Easy Baked Falafel and Tahini Sauce
These easy baked falafel patties are sturdy and have bright, fresh herbs running through them. Goes great with the creamy tahini sauce!
Yield: 10 -12 patties
Ingredients
For the falafel:
- 2 (14.5 oz.) cans chickpeas (or 3 cups crock pot chickpeas), rinsed and drained
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- ½ cup loosely packed cilantro
- ¼ cup loosely packed parsley
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, see notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the tahini sauce:
- ¼ cup tahini, see notes
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons of water
- salt and pepper to taste
For serving (optional):
- Pita bread
- Lettuce and tomato
Instructions
- Combine the chickpeas, red onion, garlic, cilantro and parsley in a food processor. Process until broken down but still a little chunky.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients (through baking soda). Mix well.
- Form the falafel mixture into patties. I like doing small, thick patties - it makes it easier to flip them and they hold together better. Plus, you get a generous bite!
- Place the patties on a plate, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Or, you can stick the patties in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. This helps them set up so they'll hold together better.
- Preheat the oven to 400. Remove falafel patties and space them out evenly on a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then flip carefully. If any of the patties fall apart a little, you can carefully use the spatula and your hand to smush them back together. They firm up by the time they are finished baking.
- Bake another 10-15 minutes, until well browned and firm.
- In the meantime, make the tahini sauce. Mix the tahini, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water and a dash of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add additional water, a tablespoon at a time, if needed, to get the sauce to a drizzling consistency. (It will depend on the thickness of your tahini.)
- Once they are finished cooking and nicely browned, remove the falafel patties and let cool for a couple minutes on the pan. This helps them finish setting up so they hold together.
- Serve in the pitas with the tahini sauce, and enjoy!
Notes
Tahini: Tahini is a sesame seed paste with a great nutty flavor. I usually find it near the peanut butter in the grocery store.
Chickpeas: You can use canned chickpeas or make your own crock pot chickpeas from dried beans.
Salt: Some readers have said these were too salty. I retested the recipe and revised the amount of kosher salt down to 1 teaspoon, as listed above. (It had been 1 ½ teaspoons.) I did add some salt for serving to suit my tastes, but they might not need it depending on how you serve them. You must rinse canned chickpeas well to remove the sodium-heavy liquid they are in. Also, I use kosher salt. Regular iodized table salt has a different sodium level and shouldn't be substituted 1:1 or you'll get different results.
Serving: These are also great served with hummus in a pita. Or just topped with hummus and eaten alone. Or serve as a vegetarian protein with salads or grain bowls. They even go great with some eggs in the morning, topped with salsa.
Leftovers: Leftover falafel patties can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or a toaster oven. They can be a bit more crumbly, but I love sprinkling them on salads or into pita pockets. You can also freeze leftover falafel. Place the patties in a (labeled and dated) freezer-safe ziplock bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 2patties | Calories: 93kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 574mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g
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