Add a healthy twist to a restaurant favorite with this easy recipe for Crispy Homemade Baked Falafel.
Calling all falafel fans! Ditch that deep fryer because your oven holds the secret to the lightest, crispiest, most tender baked falafel perfect for tucking inside fluffy pita pockets or piling high atop a salad.
When it comes to making baked falafel from scratch, the most important tip is to use dry, uncooked chickpeas (rather than the canned variety) to ensure you’re baking up perfectly rotund falafel nuggets rather than flattened falafel pancakes. Pair your protein-packed vegetarian snack with homemade tahini sauce or a quick-fix yogurt dip made with cucumbers and fresh dill. Then all that’s left to do is pile on the veggies and dig in!
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Ingredients
- 1 cup dried/uncooked chickpeas (See Kelly’s Notes)
- 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with 4 inches of water. (The beans will triple in volume as they cook.) Set the chickpeas aside to soak overnight for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 24 hours. (The chickpeas are ready to use when they are easily broken apart with your fingers.)
- Drain the chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with the parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, baking powder and lemon juice. Process the mixture just until the ingredients are minced but not pureed, scraping down the sides as needed. (Do not overprocess the mixture or the falafel will be too loose. Process the mixture just until it holds together when squeezed into balls.) Taste and season the mixture with more salt, as desired.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a baking sheet with half of the olive oil.
- Squeeze the falafel mixture into 1.5-inch balls then flatten them slightly so they are the shape of patties. Arrange the falafel on the greased baking sheet and brush the tops of them with the remaining olive oil. Bake the falafel for 15 minutes, flip them once then bake them an additional 10 minutes until they are golden brown. Serve the falafel in pita bread with tahini sauce and veggies, or add them to a salad as a healthy, protein-packed topping.
Kelly's Notes:
- Do not use cooked/canned chickpeas, as the mixture will be too loose and the falafel won’t hold their shape.
- Falafel are wonderful tucked inside pita bread alongside lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and a drizzle of tahini sauce or yogurt mixed with cucumbers and dill.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Recipe failure for me. I followed the directions and measurements precisely but I can’t get the ‘batter’ to hold any form.
Tried baking a mound to see if it would bind when heated, nope.
Trying to be creative, thinking I’ll bake it all spread out on a sheet and use it as a crispy salad topping
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, Doug! A crispy salad topping sounds awesome!
I’ve tried several falafel recipes and they never had enough flavor. But these were great! I did let the batter sit for an hour because it felt too wet, but then the patties held together well. Next time I will try air frying them.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Joetta! Let me know how air frying works!
We have a great falafe place near us. This receipe is as good. Easy to make delicious.
Love reading this, Frank! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
Flavor wise this recipe is spot on. Maybe I didn’t run my chickpeas in the food processor long enough but they were a little more crunchy than I expected.
Thanks for your note, Katrina! Glad you enjoyed the flavor :)
Hi! Do you think I can make the patties and freeze them before baking them? Preparing for baby #2 and would love to have this ready to pop into the oven.
Absolutely! That would work great. Congratulations!
Love these so much more than the traditional fried falafel that I’ve made before, it feels so much lighter. I also added half a large carrot to the mix in the food processor to clean out the fridge and it worked out great.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Abigail!
Excellent recipe! The second time making this, I didn’t have fresh parsley so I used dried along with the fresh cilantro. They were fine none the less. Thank you for the recipe!
You are so welcome, Denise! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
I’ve loved felafel for tears but due to prospect of deep frying , have never tried cooking them . Theses were crunchy & very tasty- I’m thrilled – thankyou
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jude!
Is it okay to omit baking powder while making this? I try to leave those things out for my 1 year old
The falafel won’t be as light or tender if you omit it, but you can try!
Hi Kelly. Can these patties be made ahead, frozen and baked at a later date? Your recipe looks great be it’s too much from my household of 1.
Hi Pat! You can freeze the cooked falafel for up to a month when stored in an airtight container.
Can I use canned chickpeas for the recipe? I attempted to make it today and the balls evaporated in the oil
I only have canned peas
The mixture will be more wet so you’ll have to adjust the other ingredients as needed!
