The best falafel recipe

Falafels taste great, and the crispy chickpea patties are a great way to replace the meat and have a vegetarian dinner. It's incredibly easy to make one big batch, and they just taste so good served in pita bread or in food pancakes or spinach pancakes along with delicious dips such as hummus and various accessories such as baked cauliflower. 

What is falafel?

A falafel is a type of vegetarian meatball, often made from chickpeas (and sometimes broad beans). The dry chickpeas are soaked and made into a coarse mince with spices and onions, which are shaped into small pieces and deep-fried to make crispy falafels. Falafel is eaten throughout the Middle East, but the dish originally originated in Palestine. Here they are typically served with hummus, tahini dressing, pickled vegetables (e.g. pickled red onions) and warm delicious flatbreads. 

ALSO TRY: The popular recipe for vegetarian squash meatballs or chicken meatballs

How to make falafel?

It is not easy to get the right taste and consistency when making homemade falafel. The secret is NOT to use canned chickpeas, but rather dried chickpeas that have been soaked. Canned chickpeas are cooked or steamed, and are therefore completely soft and contain a lot of liquid, which is why you will never be able to recreate an authentic falafel with them. On the other hand, you should use dried chickpeas that have been soaked before using them to make the falafel dough. This gives the falafels the perfect texture and makes them coarse but still fluffy and delicious inside. 

TIP: Also try the easy falafel waffle recipe, If you're craving falafel in a hurry, this recipe is made with canned chickpeas and can be whipped together in no time.

Ingredients for falafel

The recipe is inspired by how falafel is made authentically in the Middle East. You will need the following ingredients:

• Dried chickpeas: Soak the dried chickpeas in water and a little baking soda. They will absorb the liquid, so they will increase in size by about 2.5 times during soaking. Baking soda is added here as it helps to soften the chickpeas. TIP: Also try dried chickpeas for crispy chickpea pizza crusts..
• Onions and garlic: Be careful not to use too large an onion as it can make the stuffing too wet. Instead, give it plenty of flavour from 3 cloves of garlic.
• Parsley and coriander: Fresh herbs are needed! However, you can omit fresh coriander if you don't like it.
• Ground cumin, coriander and salt: The dried spices that give the authentic falafel flavor. You can also experiment with adding a small pinch of ground cardamom for an extra aromatic flavor.
• Baking soda: The recipe uses baking soda instead of baking powder, as it makes the falafel a bit more airy and "fluffy". However, you can also use baking powder if that's all you have on hand.
• Flour: It is not always necessary to add flour, but if you feel that your falafel mixture is too wet or disjointed, you can add a little plain wheat flour or chickpea flour if you want to make gluten-free falafel.
• Flavorless oil: Used for frying. The recipe uses an organic sunflower oil that is intended for deep frying.

TIP: Also try the recipe at falafel pancakes or delicious edamame falafels

Deep-fried falafel or falafel in the oven

The falafels can be deep-fried, baked in the oven or fried in oil on a regular pan.

Deep-fried/deep-fried

Deep frying them gives the most authentic result, and it tastes best. Use organic sunflower oil for deep frying. Heat it in a deep pan so that there is about 3-5 cm of oil in the bottom. The oil has the right temperature at around 170 degrees. You can check this by sticking a toothpick into the oil. When the oil sizzles around the toothpick, i.e. small bubbles form, you know that the oil is ready. However, be careful not to let the oil get too hot. You will know this when the falafels quickly become dark brown/burnt on the surface, without being cooked through inside.

Falafel fried in a pan

You can also choose to fry the falafel in just a little oil in a pan. However, be aware that the falafel needs to be fried for a relatively long time, as it is important that the chickpeas are not raw in the middle.

Falafel in the oven

You can also choose to cook the falafel in the oven. That way you avoid the mess that deep frying can often end up being. And you get a slightly healthier recipe for falafel. Feel free to moisten your hands in oil (regular olive oil can be used here) before shaping the falafel. This ensures that a thin layer of oil is applied to the surface of each falafel, so that they become crispy and beautifully golden in the oven.  

TIP: This recipe was in the top 10 of my most popular in 2020. See the other 9 right here.

Falafel side dishes - What do you eat with falafel?

Falafels are often served in wraps or with pita bread. However, they can also be served with various salads such as a delicious couscous salt with apricots. You can serve warm salads salad with baked carrots, feta and salted almonds and the beautiful eggplant salad with pomegranate seeds & tahini dressing. Falafel is almost always served with hummus, the delicious, creamy chickpea dip. Find the recipe for the best authentic hummus here. The hummus can be served on its own, or you can arrange it with other vegetables as on this beautiful hummus dish with halloumi. You can also choose to make a more modern, Nordic pea hummus, as you can see in the wraps in the pictures in this blog post. Here I have filled the wraps with falafel, pea hummus, salad and feta cheese. In addition to hummus, falafel is also almost always served with tahini dressing. You can find the best recipe right here. The dressing is made from tahini (sesame paste), lemon juice, water, salt and pepper. Haydari and baba ganoush are other dips often found in Middle Eastern kiosks and kebab shops. Haydari consists of baked peppers and feta or Greek yogurt, and You can find my recipe for the best haydari right here. Baba ganoush is a creamy dip made from baked eggplant and tahini, which you can find the recipe here.