Crispy Falafel
This crispy baked falafel recipe is so easy to make and tastes incredible! Serve your falafel in pita sandwiches or salads. Gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Raise your hand if you love falafel! I’ve gone back into the archives to highlight my all-time favorite homemade falafel recipe. Making falafel at home can be tricky, but this recipe is easy.
Six reasons to love this healthy falafel recipe:
- These falafels are golden brown and crispy on the outside. The insides are tender, delicious, and full of fresh herbs.
- They’re baked instead of fried, so they contain significantly less fat than fried falafel. And your house won’t smell like fried food for days. Winning!
- Once your chickpeas are sufficiently soaked, the falafel mixture comes together in no time. If you have someone to help shape the patties, they’ll come together even faster.
- These falafels are gluten free and vegan, so they’re a great party appetizer.
- These falafels freeze well, so they’re a fantastic protein-rich option to keep on hand for future salads and pita sandwiches.
- On that note, this recipe is easily doubled! See recipe notes.
Are you convinced yet? Let’s make some falafel!
How to Make the Best Homemade Falafel
Bake it, don’t fry it. I say this because frying requires a lot of sizzling hot oil, and that scares me. I also don’t have a good vent over my oven to take the fried food smell far, far away. Plus, you can use a reasonably amount of heart-healthy olive oil in the baked version.
Coat your rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. That way, you get a fried effect in the oven, and you don’t have to brush the little falafels individually with olive oil. Winning!
Use dried chickpeas, not canned. Canned chickpeas do not work for falafel. They’re far too wet. If you try to use canned chickpeas instead of dried and soaked chickpeas, you’ll end up with sad falafel pancakes. Some recipes try to counteract the wetness by adding flour, which significantly dulls the flavor and makes the texture more doughy.
Soak the dried chickpeas for at least four hours. If your chickpeas aren’t sufficiently softened, you’ll have unpalatably tough pieces of chickpea in your falafel. There’s just no workaround here.
Choose your dried chickpeas wisely. Try to buy your dried chickpeas from a store with high turnover, because old chickpeas need longer to soften. If you have options, pick the chickpeas that are the smallest, since they’ll soften faster.
Watch How to Make Crispy Falafel
Falafel Serving Suggestions
Serve falafel as an appetizer, wrap it into a pita sandwich, or add it to salad for a protein-rich topping. Falafel goes great with any of the following ingredients:
- Pita bread, warmed or toasted (tear it up for pita “croutons”)
- Fresh greens (such as spring greens or chopped romaine)
- Tomatoes, sliced
- Bell peppers, cut into strips
- Cucumber, thinly sliced
- Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- Raw red onion, thinly sliced, or quick-pickled onions
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Sauce: Something creamy like tzatziki, hummus, or tahini sauce, and maybe a spicy sauce like zhoug or shatta, too
Here’s a tahini dressing recipe that goes great with this falafel, too:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- Zest and juice of 1 small lemon
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- Pinch of cayenne
- 1/3 cup water
In a small food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend well. You can also whisk the ingredients together by hand in a small bowl, just note that you’ll need to chop the fresh herbs and zest more finely than you would if you were using a food processor.
Please let me know how you like these falafel in the comments! I hope you love them as much as I do. ♥
Crispy Falafel
This homemade falafel recipe is absolutely delicious, and remarkably crispy! Be sure to allow 4 hours soaking time for the chickpeas, preferably overnight. Then, the falafel mixture is super easy to make in a food processor. Recipe yields 12 to 13 falafels (see notes on how to double).
Ingredients
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup dried (uncooked/raw) chickpeas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator
- ½ cup roughly chopped red onion (about ½ small red onion)
- ½ cup packed fresh parsley (mostly leaves but small stems are ok)
- ½ cup packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves but small stems are ok)
- 4 cloves garlic, quartered
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon (about 25 twists) freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into a large, rimmed baking sheet and turn until the pan is evenly coated.