I made these I added some coriander and I made some tahini sauce and added a little into the mixture. They held together much better and it moistened them as well. Everyone loved them!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Alicia!
I made this and after reading the reviews I added extra lemon juice and olive oil and they were amazing! I might cut back on the garlic though next time!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lindsay!
I followed the recipe as presented, but the falafels came out a bit dry. I was able to make them into patties that held together after cooking, but looking for a way to make them a little more moist.
I don’t understand… do you cook the chickpeas then let them rest in the water for several hours, soak them and then cook or just soak them?
Hi Carly – You’re just soaking them until they’ve softened. No need to cook them :) I hope that helps!
Do you think I could prep the mixture in advance and leave it in the fridge for a few days before baking it?
Hi Chelsea! I imagine up to a day or so in an airtight container in the fridge would be okay but I wouldn’t stretch it much past that.
I tried this recipe after having great success and loving your saute method of cooking falafels. I had high hopes, but unfortunately mine turned out quite dry, though still flavorful. I used raw chickpeas and let them soak for almost the full 24 hours, but I noticed my mix after processing seemed crumbly compared to your photo and compared to the mix I used with the other recipe. Any suggestions on where I may have gone wrong? I would love to be able to get these right!
Hi Melissa! Were the chickpeas easily broken apart with your fingers? Also, be sure not to overprocess the mixture or the falafel will be too loose. I hope those tips help!
Can you freeze them? I was thinking make a bunch and freeze them
Absolutely! You can freeze the cooked falafel for up to a month when stored in an airtight container.
Can I use canned chick peas? And If so what changes?
I accidentally didnt noticed it said not to use cannned and I only got canned :(
Hi Elsa – Canned chickpeas will cause the mixture to be too loose and the falafel won’t hold their shape.
Hi, after reading all the comments I used your recipe as a springboard:
adding to the food processor:
1/2 poblano pepper
3 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
2 cans very well rinsed, drained and dried garbanzos …
processed to minced,
then stirred in 2 heaping tablespoons of self-rising flour in place of the baking powder..
put in the fridge so all the flavors would meld and marry for about 4 hours… then proceeded as directed. Perfect, not dry, very flavorful, served with curried cauliflower rice w/peas and tomato/cucumber/olive salad… great veggie dinner! thanks for the recipe.
You are so welcome, Linda!
Hi, I made these exactly how you said to make them. They turned out tasting great but they fell apart for some reason. Would have adding 1-2 tbsp of flour help? I want to try these again but I don’t want them falling apart like they did.
Hi Emily! Did you definitely drain the beans? The other consideration is to make sure you aren’t pureeing the mixture too much. The more you puree it, the thinner it will become. You want a just rough enough chop so that the ingredients bind together with the addition of the flour. Make sure during the various stages of using your food processor that you aren’t overdoing it. Hope this helps!
This was my first try at making falafel. I mistakenly added the olive oil to the ingredients in the food processor so I didn’t brush them with any and just used parchment paper. To my surprise, they still turned out crispy. So delicious :)
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Shawna!
In the first paragraph you say the chickpeas will triple in volume as they cook. Do you actually cook them, or do you mean as they soak?
As they soak!
These were delicious though I did have to improvise on the patty forming step. I didn’t think I over-processed but I couldn’t form the paddies in my hand so I used a silicone cookie scoop. I’d brush it with olive oil, compact my falalel mixture in the scoop, then brush olive oil on the flat side down. They were dome shaped but it worked. I baked them on a Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan at 400F til golden brown. They popped right off.
Great recipe, thank you. I used soaked raw chickpeas of course. Done with the pasty texture-less recipes using cooked chickpeas I used in the past. No comparison!
Also there was no gastric upset for anyone at all. Unless one is very sensitive to beans or fibrous plant foods in general to start with it shouldn’t be a worry.
Mine did come out a bit dry, but with a lot of diced tomato and cucumber, and a quick tahini-lemon dressing all was perfect. Still prefer heads and shoulders over deep fried.
However while the first night’s batch was drier, I reserved some of the batter to allow to rest in the fridge overnight. This allowed the released starch to soak up the liquid. The next day’s batch both held together a little better in making the patties, but also the liquid did not get squeezed out in the hands while forming the patties. I think this is why the second day’s were a bit moister. In the future I will plan on making the batter a few hours in advance, so that the consistency of batter and freshness of ingredients are both optimal.
