How To Make Falafel

Falafel is an ancient Egyptian dish that has been widely popularized in the Middle East and has now made its way to American vendors on street corners and restaurants alike. They’re extremely versatile, friendly for vegetarians, and couldn’t be easier to make with our foolproof falafel recipe. As for a little history for our friendly falafel, it dates back to the days of the pharaohs and likely descends from the Arabic word “mefelfel,” meaning spicy. Sailors spread falafel from the ports of Alexandria back to the Middle East, and has been a staple there ever since. Today, falafels are typically served in pita with lettuce, tomato, and tahini sauce, or as appetizers on a salad or with humus. Check out our recipe below so you can try your hand at making falafels! 

Falafel Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas
• 3 scallions, coarsely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon, juiced
• kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup flour, plus 1/4 cup flour for shaping patties
• oil, for frying

1. Combine the chickpeas, garlic, scallions, coriander, cayenne, cumin, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice and egg. If you use a food processor, pulse to combine the ingredients, or stir together until mixed by hand, adding salt as desired. Don’t be alarmed if your mixture isn’t smooth. While it shouldn’t be chunky, it won’t be uniform either.

2. Add in the baking powder and 1/3 cup of flour to the mixture and pulse or mix to combine. Allow the mixture to chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

3. Once chilled, remove the mixture from the refrigerator and prepare your frying oil. Pour oil into a large sauté pan until it reaches about 1/2 inch up the sides. Turn the heat to medium-high, and continue to heat the oil until it reaches 360 degrees.

4. While your oil heats, roll spoonfuls of your mixture into the remaining 1/4 cup of flour to coat it. Then press the balls into patties.

5. When the oil is ready, fry the falafels for about 3-4 minutes on each side and when removing them from the oil, place them on a paper towel to dry.

Check out our Recipes section for other great recipes!

Let us know how you like to serve your falafels! Perhaps you opt for a bed of lettuce with tomatoes and a yogurt sauce or maybe you like to serve it wrapped in pita with hummus and a yogurt sauce. No matter how you consume them, falafels will always be delicious, so let us know your suggestions for serving them.