This vegan baked falafel recipe is easy to make and creates flavorful, soft and nourishing patties. Serve with creamy tahini sauce for the ultimate meal.
Chop the onion and mince some garlic. It’s best to pre-chop these ingredients (even with a food processor) so they evenly mix into the falafel.
⅓ cup onion, 3 cloves garlic
Wash your parsley. I like to remove large stems from the parsley.
¾ cup parsley
Zest then juice a lemon; you’ll need about ½ a large lemon.
1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Step 2: Make Falafel
Add all the ingredients to food processor. Pulse the mixture until it’s combined but still has some small pieces throughout; don’t over-blend into a smooth paste.
2 cups chickpeas, ¾ cup parsley, ⅓ cup onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 2 tablespoons almond flour, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil
Scrape the edges of the food processor a few times as you go.
Remove the food processor blade and stir to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
Line your baking tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper for easy clean up.
Form 8 patties that use about ¼ cup of mixture each; I use measuring cup to easily shape each patty.*
Gently flatten the patties onto your baking tray.
Step 3: Bake Falafel
Before baking, brush extra olive oil (or vegetable oil) onto both sides of the falafel. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons of oil.
2 tablespoons olive oil
Place the falafel into an oven that is preheated to 350 °F. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the falafel is lightly browned on both sides.
Depending on your oven, you may need to flip the falafel halfway through baking; do this carefully as the falafel will be very soft.
When the falafel is cooked, remove from your oven and cool for 5-10 minutes before handling. They are quite soft and firm up once cooled (but remain delicate).
If you don’t plan to eat the falafel right away, transfer to a wire cooling rack so the bottoms of the falafel don’t become soggy.
Serve with other tasty foods, including creamy tahini sauce and fresh tabbouleh salad.
1 batch tahini sauce, 1 batch tabbouleh salad
Notes
*Using ¼ cup for each patty makes large falafel that are best for eating as-is/ on a plate and not in a wrap. If you want smaller falafel, the cook time will likely be less.**Nutrient analysis performed on falafel patties only and does not account for other foods you'll serve with it, such as tahini sauce or tabbouleh salad.Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.