- In a food processor, combine the soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Using your hands, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Shape the falafel into small patties, about 2 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Place each falafel on your oiled pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully flipping the falafels halfway through baking, until the falafels are deeply golden on both sides. These falafels keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for several months.
Notes
Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
Make-ahead option: I haven’t tried this, but the original recipe notes that the uncooked falafel patties can be refrigerated on a parchment-lined baking sheet, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours before baking.
How to double this recipe: Preheat the oven with two oven racks near the center of the oven. Double all of the ingredients. If you have a large food processor (guessing 11+ cup capacity), you can mix all of the ingredients at once. Use two baking sheets, and swap their positions (top to bottom, bottom to top) when you flip the falafel halfway through baking.
Recommended equipment: I love my 11-cup food processor (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Kate I made these today and they tasted so good! I tried pan Frying them first but that didn’t do the job so I baked the rest with a bunch of olive and they turned out really good; however when I followed the instructions as posted the mixture was not manageable. It just kept falling apart in my hands. I added panko 1/4 cup at time until it finally got to a consistency that I could form a ball with. By the time I was done I ended up using 1 and 1/4 cup of panko. I never use panko! I only used it because I had it lying around and needed to salvage these somehow. If the parsley and Cilantro was only roughly dried and had a bit of water in it still would that have caused this to happen? What is a healthier alternative to panko to get the consistency right if it turns out to crumbly next time I make it?
Perfect flavors – great job! The patties came out crumbly, though, probably something I did wrong. They will go into a veggie wrap so not a big deal. Thank you!
Hi Kate. Thank you very much for the Falafel and Tahini Dressing recipes – together with your Mediterranean Roast Sweet Potato Salad recipe, they helped me make a very successful lunch yesterday. I love and dread having guests normally – love the company, dread having to cook and then watch them trying to look polite while they eat it. Yesterday was especially traumatic because it was for meat eaters who are great chefs themselves. Everything worked like a treat and I was able to prepare a lot of it the day before, which hugely minimized my stress. I used canned chick peas for the falafels because I didn’t have the option of dried, but it worked really well. I added pineapple juice to the Tahini Dressing and that worked well, too. Big hug to Cookie and warm thanks to you. Catherine in France.
For how many people is this recipe?
Note to self, always read the notes :p I used canned chickpeas and ended up with the runny chickpea pancakes/hummus. Really great flavour though! I’m just going to spread it in a pita, add some greens and tahini dressing. Can’t wait to try this recipe again.
Fantastic. without doubt the best falafels I have ever made. Thanks!
These falafels were delicious.I air fried them instead of baking and they were crispy outside and moist inside. Great eaten with some salad greens or as a sandwich filling!
I’m new to the air fryer, but would to try this! At what temp and for how long did you air fry? Did you shake or flip during the process? TIA!
Ok made this today. I just added organic cayenne pepper instead of black pepper. Omg this was amazing. Thanks so much.
I found this recipe a few months ago and I’ve made it so many times since then. It’s so simple and so delicious, my friends and I love it!
I adore your recipes, thank you so much for sharing them with us!!
I tried the falafel recipe today and it was amazing. Just the perfect amount of spice. Thank you Kate. Looking for more such wonderful recipes were I can blindly follow your instructions. Thanks
I just found your blog today (where have I been??) and bought the ingredients for three of your recipes. And then I found this one. Back to the store for dried chickpeas : )
I love to read recipes; I can read a cookbook like a novel. Your blog is a treat-not only is it beautiful and humorous but the recipes look divine.
I’m so glad I found you! Thank you for creating this beautiful, fun, healthy space.
This is my first time on your blog – I have yet to try the recipe (I do plan to in a couple of days) I was more sold on the entertainment. You had me at beep boop.
Hey, Lilly–so glad you found my blog! Let me know if you try these.
Hi! How many servings does this recipe make? I’ve done it once a while ago and it was delicious, but I can’t remember how much it made!
So sorry for the delay, Alyssa. I think it makes about 12 falafels!