Thrilled to hear this, Bree!
My first time making falafel and it turned out great. I had no problem with excess liquid, the texture was perfect and they were very easy to shape. Will make again. And again.
Love hearing this, Laura!
If one decides to cook the chickpeas:
Boil and reduce to medium in seasoned water for 2 hours in a covered pot. After 2 hours, strain when it is still hot, not boiling, but pretty darn warm!!! Leave it in your colander and it will steam dry.
Then, one could use these beans for any recipe like this, baked chickpea snacks, or hummus. One could even freeze the beans….BUT COOK THE BEANS UNLESS ONE WANT BUBBLE GUTS.
Can these be frozen and reheated? either before or after cooking?
Hi Michelle! You can freeze the cooked falafel for up to a month when stored in an airtight container.
Hello! I have a question about the chickpeas. The re I’ve says to use uncooked chickpeas, but then the instructions say the chickpeas will triple in volume as they cook. Do you just soak dried beans in water or are you actually cooking them? Thank you for your time, can’t wait to try this!
Hi Allison! Correct, you’re just soaking them until they’ve softened. No need to cook them :)
I just made these and they are so good! They held together we’ll enough but are a little delicate. When I formed mine there was a lot of liquid that I mostly squeezed out. I think I didn’t quite process enough and also removed a little too much liquid. The flavor was great, nice and fresh, and all the ingredients I love most. Excellent recipe to help me meet protein requirements – will definitely make again!
Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Marty!
Just came across this recipe and looks scrumptious. However, I’m very confused by the uncooked chickpeas. I’ve made falafels countless times with cooked chickpeas and never had any issues. That being said, some people might experience serious gastric upset by consuming uncooked chickpeas (the baking time will not sufficiently cook them) so it might be good to post a warning.
Hi Arielle! Many falafel recipes call for uncooked chickpeas, but I have al alternative version that utilizes the canned (cooked) variety: https://www.justataste.com/homemade-falafel-with-tahini-sauce/
The recipe says the chickpeas will triple after cooking but no where in the recipe dies it say to boil them. So you soak, then throw in food processor without cooking?
Correct! Just make sure they’ve softened.
Thank you. Not sure what went wrong , but the falafel did not bind together. Great flavor though
Is it one cup chickpeas before the soaking or after they are soaked!
Before!
Hello Kelly! Just came across your site and this recipe made me drool all over the keyboard. I’m definitely trying it out.
One quick question that I’ve got is, can I froze the falafel once it’s cooked? If so, up to how many time can be stored?
Thank you so much!
Hi Carolina! Yes, you can freeze the falafel for up to a month. Enjoy!
The calories amount per 1 ball? If not per how many ?
Thank you
Hi Lina! You can find the nutritional information below the recipe.
Is there a way to speed up the soaking process???
Unfortunately not!
I’m making these tonight and am excited about them (based on the comments, they seem delicious!). However, I’m a little confused about the olive oil. Are you supposed to use 3 tbsp just to coat them before putting them in the oven? Just seems like a lot for lightly coating.
Hi Caroline! Use half of the olive oil to grease the baking sheet and use the remaining to brush the tops of the falafel once they are placed on the greased baking sheet. Hope that helps!
I soaked the chickpeas for 24 hours but they are still hard:(. Is this ok?
Karen
Hi Karen! It depends on how hard they are, but they will definitely get cooked so you may be OK!
Made them tonight, exactly according to your recipe, and they were perfect! Thanks so much!!
So thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Rahul!
Made these tonight and they we’re amazing
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Darya!
Could I replace the olive oil with coconut oil?
That should work!
I love to make falafel – I use sprouted chickpea flour from your sprouted flour company. Adds perfect texture. Never baked them always fried. I am going to bake next time
Excited to try this for my little one (and myself!)…Any chance these can be frozen and reheated in the microwave?
Hi Michelle – Yes, freezing the falafels should work. Enjoy!
I used canned chickpeas and less oil and they turned out perfect! None of them fell apart and they taste great!
Don’t be worried about using canned chickpeas guys!
