Packed with fresh herbs and spices, this crispy baked falafel recipe is bursting with flavor. Stuff it into a pita wrap with all the fixings, and enjoy!
I’ll never forget the first time I tried falafel. Stuffed into pita bread with fresh herbs, crisp veggies, and a big slather of hummus, it was crispy, rich, and bursting with earthy, aromatic flavor. I devoured the entire wrap in minutes, amazed at the medley of tastes and textures dancing across my tongue. Falafel has been one of my favorite foods ever since. I still order it out to eat whenever I get the chance, but these days, I more often make this homemade falafel recipe.
What Is Falafel?
I’m getting ahead of myself. What is falafel, anyway? In case you’re not familiar with this traditional Middle Eastern dish, falafel are fried balls of ground chickpeas or fava beans seasoned with herbs like parsley and cilantro and spices like coriander and cumin. They’re a popular street food throughout the Middle East and Europe (if you’re ever in Paris, make a stop at L’As du Fallafel), where you can find them stuffed into pitas brimming with fresh veggies, herbs, sauces, and pickles.
I’m not a fan of frying at home (to be totally honest, the hot oil scares me!), so instead of deep frying falafel myself, I prefer baking it. It still comes out deliciously crisp, so I think it rivals any fried version. I hope you love it too!
Falafel Recipe Ingredients
To make this baked falafel recipe, you’ll need these key ingredients:
- Uncooked dry chickpeas – When I was first working out how to make falafel at home, I learned that traditional falafel is made with dried, NOT canned chickpeas. In fact, the chickpeas are never fully cooked before the falafel is formed. Instead, you’ll soak them overnight, then grind them up to form the falafel balls. Trust me, you don’t want to use canned chickpeas here! Your falafel will turn to mush.
- Shallot and garlic – They add a delicious savory bite! You can also use yellow onion in place of the shallot.
- Lemon zest – It’s not traditional, but I love the brightness it adds to these patties.
- Cumin, coriander, and cayenne – For warm, aromatic flavor and a kick of heat.
- Sea salt – It punches up the rich flavor of the herbs and spices.
- Baking powder – A pinch gives the balls the perfect light texture.
- Cilantro and parsley – I use a good amount to make my falafel bright green and flavorful. There’s no need to toss the herb stems for this recipe – blend them straight into the falafel mixture along with the leaves!
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It helps the falafel become nice and crisp in the oven.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Falafel
The first step to this method for how to make falafel is soaking the chickpeas. You’ll need to plan ahead here. The chickpeas need to soak for 24 hours, or at least overnight, before you form the balls. Drain and rinse them before proceeding with the recipe.
Once the chickpeas soak, pulse them together with the other ingredients. Add the chickpeas to the food processor with the shallot, garlic, herbs, spices, lemon zest, baking powder, olive oil, and salt.
Process until the ingredients are finely ground, but not pureed.
Next, form the falafel balls. Scoop up the chickpea and herb mixture with a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, then use your hands to form it into balls or patties. If they’re not holding together, give the mixture a few more pulses in the food processor.
Finally, bake! Arrange the patties on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and drizzle them generously with olive oil. Seriously, don’t hold back on the oil here! We’re not frying, remember, so a good drizzle of oil is essential for helping the balls bake up nice and crisp.
Transfer the pan to a 400°F oven. Bake for 14 minutes, then flip and bake until the falafel is golden brown and crisp. That’s it!
Best Falafel Recipe Tips
- Used dried, NOT canned chickpeas. Really, canned chickpeas will NOT work! They’ll throw off the ratios in this recipe, and they’ll make the patties too wet and mushy. In order to achieve the light texture of traditional falafel, you MUST use dried chickpeas here. Soak them overnight (but don’t cook them!) before making the recipe.
- Drizzle the patties generously with oil before baking. Because we’re baking falafel here and not frying it, we’re automatically using much less oil than we would in a traditional falafel recipe. But oil is an important ingredient in falafel. It helps it become crisp on the outside while staying moist inside. To achieve this delicious balance, you need to drizzle your patties generously with oil. Don’t hold back!