Love this! I have it in the oven right now :) I made this for the first time last week, and shoved it inside a pita pocket with hummus, spinach, cucumber, red onion and banana peppers. Admittedly, the first time I made this, it was too dry. I only soaked my chickpeas for 1 hour, and while it had good flavor, it was just too dry for my liking. For the batch in the oven now, I soaked the beans overnight, and I could tell when forming them, they won’t be dry this time! Nom nom nom nom thanks Kate!
You’re welcome, Stephie! Sounds like the second time worked out much better!
Cool falafel recipe. I’ve been haunted by a falafel vendor in NYC who ceased to exist many years ago. His was absolutely the best I’ve every tried, and I’ve tried hundreds around the world.
One secret ingredient I was told about by an Israeli was sumac. It is an amazing spice, citrusy like lemon but without the liquid that can mess with your falafel, and aromatic that puts you in a shuk in Morocco or Turkey. Food Labs recently release a very good falafel recipe. But I still can’t come close to that place in NYC….
Keep up the great work!
I have to say I wish I hadn’t heeded your advice not to use canned chickpeas. These turned out awful. Maybe if I had soaked them overnight it would have been better, but an hour was definitely not sufficient. We had to eat them very carefully so as not to chip a tooth… I have liked all the other recipes I’ve made from this site a lot, though, so I guess they can’t all be keepers.
Hi Allison, I’m really sorry to hear you had trouble with this one. These falafel turned out perfectly for me when I posted the recipe, and it’s based on an America’s Test Kitchen recipe, so it clearly turned out well during their testing. However, last year, I ran into the same problem that you did, even after soaking the chickpeas over an hour. Some chickpeas are older than others and therefore more dried out. I haven’t found a solution yet, but canned chickpeas definitely are not the answer—they’ll turn your falafel into sad pancakes. Just wanted to offer this explanation to suggest that no matter how hard I try to offer consistently reliable recipes (I’m a perfectionist, so I aim far beyond that), it’s unfortunately impossible to account for every possible variant.
I made the falafel last night and brought it in for lunch today. I soaked the chickpeas for hours (threw them in a bowl in the morning, made them around 4-5 pm) and I found the mixture was super easy to handle – I assume it’s much like shaping a hamburger. I heated a few up today for lunch and ate on a pita with your tzatziki sauce, feta, kalamata olives, and tomatoes. It was a great lunch and delicious. Also, I’ve never in my life been so happy to own a food processor! It made the patties super easy to make and the grating the cucumber for the tzatziki was done in seconds!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe — I make it every month or so! I soak the chickpeas in a bunch of water overnight and then bake up the falafel on a big ol’ heavy duty sheet pan with great results. Highly recommended with pita chips (it’s easier for me to pack them in that form, though not as healthy as plain pita…). I always need lunch salads with protein which makes this a great stand-by! Thank you, Kate!
You’re welcome, Lianna! I’m so glad this is on regular rotation for you.
I haven’t made them yet but going to tonight for dinner. Had him for the first time last week deep-fat-fried I’m didn’t like them that way too hard and crunchy. I am learning to cook healthy. I just bought 25 pounds of black beans also red lentils light brown lentils, and Egyptian rice. I want to make something for tomorrow’s dinner with the black beans and lentils do you have a simple recipe that I could use to do this? Thank you so much for your time and getting back to me.
Hi Jo, I’m sorry for the delay. That’s a lot of beans and rice, amazing! Here are my recipes for black beans and lentils. Hope you find some inspiration there.
I know this is an old post but I’m trying this now. I’ve alwsts made falafels in the traditional deep frying method. This will be interesting! Also added some spinach for some color. Fingers crossed!!
Let me know what you think!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I never thought it would be so easy, crispy and delicious! I ended up leaving the mixed batch covered with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight (got distracted, and couldn’t finish what I started). I used an ice cream scoop, parchment paper, and a little olive oil.I don’t have a cast iron skillet but had a broiling pan handy and that seemed to do the trick. The chilled paste was easy to manage and cooked up like a dream.
