Falafel Recipe (Crispy Middle Eastern Style)

Crispy, crunchy falafel are a savory vegan snack that everyone loves. They are terrific to eat by themselves, to serve with sauces to dip, or enjoy in pitas, wraps or between slices of bread for a tasty plant-based sandwich. Here I share an authentic middle eastern recipe for making the best traditional Chickpea Falafel.

Why You’ll Love This Falafel Recipe

Falafel is a plant-based fried snack that is made with chickpeas (or fava beans), plus some vibrant aromatics and a touch of all-purpose flour. It’s a popular street food in the Middle East and Mediterranean and is enjoyed throughout much of the world.

Tasty, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside falafel are often eaten as a snack or side dish with any number of dips, sauces, or chutneys.

Falafels are also a part of the Middle Easter Mezze platter that includes pitas, hummus, tahini sauce, tzatziki, baba ganoush, olives, pickles and veggies.

They are also commonly enjoyed stuffed in pita pockets or between slices of bread with fresh veggies. You can even prepare them as meatless “burgers” and serve on buns.

To make falafel, you simply process or grind the soaked chickpeas with the rest of the ingredients, form into balls or patties, and deep fry to perfection.

3 Steps To Make

1. Soaking: As noted I use dried chickpeas to make this traditional falafel recipe. The dried chickpeas need to be soaked in water for a minimum of 8 hours, or can even be soaked overnight. Although this does take a bit more effort than using canned chickpeas, I promise the taste is very worth it.
2. Processing: Once soaked, the chickpeas are processed with seasonings, herbs, and additional aromatics to form a semi-coarse dough-like mixture. You can use a blender, mixer-grinder, or a food processor to process or grind everything together. Just be careful to not over-process the ingredients and accidentally create a paste.
3. Deep Frying: The semi-coarse chickpea mixture is then shaped into balls or patties and deep-fried in your preferred oil. While deep frying is the classic cooking method, you also can shallow fry, air fry, or even bake the falafel until crispy.

How to make Falafel

Traditional falafel is very easy to make, so skilled and novice chefs alike can perfect this foolproof recipe.

I’ve been making these at home for decades as a favorite snack and dinner. They are terrific to enjoy with flavorful sauces and tangy chutneys – or even just a side of tomato ketchup!

When I’m preparing them as snacks I tend to make falafel in fun dip-able balls shapes. However, if I make falafel to serve in a Pita or on bread, I find it’s best to prepare as slightly flat patties.

Whichever form of falafel you choose to cook, you’ll love this simple recipe with instructions, photos and tips to make the best traditional falafel from scratch.

Soak Chickpeas

1. Rinse 1 cup dried chickpeas a couple of times in fresh water. Then soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Cover the bowl while soaking.

The next day, drain all the water. Rinse the soaked chickpeas in running water. Drain again the water very well.

2. Then add the chickpeas in a grinder jar or a food processor or in a blender jar.

Blend or Process The Ingredients

3. Add the following spices, seasonings and herbs:

• ¼ cup chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon peeled & chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) or 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• Also, add salt as per taste

4. Add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice.

5. Blend or process the mixture in small intervals of time. Scrape the sides of the mixture and add it back in the jar.

You can also use the pulse option which is there in the mixer-grinder or blender machine.

6. You should get a semi coarse mixture. Don’t make it too pasty and too smooth. Avoid adding water while blending. If you are unable to blend without water, then you can add 1 to 3 tablespoons of water.

If the mixture is too coarse, you won’t be able to shape them into balls. The consistency should be semi coarse, so that you are able to shape them in balls or patties. You can even refrigerate the mixture for some hours or a couple of days.

7. Take the falafel mixture in a bowl. Check the taste and add more salt or spice powders if required. Mix again very well.

Test Before Frying

8. First let’s test. Heat oil for shallow frying or deep frying in a pan or wok. Roll a small ball or patty from the mixture and place it in the oil.

9. If the falafel ball does not break, then you are good to go with the frying. If it breaks then add ½ to 1 tablespoon more of the all-purpose flour to the falafel mixture.

The oil temperature is also very important. Because if the oil is not hot enough, the falafel can burst or fall apart. When you place the falafel in the oil, it should come up quickly but gradually on top.

If it does not come on the top or sticks to the pan, the oil is not hot enough. If it comes up too quickly and starts browning fast, the oil is too hot.

