Basic Falafels

These basic falafels are packed with flavor and made quicker thanks to a shorter chickpea soak time. They’re firm without crumbling and can be pan fried or baked for a lower fat option.

After years of making countless falafel recipes, I finally perfected my own basic falafels. Hurray!

I had many failed attempts along the way. Falafels that turned out soft and crumbly when cooked. Some without enough flavor and some with too much flavor (if that’s even a thing). I was close to giving up, when I found this chickpea-soaking technique from The Kitchn.

See, despite beeing a food blogger, I have no patience when it comes to long, complicated recipes. They’re unrealistic for most of us and when I spend hours cooking every day, I look for any way to make my recipes quicker. Not only that, but I rarely think of preparing for recipes the night before, so soaking chickpeas overnight only for falafels wasn’t really an option.

With this technique, you can pepare the chickpeas and cook the falafels on the same day, without using canned chickpeas (my attempts using canned chickpeas were not a success AT ALL).

Before someone says something: No, these are not traditional falafels. However, they are the closest thing to restaurant falafels I’ve ever had and they are DELICIOUS. I would love to know what you think!

How to Make Basic Falafels:

First, you need to soak the chickpeas. Simply bring them to a boil, then let them soak covered for 1 hour. Yes, it does require a bit of thinking ahead, but at least it can be done the same day. Plus, this is all hands off time.

When the chickpeas are done, you throw them in a food processor, along with all the remaining ingredients. Process it until the mixture comes together and sticks together when pressed (3-4 minutes, depending on your food processor).

Finally, you can cook your falafels using your method of choice! My favorite is to pan fry them, but you can bake them for a lower-fat option.

How to Use Falafels:

• Salads (I have a recipe coming soon!).
• Wraps with hummus, greens, tomatoes, tahini dressing and other fillings of choice.
• As an appetizer or snack, served with hummus or other dips of choice.
• On their own. Yum!

This is a recipe from my Cooking with Legumes eBook. I didn’t think it was fair to keep this one from you (plus, the blog really needed a good falafel recipe). So I hope you’ll love them!

If you make these basic falafels, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!