Woohoo! Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Ilinca!
I just made these tonight and they were yummy but they didn’t seem to fully cook in the middle? I kept cooking them until almost burnt and they were still gooey? Is this normal?
Hi Ally – The texture inside should be soft and tender. It’s hard to say what caused your falafels to be gooey. It could be that the mixture was overprocessed.
I am making this recipe with the ingredients as shown. The only thing I am doing differently is that I’m baking them in a mini muffin pan. I have great success in using it to make tater tots, so I figured I would try baking the falafel in it as well. They are currently in the oven.
I made these tonight and they were delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the falafel, Briana!
I have been making falafel successfully by adding some flour. I use split dried fava beans along with dried chick peas which I soak overnight. For 4oz. chick peas and 8 oz split fava beans I add 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda. Along with your other ingredients, I add the soaked and drained beans to the food processor. I have always fried the falafel, but I will try baking them as you suggest. Hopefully the addition of the flour will help.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I wanted to post my experience so maybe others can make adjustments before making it. I did not have good luck with soaking the dry chick peas either. After 10 hours I drained them and added some warm water to help speed along the process. So I did use them after about 14 hours and they were ok but I would say they needed to be soaked for 24 hours for sure. They also did not hold up when I was trying to form the patties. They did bake up ok and stay together just ok. But I love the idea of baking them rather than frying because frying is so smelly and messy.
Hi Dianne – Thanks so much for your comment! I’m glad the beans were finally soft after 24 hours, and I’ll make a note in the recipe to reflect the varying times it may take for the beans to soften.
Soaked chickpeas for 24 hours and still can’t pinch them with my fingers…
What should I use if I don’t own a food processor?? And what recipe do you have if I want to make these falafel waffles??
Hi there! I’ve never tried this recipe without a food processor!
Hey Valerie! I didn’t have a food processor either and I mashed the chickpeas (not perfectly so there were still whole bits) and I used my nutribullet to blend the rest of the ingredients together! I just combined the loosely mashed chickpeas and the blended onion and herbs and the consistency was the same!
Do you soak the chickpeas overnight, then cook them. Do you boil them? For how long?
No need to cook them as long as you soak them long enough!
This looks so good!
I’m just wondering, will it be possible to make the falaffels, then freeze it, and then re-heat it later? – or is this bad for the ingredients?
Freezing the falafels should work!
This recipe sounds like something I could actually make!
After searching on Pinterest, I’m adding this recipe to a list of “exotic” recipes I’m sharing on my blog (I Am Zoe Watson) in March. I say this with quotes since I know that some people would consider an every day meal item and others would consider this something they never would be able to come in contact with.
I know it’s really early to tell you about this post since it’s months away, but I really appreciate you posting this so that I can share it with my readers. When the post publishes I’ll be sure to send you the address!
Thank you so much for featuring the recipe, Patty!
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
This is my first time trying homemade Falafel. I soaked the Garbanzo beans for 24 hours and didn’t have time to make them last night so I left them drained and dried in the fridge overnight. I could easily brak them in half but they didn’t really crumble easily, not sure if that’s the way it’s suppose to be. The mixture was crumbling all over the place and I wasn’t able to mold the Falafel so I had to add about 3 tbsp of spelt flour to be able to squeeze them into balls (still a bit crumbly, but doable).
Where do you think I could’ve gone wrong? I wonder if I had to process the mixture a bit more or if the Beans weren’t soft enough. I was afraid of overdoing it but yours does look a bit more paste like than mine did.
I also added a touch more of spices and a tbsp of sesame seeds. I just had them for lunch and they held together and were crispy and very good. My husband really liked them he just thought I should make them bigger/ taller, so they had more soft part in the middle.
Thank again,
Hi Raquel! I’m not certain the issue with the beans, but I’m glad the recipe ended up working out!
What a fantastic recipe – best homemade falafel I’ve tasted; even my fussy daughters enjoyed it. Thank you!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Poppy :)
Can I use a blender? no food processor here.
Hi Patricia – That should work but be careful not to overprocess the mixture.