I’m happy to hear they turned out well for you! Thank you for your feedback, Denise.
I came across this recipe in my quest to eat gluten and dairy free. I made this tonight and it turned out great, much better than expected to be honest! They were nice and crispy on the outside and crumbly on the inside just like at the middle eastern restaurant! Thanks so much for a great, fresh recipe that was pretty easy to make.
You’re welcome! I try to provide gluten and dairy free substitutions to a lot of my recipes, so you have come to the right place. Thanks, Renee!
Hi Kate!
Thank you for all the work you put into this blog. I have tried several of your recipes and they have all been wonderful. The pictures are gorgeous and make me want to make everything! However I am a little concerned that these falafel patties crumble apart while baking and are nearly impossible to flip without them coming apart. (even though I firmly packed the mixture into patties.)
Have you experienced this? If so, I would love to hear your suggestions. Falafel is my favorite!!!
Thanks! (and a belly rub for Cookie, as well!)
So I didn’t have chickpeas, but I had a huge pile of yellow splitpeas that I needed to use. Worked so well. The falafel was so good, tasty, and easy. Will definitely do his again!
Yum! Thanks for the review, Deanne!
Have made this a few times now and love it! We have the falafel in wholewheat pita breads with lettuce and tahini sauce. I normally soak the chickpeas overnight but I forgot to put them on soak last night so I only had a few hours and even though the recipe says soak for atleast and hour they were still a little hard after the falafel was cooked. Still delicious but next time I will soak them longer. I am a newly diagnosed diabetic and have been trying to find tasty healthy recipes and this is definitely a new favourite thanks!
Thank you, Lucy for the review!
Thanks Cookie and Kate! My first attempt at falafel and your recipe and step-by-step directions (with pictures!) made it turn out great. I omitted the onion, but the rest was the same. I will make this again.
Hooray! I’m glad to hear that, Leah. Thanks so much for the review.
Looks delicious! Is the nutritional information not uploaded or is my computer not working? :)
It’s there! Try looking at your browser settings to make sure you have cookies enabled so the plug-in works. :)
This looks delicious! Can you use canned chickpeas for this recipe please?
Thanks
Kim
This is one of my favourite of your recipes. So easy and delicious to make, I always buy way too much parsley and then make a double batch and freeze.
Thank you, Denise!
I actually make Falafel once a month (a recipe very similar to yours), and the very last time used the leftovers in a salad for lunch. I took your recipe for Sunshine Salad Dressing and added a bit of tahini to it for a Mediterranean flair and it was delicious. Can’t wait to make it again, just for the leftovers.
Oh, that sounds delicious! Thank you, for sharing Donna.
Love this ones!! Could you share the recipe in Kg?? Will then try and share
Hi Silvia – Unfortunately only use US measurements. But, you can use an online converter that should do the trick!
Made the Ultra Baked Crispy Potato Wedges, They turned out GREAT & were well received by my husband & mother-in-law. Husband isn’t one for a lot of spices, so these fit the bill!! MIL likes to cook her food until there is no shape or flavor left. Thanks for a great recipe — will make again & again!
Great to hear!
Okay, just to clarify, I can soak them for minimum 4 hours, but could also soak them overnight? Is 4 hours the magic number?
Actually….. if I had read more carefully I could have answered this question myself. NEVERMIND! So sorry!
Hey Grace, as long as your chickpeas are soaked for 4 hours or longer, the falafel will turn out great. I’m just trying to make sure that your chickpeas are hydrated enough that they won’t be crunchy/hard after blending. So there’s not a magic number, just a minimum number. :)
Mhmm, give me *all* the falafel!! Hands down one of my favorite things to eat.
It’s delicious!
Thanks for sharing this crispy falafel recipe.
You’re welcome!
Looks great! Do you have any suggestions for substituting the oil in this recipe?
Thank you!