- Don’t pack your patties too tightly. It’s tempting to really pack the patties together tightly, but doing so will make them tough and dense. Form the falafel balls gently, and if your mixture isn’t holding together, pulse it a bit more in the food processor until it sticks together. If it’s still too crumbly, pop it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before shaping and baking the patties.
- Make a double batch, and freeze the extras. These guys keep well in the freezer, so go ahead and make a double batch to have on hand for salads, bowls, or wraps. To reheat frozen falafel, pop them in a 400°F oven for about 10 minutes, until they’re crisp and heated through. For more make-ahead meal ideas, check out these 31 Healthy Freezer Meals and these 60 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to serve falafel is in a pita wrap. I stuff it into the pita bread with a slather of hummus or a drizzle of tahini sauce, veggies like chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and/or lettuce, pickled onions, and fresh herbs. Other sauces and spreads are great here too. Try using tzatziki instead of the hummus, or drizzle on cilantro lime dressing instead of tahini sauce.
Not in the mood for a falafel sandwich? Serve the patties on a salad or grain bowl instead, or add them to a mezze platter. They’re fantastic with few dips or spreads, like muhammara, baba ganoush, or homemade labneh, and a salad or two. Try pairing them with any of these:
Round out the platter with lots of fresh pita bread!
More Favorite Vegetarian and Vegan Dinners
If you love this crispy baked falafel recipe, try one of these tasty vegetarian or vegan meals next:
- Best Shakshuka
- Ratatouille
- Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
- Best Veggie Burger
- Easy Black Bean Burger
- Best Vegan Meatballs
- Or any of these 60 Easy Dinner Ideas or 85 Best Vegan Recipes!
Falafel
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked chickpeas, soaked 24 hours, drained, rinsed, and patted dry* (see note)
- ½ cup chopped shallot or yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems, patted dry
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and stems, patted dry
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
For serving
- Pita bread, use gluten-free pita if needed
- Hummus
- Diced veggies, tomato, cucumber
- Fresh herbs, chopped parsley, fresh mint
- Pickled Red Onions
- Tahini Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large food processor, place the chickpeas (note: the chickpeas will have expanded during the soak time, be sure to use ALL of them here), shallot, garlic, lemon zest, cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne, baking powder, cilantro, parsley, and olive oil. Pulse until well combined but not pureed. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Use a 2-tablespoon scoop and your hands to form the mixture into 12 to 15 thick patties (be careful not to pack them too tight or your falafel will be dense). If they're not holding together, give the mixture a few more pulses in the food processor.
- Place the patties on the baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil (this is the key to making these moist and crisp since we're not frying) and bake for 14 minutes. Flip and bake for 10 to 12 minutes more or until golden brown and crisp on the outside. During the last few minutes of baking, wrap the pita in foil and warm in the oven.
- Assemble pitas with a slather of hummus, diced veggies, falafel, herbs, pickled red onions, and generous drizzles of tahini sauce.
Notes
what is the sodium content of your baked falafel
My husband said this was the best falafel he ever had! Very delicious, crispy and easy. Made a lemon yogurt sauce to go with it, in addition to the hummus and other suggestions and it was really nice.
Truly the best falafel I have ever eaten. The fact it was baked and not fried and still turned out crispy and full of flavour.
Love this recipe…thank you for sharing! Also, the recipe for hummus is our favorite. We often look for great recipe ideas from your site always very happy with all the great recipes!😊
I just made these, they turned out well thankfully. I was a little worried as I found it hard to form the patties, they were so crumbly and not holding together well. However I happened to have some garbanzo flour on hand from a different falafel recipe I’d used in the past and so I added 2 tbsp and it seemed to help them bind together better. Would make this recipe again just with the added flour to keep it together. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello! I’m going to try these falafels soon, love the idea of making a double batch to freeze some. Once they are cooked, can they be stored in the fridge for lunches throughout the weekn or will they not keep? Thank you!
Thank you so much for the baked falafel recipe! I tried sauteing/frying from a previous recipe, and although they were good, it was so time-consuming and the entire apartment smelled of frying.; plus, fattening Finally! I can have my falafel and eat them too!
