Every chickpea dreams of being transformed into a falafel! Ultra crispy on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, everybody loves them but few know how easy they are to make. This is an easy to follow falafel recipe with step photos AND a recipe video!
The best part is breaking open the golden brown balls to reveal the dazzling green insides. Dip them in tahini sauce and pop them straight in your mouth, or make wraps!
Falafel recipe
There are many things I do not know, but I do know this: Falafels are the highest and best use of chickpeas.
Perhaps not the most common use – hard to beat a batch of creamy hummus whipped up in mere minutes using a can of chickpeas. But if you’re after the best use of chickpeas, falafels win every time.
And if you’re a falafel fiend like me, you’re going to be blown away how easy it is to make falafels at home!
This falafel recipe takes me back to my travels through the Middle East, where I enjoyed freshly made falafels almost every day!
Canned chickpeas don’t work!
In the falafel world, canned chickpeas are not only illegal, they flat out don’t work. Reason: falafels are made with dried chickpeas that are soaked but not cooked before forming the falafel balls.
Other than the dried chickpeas rule, there’s nothing unusual that goes into falafels. Baking powder is the only point of contention – you won’t see it in all recipes and it’s not endorsed by Kenji over at Serious Eats, one of our references for this recipe.
But it’s a trade secret we managed to extract from Hijazi’s Falafel in Earlwood, one the best falafel joints in Sydney. So we tried it with and without, side by side, and the baking powder version was noticeably more fluffy – and moist.
So it’s in. Fluffy insides to the max!!!
Falafels MUST be made with soaked dried chickpeas that are NOT cooked. Canned chickpeas don’t work!
Frying is not optional!
It’s rare that I say frying is mandatory, but for falafels, it is. It’s the only way to get the signature super crispy dark crust and keep the inside moist.
For this falafel recipe, I deep-deep fry them in the video, using enough oil so they’re mostly submerged. But you don’t need to – you can use far less oil than I did and they can be shaped like discs rather than balls which will mean even less oil required for frying.
Speaking of discs – you can unleash your wild side when it comes to shaping falafels. I chose balls because for me, that’s the shape that first comes to mind. But other common shapes include: disc shape (slightly flattened ball), dome (ball with underside flattened) and torpedoes (evil looking shape, like a football).
How to make falafels
I promise you this falafel recipe is straightforward, and I did not exaggerate! Here’s how to make falafels:
- Soak dried chickpeas overnight (seriously, remembering to do this is the hardest part!)
- Blitz with herbs, spices, garlic, flour and a touch of water
- Form balls, refrigerate to firm up
- Fry until deep golden brown and super crispy
- Devour as fast as humanly possible. Falafels are at their absolute peak straight out of the fryer!
How to serve Falafels
The thought of having a whole bowl of freshly cooked falafels to dunk into sauce and pop straight into my mouth is certainly appealing – though not the most nutritious meal option!!
So to serve Falafels as a meal, I like to either make falafel plates or wraps using pita bread, or falafel rolls using Lebanese or other large flatbreads (like the Falafel rolls sold at Kebab shops in Australia).
In all 3 of these options, I use: tabbouleh and/or shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato and onion slices and drizzle the Falafels with Tahini Sauce. Hummus also makes an appearance 99% of the time – a very big dollop of it!
Falafels also make a terrific gluten free meal by making falafel plates using a flavoured rice instead of bread – such as Mejadra (Middle Eastern Lentil Rice).
Falafel sauce options
A sauce is a must for falafels – you need the wetness. Tahini Sauce is the standard, but it’s also terrific with a simple yoghurt-lemon sauce or even a thinned down hummus. Recipes for all these options are in the recipe below.
Making ahead
Falafels are one of those foods that are truly at their best fresh out of the fryer, when they’re super crispy on the outside and the inside is piping hot and moist.
Once refrigerated, the crust softens and the inside loses moisture. But! The good news is that they can be resurrected to a near freshly-cooked state using a combination of a microwave (gets the insides moist again) and a hot oven to recrisp the surface.
They’re good for 5 days in the fridge – probably longer.
Imagine that! Getting your falafel fix day after day after day….. – Nagi x
PS Couple more things homemade falafels has going for them: they’re super economical compared to store bought (dried chickpeas are the main ingredient and they’re super cheap!) and you can control the saltiness – I find that even the best falafel stores are often too salty.
