What are Falafels?
Falafels are a middle Eastern dish made from blended chickpeas bound together with flour and seasonings and then fried. They make a great fridge fillers because they work well with a variety of meals or even just a snack. I personally love them in a pitta bread with hummus and salad. This healthy falafel recipe makes roughly 15 falafels at 65kcal each.
Do you have a diet restrictions?
This healthy falafel recipe is:
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Dairy Free
- Nut Free
- Low GI
- Low Fat
- 0.5 syns each
- Ultra Processed Food Free
Ultra processed food free recipes are recipes that use ingredients where no additives have been used. This will include ingredients that can be made at home to be UPF free such as stock cubes, sauces and seasonings.
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Step 1: Cook the onion and garlic
To start with to make this healthy falafel recipe, chop one white onion and crush 3 cloves of garlic and fry it all in a pan or wok for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. How they’re cut doesn’t matter as they will soon be blended anyway. Leave your onions to one side to cool slightly so that they don’t steam up your food processor, I always find being impatient here always results in having too much moisture in the recipe regardless of what it is They don’t need to be stone cold in this case but not steaming.
Step 2: Create the falafel mixture
Into your food processor or blender add the cooked onion and garlic, 2 drained 400g tins of chickpeas, ½ cup of flour, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, roughly 10 whole parsley leaves, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. If your food processor has a mix or chop setting use that to create a chunky paste. You don’t want to completely liquify the healthy falafel mixture. If your using a blender or a food processor that does not have settings gently pulse until the correct consistency is achieved.
Step 3: Shape the healthy falafels
Roll your mixture into 15 tablespoon sized balls. The mixture should be slightly sticky but easily formable without leaving too much residue on your hands. Bake the balls at 200°c for 25-30 minutes turning half way.
How to store these healthy falafels
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Can I freeze the falafels?
Sure! Wait for them to cool and transfer to a container to freeze.
Can I reheat them?
You should be able to however falafels are just as tasty cold as they are hot and are commonly eaten without being reheated so there’s no need to do so.
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Traditional Falafel Recipe
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tins chickpeas
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 40 g flour
- 10 leaves fresh parsley
- ½ lemon for juice
Instructions
- Chop onion and garlic and sauté in a hot pan for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Leave to the side to cool slightly.
- Put all ingredients into a food processor and use a chop or mix setting to create a chunky paste. If your food processor does not have functions then pulse gently.
- Form the mixture into tablespoon sized balls and place on a baking tray.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180c turning half way.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week.
