeds, 5 Black peppercorns, ½ teaspoon Red chile powder, 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- Now mix all the ingredients and sesame seeds and knead them with your hand to get a dough texture. That is, it should hold together when pressed with your hands. If it's too dry, you can splash some water and knead. If it is too wet, add chickpea flour or all-purpose flour. (check tips)2 tablespoon Sesame seeds, 2 tablespoon Chickpea flour
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour before frying.
Form falafel patties or balls
- Divide the mixture into 20 equal portions. With your moistened hands, shape them into balls or patties. (check tips)
- Do not flatten them too much.
Fry crispy falafel
- Heat oil in pan on medium flame for frying.Oil
- Cook the falafel in batches on medium flame until they are crispy and golden brown all over. This might take about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you cannot form balls from the dough, you may have to transfer it to a food processor again to make it finer. If you still have trouble binding, add 2 to 3 tablespoon of all-purpose flour or, corn flour or chickpea flour and knead.
- What I generally like to do is to just try frying one falafel before the first batch to see if the dough has bound nicely and if the oil is at the right temperature.
- See that the oil is not too hot. This will brown your falafel faster but remain uncooked from the inside. The best practice is to always fry on medium flame once the oil is hot and the cooking time is approximately 5 to 6 minutes.
- To check if the oil is hot, drop a piece of dough, and it should sizzle and come up immediately. The temperature should be approximately 375 degrees F.
- Never overcrowd the pan if you want crispy falafel.
- You can substitute cumin seeds and coriander seeds with their respective powders.
- Fava beans can be used instead of chickpeas to make falafel.
Nutrition
What is falafel?
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter prepared using chickpeas, herbs like parsley and cilantro, and a few aromatic spices. This is a popular Middle Eastern street food usually served with pitas to make sandwiches, with a taboon (flatbread), meze tray, etc.
Falafels are vegan and gluten-free and now become the best alternative to meat-based street food for vegetarians and vegans. This falafel recipe is similar to masala vada (chattambade), which is a popular street food snack in South India prepared using split chickpeas. If you like Indian flavors, then check out my full recipe for chattambade.
You can make falafel mix ahead of time, and they are freezer-friendly, too. Falafel is also one of the best appetizers that you can serve for a Super Bowl game night party or any dinner party.
Ingredients
Garbanzo: Dried chickpeas will work well for falafel recipe, but canned chickpeas are difficult to handle. Soaked chickpeas are firmer, adding a nice crunchy texture, not mushy at all, and holding together when oil drops. You don't need any binders most of the time if the dough is done right. If you use canned chickpeas as a substitute, the falafel patty may break when dropped in oil; plus, it will be mushy on the inside.
Herbs: The authentic flavor of the falafel comes from the herbs like parsley and cilantro.
Onion: White, red, yellow, or any onion will work.
Garlic: enhances the flavor. Always use fresh garlic over the powder form.
Spices: Cumin, coriander, peppercorn, and red chile powder are all that I have used. If you do not have whole spices, you can even use the powders.
Sesame seeds: Add nuttiness, but they are optional.
Step-by-step instructions
Soak the dried chickpeas.
- Pour the chickpeas into a large container with cold water and let it soak overnight. See that it is properly covered in water. They will double in size as they soak.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Make the falafel mixture
- Add chickpeas into a food processor, blender, or chopper and coarsely grind. Do not add any water during this process. Transfer this to a bowl.
- Grind onions, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, red chile powder, and salt in a food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary until the mixture is finely ground. Transfer this to the same bowl. (If you have a large food processor, you can blend everything together.)
- Now mix all the ingredients and sesame seeds and knead them with your hand to get a dough texture. That is, it should hold together when pressed with your hands. If it's too dry, you can splash some water and knead.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour before frying.
Form falafel patties or balls
- Divide the mixture into 20 equal portions. With your moistened hands, shape them into balls or patties. (check tips)
- Do not flatten them too much.
Fry crispy falafel
- Heat oil in pan for frying on medium flame.