Falafel recipe
Watch how to make it
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Falafel
Ingredients
Falafels:
- 225 g / 8 oz dried chick peas (Note 1)
- 1 cup parsley leaves , roughly chopped
- 1 cup coriander/cilantro leaves , roughly chopped
- 6 scallions/shallots , white and light green part only finely chopped (Note 2)
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (Note 3)
- 4 tsp flour (plain/all purpose) OR chickpea flour
- 5 tbsp water
For frying:
- 500 ml / 2 cups+ vegetable oil (Note 4)
Tahini Sauce (Other Sauces Note 5):
- 4 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
Serving (Note 6):
- Pita bread or other flatbreads
- Tabbouleh (recipe below)
- Hummus (optional extra)
- Shredded lettuce, tomato slices, sliced red or white onion
Instructions
Falafel:
- Place chickpeas in a large bowl and pour over plenty of cold water. Leave to soak 12 + hours (even 2 days is fine).
- Drain chickpeas well. Place in food processor, add remaining Falafel ingredients.
- Blitz for 2 to 3 minutes on high, scraping down sides as necessary, until the chickpeas are very small grains. Mixture should look like smooth guacamole from the outside (see video).
- Scoop up heaped tablespoons and shape into balls (or dome, disc or torpedo), place on a tray. Should make around 20, about 2.5cm / 1" wide.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Pour oil in a skillet or large pot - at least 1.7 cm / 2/3" depth (Note 4). Heat on medium high to 180 - 190C / 355F (or drop a bit in, should sizzle energetically).
- Place a ball in a large spoon (or tongs) and slide ball in. Cook in batches for around 4 minutes, using 2 forks to roll, until deep golden and super crusty on the outside.
- Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining falafel.
- Serve fresh out of the fryer with Sauce of choice! Make falafel wraps or plates with tabbouleh, tomato, onion, and Sauces of choice. See Notes 5 and 6.
Tahini Sauce:
- Combine tahini and lemon juice, and mix well. The mixture will stiffen.
- Stir in the water 1 tbsp at a time and it will loosen again. The final consistency should be like a thick drizzle sauce (see video). Season to taste with salt.
Recipe Notes:
* Falafel wraps / rolls - Use large or small flatbreads. Smear a good dollop of hummus or yoghurt (or Yoghurt Lemon Sauce, below) down the middle. Top with tabbouleh and/or lettuce, tomato, onion and falafels broken in half. Drizzle with Tahini Sauce or other sauce of choice (I love adding hot sauce). Either roll or fold and devour!
* Falafel plates - with tabbouleh and/or shredded iceberg lettuce with tomato slices, onion (red or white), Tahini Sauce with optional hummus with pita breads on the side. I love hot sauce too! A spiced pilaf like Mejadra (Middle Eastern Lentil Rice) is a terrific addition as well (and GF option). Tabbouleh: 2 tbsp Bulgur soaked in 3 tbsp boiling water then fluffed. 2 cups roughly chopped parsley, 1/2 cup roughly chopped mint, 1/2 red onion finely chopped, 2 large red tomatoes, deseeded & chopped. Dress with lemon juice  and sprinkle of salt - adjust to taste depending on what you're serving it with. For falafel, I use very little salt and lots of lemon juice. Serving size: 2 - 3 halved falafels in pita pockets, 3 - 4 halved for a large roll, 4 to 5 for a plate. 7. Reheating: Falafel is one of those foods that's truly best served fresh out of the fryer. But the best way to store / reheat cooked falafel is in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days (really!). Microwave to reheat (really!) THEN spray with plenty of oil and bake at 200C/390F for 5 minutes just until the surface is crispy again. Make Ahead: Balls can be rolled then kept uncooked in the fridge for 24 hours OR frozen. If frozen, fry from frozen - just add another 1 or 2 minutes to the frying time. 8. Nutrition per falafel:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
He really thought there was something tasty buried in that prickly bush – he was snuffling around in there for ages!!
Looks good and I want to make these tomorrow…I have cilantro but not parsley…can I use all cilantro or will that be too much?
Hi Nagi, you have done it again. I have been searching for a falafel recipe and your recipes have never failed so gave it a go today. Yummo!! it’s the best I’ve ever had. And it feels so healthy(minus the frying in oil)😉, exactly as your recipe stated, nice and fluffy in the inside and crunchy on the outside. I added some fresh green chilli and fennel seeds and it was soo good. Hit with the family…can’t wait to show off this recipe to my friends, once this lockdown in Melbourne is over. Thanks Nagi, you never disappoint. 🙌
Amazing!!! Better then 90% of restaurants i have eaten them in and scarily easy!!!
