Easy Vegan Falafel Recipe with Tahini Sauce

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 cup dried chickpeas

  (½ lb in weight)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ large onion, roughly chopped

  (about 1 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup parsley, packed into the measuring cup
• ⅓ cup cilantro, packed into the measuring cup
• 1 to 1¼ teaspoon sea salt

  (start with 1 tsp)
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  (optional )
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon chickpea flour
• Sunflower oil for frying

  (grapeseed, canola, and vegetable oil all work too)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¾ cup tahini
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup warm water

Instructions

• 1 Soak the dried chickpeas overnight in the fridge by putting the chickpeas and
  baking soda in a large bowl covered with a couple of inches of cold water. They
  will need to soak for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Once soaked, drain
  and rinse the beans.
• 2 Place the drained chickpeas along with the onions, garlic, parsley, and cilantro
  into the bowl of a food processor and pulse into a coarse meal. You will need to
  stop the food processor from time to time to scrape down the sides.
• 3 Once you reach a coarse crumbly meal texture, add 1 teaspoon salt along with the
  cumin, coriander, cayenne, chickpea flour, and baking powder. Then process again
  until blended but not pureed. You want the falafel mixture to resemble a chunky
  paste. It should hold together to form a ball, but not look like hummus. Some
  texture is good, but not big not chunks.
• 4 Taste for salt. I highly recommend this step and it makes a big difference in
  your finished falafel. Just taste your raw falafel mix and add salt if needed.
  The only way to know how it’s going to taste cooked is to taste it raw. Most
  chefs taste all doughs, batters, mixes before they cook them.
• 5 Place the falafel mix into a bowl then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour
  and up to overnight before cooking.
• 6 Once chilled, form the falafel mixture into balls that are about 2 tablespoon in
  size. Around the size of a walnut. You also have the option to form small discs
  if you prefer. The mixture will be slightly loose and this is totally fine if it
  is still holding a shape. Falafel are not perfectly sized balls of all the exact
  same shape.
  
  But if the mixture just doesn't hold together you may not have processed it
  enough. Remember more like a paste that is chunky and less like crumbly. If this
  is the case, simply process it a tad longer in your food processor and proceed
  with the recipe. You can also try adding 1-2 tablespoon of chickpea flour if you
  are still having further difficulties.
• 7 To cook, heat 3 inches of oil to 350ºF in a deep pot or wok. If you can use a
  digital thermometer to ensure you are at 350°F. If the oil is too cold you will
  have oily falafel and if it is too hot the falafel will cook too quickly on the
  outside leaving you with an undercooked inside.
  
  Once the oil is at 350°F, do a test by frying one falafel. If it doesn't hold
  together you'll need to add a little more flour to the mix.
  
  Fry the remaining falafel 5 to 6 balls at a time for 2-3 minutes on each side
  until deep brown in color. Again, make sure you are at 350°F as consistently as
  you can be. They will be crunchy on the outside when done. Drain on paper towels
  to remove as much oil as possible.
  
  The goal here is to fry them at the right temperature so you end up with falafel
  that are crispy on the outside with little to no oil on the inside. Once you fry
  a few you quickly get the idea of what you are looking for and falafel making
  becomes easy!
• 8 Serve the falafel with the tahini sauce on a pita with lettuce, tomato, and
  cucumber or with a salad. You can even serve them as an appetizer with just the
  tahini sauce alone.
• 9 Put ¼ cup of the water along with all the other ingredients into the bowl of a
  food processor and puree until smooth. Then add the remaining ¼ cup of water and
  process again to thin out the sauce.
• 10 If you like lemony tahini sauce add more lemon now. If the tahini is too thick
  add a little more warm water. If too thin add a touch more tahini.
• 11 Try the tahini sauce and season with more salt if desired.
• 12 Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Nutrition Info