- Cook the falafel in batches on medium flame until they are crispy and golden brown all over. This might take about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Chef tips to make the best falafel
- If you cannot form balls from the dough, you may have to transfer it to a food processor again to make it finer. If you still have trouble binding, add 2 to 3 tablespoon of all-purpose flour or, corn flour or chickpea flour and knead.
- What I generally like to do is to just try frying one falafel before the first batch to see if the dough has bound nicely and if the oil is at the right temperature.
- See that the oil is not too hot. This will brown your falafel faster but remain uncooked from the inside. The best practice is to always fry on medium flame once the oil is hot and the cooking time is approximately 5 to 6 minutes.
- To check if the oil is hot, drop a piece of dough, and it should sizzle and come up immediately. The temperature should be approximately 375 degrees F.
- Never overcrowd the pan if you want crispy falafel.
- You can substitute cumin seeds and coriander seeds with their respective powders.
- Fava beans can be used instead of chickpeas to make falafel.
Make ahead, store, and freeze.
Make ahead: falafel mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated for atleast two days. Fry as required in batches.
Freeze: Place uncooked patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once hardened, transfer it to a freezer bag. Fry or bake as needed.
Store: Falafel tastes the best when they are fresh, crisp, and crunchy. But if there are any leftovers, keep it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and then reheat it. You can also freeze them for more extended storage in airtight Ziploc bags.
Reheat: To reheat the falafel, place them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F till they crisp up again on the outside and are heated through the inside.
Serving suggestions
- Falafel is traditionally served with pita, which acts as a pocket, with flatbread wraps known as taboon, with sandwiches, salads, hummus, tahini sauce, etc. It can be served with greek salad, rice bowl, buddha bowl, or any vegetarian meal as a side.
- Falafel can also be served as a snack with a cup of coffee or tea, an appetizer, or a starter on a mezze tray.
- We also love this as a finger food, along with a drink for football, game night, Super Bowl party, or any cocktail and mocktail parties.
Baked falafel
Traditionally, falafel is deep-fried, and it tastes great that way. But if you want to make it healthier, you can bake them, and the good news here is that even canned chickpeas work well for baked versions. I have also shared my recipe for baked falafel. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Pan fried falafel
- If you do not have an oven and don't want to deep fry but still try this recipe, you can pan fry or shallow fry falafel.
- Heat a cast iron pan or, nonstick pan, or wide skillet on medium flame. Drizzle oil. Form patties from the dough mixture about ½ inch thick so that they sit flat. Pan fry the patties, flipping once till they are crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 6 to 8 minutes in total. You can also check the pan fried sweet plantains recipe.
Air fried falafel
Spray the basket of air fryer with olive oil. Like the pan fry method, shape the dough into patties so that they sit flat. Add these patties in single layers, as many as you can without touching, and spray olive oil. Air fry the falafels at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes. Flip, drizzle oil, and cook on the other side for six more minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Canned chickpeas can be used instead of dried and soaked chickpeas, but you will have to alter your recipe accordingly, as canned chickpeas will not work as a direct substitute. In this case, pat the canned chickpeas dry using a kitchen towel, and add around ¼ cup of flour (all-purpose flour or, chickpeas flour or corn flour). Bake instead of frying it.
Falafel are deep fried balls made using chickpeas or fava beans, fresh herbs and few aromatic spices. These are used as snack, to make sandwiches or wraps.
Indian falafel is made using split chickpeas and spices. This is called masala vada in South India and chattambade in karnataka.
More vegan gluten free appetizer
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Note: We originally posted this vegan gluten free falafel recipe in Jan 2021. It has now been modified in Jan 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Justine
I love falafel, but have only ever made it using a boxed mix! I can't believe how easy it was, and oh my gosh - does this blow the store bought stuff out of the water - SO GOOD!
Anjali
This falafel was so delicious!! It was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and packed with flavor. Will definitely be making it again soon!
Shelby
Falafel is my favorite vegetarian dinner by far, and these were delicious! Your tips were so helpful, too!
Sharon
Looks fabulous!! I like falafels a lot and used to make them from a mix. I will try your recipe, thanks!!
Kathleen
We usually get our falafels from a restaurant but not anymore with this fabulous recipe. I can't wait to enjoy these on some pita bread.