I processed these in my trusty vitamix and needed to thin with water just a bit. They baked up just fine, though my addition of h20 extended the bake time (in my oven by about 20 min). Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
First of all, I LOVE LOVE every recipe i have tried from this site, but am having a hard time with this one. Please help!! My garbanzo beans have been soaking for 24 hours and are still crunchy. I am mid prep for dinner and they are just not going to work. I put water on them in a bowl last night and let them sit. Did I miss a step somewhere?
Thanks, Nichole! The beans can vary greatly but they should be soft after 24 hours. Did they work in the recipe
Can I use canned chickpeas if I dry them out a couple hours before baking? Thanks!
Hi Kendal! I wouldn’t recommend using canned chickpeas as they will cause the mixture to be too loose and the falafel won’t hold their shape.
Hey Kendal! I rinsed and left my canned chickpeas out for maybe 15 min and they were totally fine! None of them crumbled and the consistency was great! I’ve made this recipe on 2 separate occasions with different branded canned chickpeas and the results were really good!
Do you cook the garbanzos?
Hi Pam! No, you do not cook the chickpeas to make the falafel mixture. Doing so will cause the mixture to be too loose and the falafel won’t hold their shape.
I’m allergic to onions. Any thoughts to what might work to be able to replace them in this recipe? I’d suspect that the moisture from the onions is necessary to help hold everything together, so my guess is that just eliminating them won’t work. Thanks!
Have you tried using other greens instead of parsley/cilantro? For example using spinach or kale?
I’ve never tried that, but I’d be curious to know your results!
Can I freeze these patties? How long can you keep the mixture for in the fridge before baking?
Freezing should work, and I imagine up to a day or so in the fridge.
Hi, Kelly,
I’ve been making falafel for quite a few years now and I’ve always fried them. I’ve developed my own recipe from ideas I’ve gleaned from various middle eastern chefs and from some of the more “authentic” recipes that I’ve found on the internet over the years. My current recipe is similar to yours. Mine starts with 2 cups of dried chickpeas, so adjust accordingly. I use a couple of tablespoons of fresh mint instead of the 1/2 cup of cilantro, but I’ve seen cilantro used quite a few times. I prefer the mint, but that’s just me. I also add ground coriander seed, which is something I’ve seen is quite common in “authentic” recipes. I also add 1/2 of a jalapeno. The Syrian “chef” that runs a local drive-through falafel stand that I frequent tells me to NEVER use mint or jalapeno…Cilantro leaves only!” Okay, he’s kind of passionate about his falafel. But I’ve spoken to other middle eastern “chefs” and some have said that they use mint and sometimes a hot pepper. I think it’s a taste thing as well as a nationality thing…Whatever works for you.
The reason I came across your website and this recipe is because after at least 25 years of making fried falafel, I decided to give the baked version a try. Your words, and especially your photos convinced me that it can be done with great success. Well, last night I did it and I was very pleased with the results. They were delicious, but a bit more dense in the middle. I’m not sure if I can blame the cooking method or the texture of the mix before cooking…
I just got a new Vitamix blender. For years I’ve either made the falafel in my food processor or (more authentically) in the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer. The results are very similar from each machine. This time, however, I used the Vitamix. I’ll have to experiment with smaller batches instead of doing the whole (5 cups soaked) recipe at once. The mix was definitely more finely ground up than it usually was from the food processor or the meat grinder. It was harder to keep the grinding of the chickpeas even in the blender. I still have a little bit of the falafel mix that I didn’t cook, so maybe I’ll try frying it to see if that was the difference instead of the finer grind. Either way, there was significantly less fat in the finished product and they tasted exactly the same. The texture was the only difference, and even that wasn’t very noticeable. My son noticed the difference, but my wife didn’t, so, there ya go.
Anyway, thanks for inspiring me to dramatically cut down on the fat content of my falafel.
Thanks for your comment, Bruce!
This looked so delicious and yours came out beautifully. I tried this recipe last night and didn’t have the same results. I soaked my chickpeas for 24hrs and they didn’t seem particularly easy to break apart so I boiled them for 8-10min to make them a little softer then followed the instructions. Unfortunately they were very crumbly and totally fell apart when I went to flip them although the mixture looked a lot like your photos. Any suggestions on what to do differently? Thanks
i love chickpeas a lot and i cook this meal quite often! keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, Maria!