PS I had posted on Instagram… how about a <3 ? https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVr3oyBJH4/
I found this recipe did not meet my expectations. Underwhelmed and disappointed. The draw was baked vs fried and they NEEDED some olive oil! Using dried chickpeas only soaked and not cooked is counterintuitive. The dryness accomplished was not overcome by adding the tahini or tazicki sauce or pickled red onions! I am undecided whether to try to rescue the last patties in the air fryer. Or abandon as a failure.
Hi Marj, did you drizzle very generously with olive oil before they went into the oven?
This is a nice recipe. Question: What is the baking powder for? I’m hesitant to use it unless for baked goods…
Thanks
Hi Elizabeth, it makes them a little less dense, kind of like what it does for baked goods.
Hi! These are all ready to go into the oven but we’re not quite ready to eat them just yet. Is it better to cook them right before we’re ready to eat them, or can you recommend a way to reheat that won’t dry them out? They smell delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
Hi Cari, I think it would be best to store the uncooked patties in the fridge on the baking sheet until you’re ready to bake them. Wait until you’re ready to bake them before you drizzle with olive oil. I hope you enjoy!
Sounds good! And what about making and freezing for future use?
I freeze them all the time! Bake them, let them cool, then freeze. To thaw, I put them in the oven (frozen) and bake until they’re warmed through and re-crisped on the outside.
Awesome! I’ll be making another batch soon. My fam gobbled them up! Thanks again!
I absolutely love the flavor of these falafels. I actually made it twice within the same week! However, I will say I could not get the mixture to form patties either time. I ended up dumping the mixture on a baking sheet and making circles with a spatula. They did end up solidifying into circular patties in the oven, but I could not form them in my hand. I’m not sure where I went wrong both times as I followed the recipe exactly. I would love some suggestions for next time. Thanks!
Hi Jordyn, have you tried our tips that we listed up in the post?
Any chance I could use garbanzo bean flour for this recipe?
Hi Kathi, not for this one, but try this socca recipe that uses garbanzo bean flour: https://www.loveandlemons.com/socca-recipe/
My fatales fell apart ? Dry mixture will not bind together ?
My fatales would not bind together? Ideas? But cooked it anyways and flavor is the bomb .
Hi Rose, assuming that you didn’t change anything about the recipe, here are our best tips to get the mixture to stick together. I also like to use a cookie scoop to help form them. Hope this helps!
Don’t pack your patties too tightly. It’s tempting to really pack the patties together tightly, but doing so will make them tough and dense. Form the falafel balls gently, and if your mixture isn’t holding together, pulse it a bit more in the food processor until the mixture sticks together. If it’s still too crumbly, pop it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before shaping and baking the patties.
Keep it like the post. I will chill in refrigerator. I put in on a pan and cook them . And am using it in my sakad bowl and still stuffed a pita with boiled tomatoes and goat cheese. Love this site.
This was great. Im so glad I came across it this week. We loved it and it was so easy.
Absolutely love these! Making them tonight and totally forgot to soak last night. Would an 8 hour soak be ok? PANICKING!
hmmm, I’m not sure, I haven’t gone that short before.
so, so good! have tried other recipes and none measured up to yours. also made a batch of pita bread, hummous, and pickled red onions. took all day to do all that but so worth it!
I am on my third batch of this falafel recipe. This recipe is a staple in my home now. I mostly enjoy them over a green salad.
I just love how easy they are to make. The aroma coming out of the food processor is to die for!
My favorite part, aside from how awesome they taste, is the fact you just chop up the cilantro and parsley (stems and all) – makes that super easy.
I am trying to do no to low oil. I keep to the TBS in the mixture, but only lightly spray them with EVOO.
So yummy! Again, these are now a staple in my home.
It seems strange after soaking the chickpeas to not cook them a little bit in advance of making the falafel… Am I missing a step here? Thank you
Hi Heidi, no you’re not missing a step – the chickpeas cook in the oven, it’s how falafel is traditionally made (except without deep frying it).
Hi Jeanine.
I have some chickpeas soaking and realized that I will be having a dinner party tonight 24 hours after I began soaking them. Would anything negative happen if I let them soak overnight again ? So like 35 hours ? Thanks !
Hi Christine, it’ll be fine – I’ve soaked for 2 days before (I wouldn’t do much more than that). Change the water and you’re good to go.
Can I make the mixture in the day and bake later?