I’m sorry, I don’t. You can definitely omit it from the filling for slightly less irresistible results. I haven’t tried baking it without the oil on the pan, but you could try it on a non-stick surface like parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Hi Kate, another tip is to make the dough and you can freeze it in bags to use later. Defrost when needed then just shape and cook.
Tahini sauce is lovely drizzled on them to, (tahini, lemon, salt, garlic, olive oil, bit of yoghurt perhaps.) lovely in pita, always a hit.
I grew up on a Greek island with frequent visits to glorious Beirut, Paris of the Middle East.
Thank you, Lulu for the tips! I appreciate the review.
have you tried freezing these? what a great little snack to whip out if they were!
I haven’t tried freezing all my recipes, but I know other readers have with luck. It seems like these are a great on to freeze!
I LOVE falafel! I can’t wait to try this out.
Let me know what you think, Jen!
Falafels are always a mad favorite of mine. I would love to add a little customization for every time I make them differently colored–beet powder, turmeric, blue spirulina, and even charcoal powder!
Sounds like a great idea, Cassie! Thanks for sharing.
This is my all-time favorite recipe from your site! I still always make these as part of the salad in your original post- such a satisfying and healthy lunch! I don’t see the link to the original tahini dressing in this post but I hope you re-share that too because it’s SO yummy.
Wonderful, Jill! Here is a link to my new best tahini sauce! https://capital-fly.pro/2018/best-tahini-sauce-recipe/%3C/a%3E. Thanks for the review!
I just made this and topped it with your tzatziki. Amazing! Thank you for your recipes-so easy to follow and the ingredients are always things I seem to have on hand!
Sounds delicious! And, you’re welcome Jessica! I appreciate the review.
Question about how the chickpeas feel after the soak — are they really firm (i.e. would they be uncomfortable to bite into?), or are they pretty soft and easy to bite? Somewhere in the middle?
I make chickpeas from dried sometimes and my impression is after I soak my dried chickpeas for 8-10 hours they are still really firm, but maybe that is appropriate for this recipe.
Hey LJ, they are not soft but I was able to bite the chickpea in half without much trouble (although you don’t want to eat raw beans). If you follow my soaking guidelines I think your falafel will turn out just right!
Just made these for the first time and they are delicious ! This recipe is a keeper. How ingenious to soak the chick peas but not cook them! I have been looking for a falafel recipe to make at home for a very long time. This is the first one that does the trick. Thanks so much!! Chuck peas rule!!
You’re welcome!
Made these the other night and they were delicious! So delicious, in fact, that we’re making them again tonight I think the cinnamon is what really makes them. I recommend doubling the recipe!
Love that, Abby! Thank you for sharing.
Looks yummy – and no frying! I am one of the ‘cilantro is soap’ folks. Should I double the parsley or just leave out the cilantro? Thank you!
Hey Debbie! Just double the parsley.
Thank you!
I made this last night and it was really easy and tasty. I’ve only tried making falafel once before and found it fiddly, but this is an easy recipe with great results. We ate it with a big Greek salad and your tahini dressing, yummy.
I’m glad you thought it was easy and had great results! Thanks Kate for the review.
Thank you to the moon and back for his recipe! I love falafels and am gluten free and vegan. I’ve mastered the vegan taziki sauce but not the falafel, always used canned and they came out like soupy pancakes. So easy and delish, this will be one I make frequently!
You’re welcome to the moon and back. :) Thanks for the review, Liz!
You’re welcome to the moon and back, Liz! Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love this recipe. There used to be a tahini dressing at the bottom that was made with dill, lemon and parsley. Is there anyway you could let me know the ingredients? I loved the dressing as much as the falafel. Thank you!
Thanks, Marybeth! I’ve added the dressing recipe back, sorry about that!
This falafel recipe looks amazing. Can I make it ahead and freeze and reheat the patties?
I haven’t tried freezing all my recipes, but I know other readers have had success with freezing this one and reheating in the oven.