Hi, just a tad confused about the shallot/green onion. They are two different things so do you mean use either or? If so I would imagine use the green onion and if want more garlicky use more garlic? Use to make my own falafel, Found a restaurant that had the best and sold them frozen, They changed hands and are no longer the best, Taste like pepper. So… going to try your recipe which sound awesome and better ingredients then my original I use to use. My recipe was from years ago before the internet! Will let you know for sure how they turn out but I think you already know. (-:
Hi Donna, green onions are what we call shallots here (same thing). 🙂 N x
Can I make the felafel mix ahead and then fry it fresh?
Hi Marija, yes – see my tips in the recipe notes 🙂 N x
Thanks Nagi! Sorry I missed that note… but I made these and they a freaking delicious.
My minor changes were:
– I excluded the shallots because I’m intolerant
– I subbed the fresh coriander with cooked spinach because that’s what I had on hand
– I used more flour because the spinach was more moist (even after squeezing it)
For some reason my falafels kept falling apart in the pan, so I improvised by flattening them down into patties. Maybe I didn’t drain the chickpeas enough? The flavor was great though! Served them with chopped lettuce, tomatoes and tzatziki in pita pockets. Thanks for another great meal Nagi 🙂
Made these last night with kale and rocket instead of parsley and coriander (my partner can’t stand the taste of them). Turned out pretty well, but a little dry on the inside. Any tips on keeping the centre moist? Thanks!
Awesome recipe. Nothing more satisfying making a dish yourself, that’s better then you have ever tried anywhere else. Nagi! your recipes have never failed, not even once!!
Hi Nagi,
I have made this recipe many times with great success and as you say, the hardest bit is remembering to soak the chickpeas overnight….. unfortunately I failed to remember this step but having just inherited a pressure cooker, I thought I could quickly bring the chickpeas up to ‘soaked’ condition and voila keep going with the recipe…BOY WAS I WRONG…. I made 1 batch and they looked pretty good until they hit the oil when they just started to fall apart, it was a DISASTER. So not thinking much about it, sent hubby off to shops for more ingredients to try again, but this time, I pressure cooked the chickpeas for a lot less time…. unfortunately, the same thing happened. So I can only assume that you CANNOT PRESSURE COOK CHICKPEAS for this recipe!! I will go back to the good ol’ fashioned soaking overnight method and look forward to making these again soon.
Hi Christie, you’re correct, you cannot pressure cook chickpeas to fast track this. The reason is that pressure cooking means you’re actually cooking the chickpeas rather than just soaking them. They become too soft and won’t hold! N x
Another great dinner! Husband(where’s the meat?) thought they were great, kids eyeing them off for tomorrow’s lunch.
Made lemon garlic mayonnaise as daughter can’t eat dairy. Amazing. 👌
At last! A falafel recipe that works and tastes brilliant. The mixture seemed very wet and crumbly, I ex posted them to fall apart but they didn’t. The tahini sauce is a must to go with it. Thanks again Nagi, another of your many recipes i will make again.
Hi, can these be cooked in the oven rather than fried? I am thinking yes, but it may dry them out?
Hi Diane, no sorry – these need to be fried to get them crisp on the outside whilst staying moist and fluffy on the inside. N x
These worked perfectly! Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m in love! 🥰 falafels for life!
This is THE best recipe.
I almost go to Recipe Tin Eats everytime I want to make something. Excellent recipes Nagi. Such talent.
That’s so great to hear Cate! N x
Wow Nagi! I make many of your recipes but this one is my favourite so far!! I didn’t end up soaking the chickpeas for the full 12 hours (more like 10) but this turned out so amazing and tasty. I used coconut oil to cook them and only used about half the amount and made into discs. Came out perfect 👌 You’re my go to for meal inspiration x
Perfect Natasha, I love hearing this!! N x
I’ve made these several times and it always tastes delicious. Hubby raves how fresh-tasting these falafels compared to our go-to restaurant. Thanks, Nagi!
Made them 2 weeks ago, loved them, and making them again tomorrow. THANK YOU!
I was supposed to make these for dinner tonight and completely forgot to soak the chickpeas overnight is there anything I can do?
Hi Gabbie – you really need to soak the chickpeas here otherwise the texture will be dry and hard. N x
Finally a delicious falafel recipe!!! Thank you so much! I’m almost crying because I’m so happy to find this one. 😃
I LOVE hearing this Katariina!!! N x
Hi Nagi, recipe looks great – thinking of a food processor- any suggestions? Thanks for you great recipes – we enjoyed the veggie stir fry last evening- Jennifer