Deep Fry & Make Falafel

10. Make medium sized balls from the ground mixture and place them in medium hot oil. Add the number of balls depending on the size and capacity of the pan or wok. Do not crowd the pan.

11. When the bases get light golden and firms up, then gently turn over with a slotted spoon.

12.  Now fry the other side.

13. Fry till they become crisp and are golden turning over a few times as needed for an even golden color and cooking.

13. Place fried falafels on kitchen paper towels so that they absorb extra oil.

14. Repeat the process to make more falafel with the rest of the ground chickpea mixture.

15. Serve falafel as a side snack with a tahini dip or Hummus. They also tastes good with cilantro chutney and even tomato sauce. You can also stuff them in pita breads or make a falafel wrap. I served them with muhammara (roasted red bell pepper dip).

Serving Suggestions

• Enjoy as a snack or finger food: Falafel can be served on it’s own as a snack, but it’s best to include a dip or sauce on the side. The flavor of falafel is slightly savory and earthy, with a soft center. Therefore they go quite well with condiments such as tahini dip, Hummus, muhammara (roasted red bell pepper dip), Mint Chutney or Cilantro Chutney.
• Use to make burgers, sandwiches, pita bread: Crunchy and crumbly falafel is great to use as a meatless staple of lunch and dinner recipes. Load them into Pita Bread with your favorite vegetables and sauces for a classic dish. You can also include them on sandwiches, as plant-based burgers on buns, and in wraps. Try including hummus, pickled veggies or grated vegetables for extra yummy flavors and textures.
• Serve as an appetizer or side dish: Share falafel with dipping sauces or chutneys as an appetizer at gatherings or as a side for a middle eastern-inspired dinner. They are delicious as part of a Lebanese mezze or alongside nearly any main dish you like.
• Include in salads: Let homemade falafel cool before cutting into pieces and using to top fresh green salad. Enjoy with tahini dressing, tzatziki sauce, or a tangy lemon vinaigrette.

Variations

• Herbs – Soft green herbs when added to falafels make them herby as well as give them a light green color. The herbs can be parsley, cilantro or mint or your favorite herbs. You can add them less or more as you prefer. I have also shared a recipe of Green Falafel that has a a different flavor, color and taste.
• Healthy greens – Add a handful of spinach, chopped leafy kale, or amaranth for an extra boost of nutrients. They’ll also turn your falafel a lovely shade of green!
• Veggies – Hearty vegetables such as beetroot, cabbage, radish or carrots can also be added to the ground chickpea mixture. Shave or dice the veggies before adding to get the best consistency.
• Spices – These recipes include my favorite spices, but you can certainly change these up however you prefer. Try other combinations to create your favorite falafel.
• Beans – Falafel can also be made with dried fava beans. You could also try making these with legumes like black chickpeas, black eyed beans, bengal gram (chana dal) and moong beans.

Expert Tips

1. Dried Chickpeas: The crispiest falafel texture is achieved by using dried chickpeas. Again, you can use canned chickpeas, but note that your falafel will have a different taste and texture than this original recipe. Also, using canned chickpeas will likely require a bit more all-purpose flour to get the right semi-crumbly consistency.
2. Binding: Traditional falafel is made using all-purpose flour as a binding agent. But feel free to use whole wheat flour instead. For a gluten-free falafel recipe you can use rice flour or chickpea flour.
3. Consistency: The right consistency of the ground chickpea mixture is very important to make perfectly shaped falafel balls or patties. If it’s ground too much it’ll turn into a mushy paste; if not ground enough it will be too coarse to hold shape. What you want is a crumbly semi-course blend.
4. Frying: It is key that the oil be nice and hot before the falafel mixture is added. If it’s not hot enough, the falafel balls will soak up oil and be soggy rather than have that perfect crunchy crust. Therefore I recommend that you test to make sure the oil is hot by frying a tiny ball of the mixture first. It should not crumble (oil is not hot enough) or brown too quickly (oil is too hot).
5. Storing falafel mixture: This is a terrific make ahead recipe. You can make a batch of the ground falafel mixture and store in the fridge for up to 1 day or freeze. To freeze I recommend you first shape into balls and flash-freeze on a baking sheet for one hour, then transfer to an airtight zipper bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the falafel in the fridge overnight before frying.

FAQs

This Falafel recipe from the archives was first published in April 2012. It has been updated and republished on November 2024.