These vegan oil-free oven-baked Falafel with Cilantro will knock your socks off! They are super easy to make, healthy and freeze well! So make a big batch!
I simply love Falafel! When I'm in the city and looking for a quick snack I often opt for a falafel wrap, but when I'm at home I want to make a healthier version, also I'm not too keen on frying because of the enormous amount of oil one needs, so an oven-baked alternative is the way to go! These Falafel with Cilantro are gluten-free, vegan (duh! obviously) & completely oil-free!
Since my boyfriend brought home a cilantro-plant, I've been putting cilantro on pretty much anything and I love it! In the beginning, I had a hard time liking cilantro and now I can't stop eating. I even snack plain cilantro leaves when nobody is looking! Of course, I had to put cilantro in the falafel as well! It's such a delicious combination. If you don't like cilantro feel free to leave it out or to substitute it with parsley.
Getting the Falafel mixture right is sometimes a bit tricky - but you can simply add in more water & chickpea flour until you can form the little Falafel balls.
I like to eat my Falafels in Wraps, in Curries, even in Burgers, snack them in between, on couscous or on a salad. How you do you prefer to eat your Falafel?
More Falafel Recipes you'll love
Vegan Oil-Free Oven-Baked Falafel with Cilantro
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups dried chickpeas
- 2 onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- lemon juice of 1 lemon
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup besan/chickpea flour
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Put the dry chickpeas in a large bowl, cover with enough water (the chickpeas will double in size!) and let them sit covered overnight.
- On the next day, preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Peel the onions and garlic cloves. Put them in a food processor and chop.
- In a non-stick pan, add the chopped onions, garlic & cumin, put the lid on and let them cook until soft on low heat for about 10-15 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, drain the chickpeas and then work in batches by adding the first batch into the food processor and chop until the pieces are really small (you don't want to make hummus). In one batch add in the cilantro to chop it as well. Repeat until all the chickpeas are broken up. Transfer everything to a huge bowl.
- Add the lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt, ground pepper, baking powder and the softened onions and garlic. Mix well.
- Add in the chickpea flour and water.
- Mix the chickpea mixture well and form little balls. If the dough does not stick together enough, add more chickpea flour and water.
- Put the falafel on a baking tray and put them in the oven for about 25 minutes or until they turn golden.
- Enjoy them on a salad, couscous, in wraps, curries or whatever you can think of!
Notes
When your defrosted falafel turn out dry, this Falafel Curry recipe is perfect, because they'll get soft again!
Natalie says
Okay these are the most adorable little falafels I've seen! They are so round and prefect and not squished down like some falafel get...plus the word falafel is just so darn much fun to say :) I love this healthy easy version Bianca! And my favorite way to falafel is on top of salad <3
Bianca says
Aww, thanks Natalie! I totally agree with you about the word falafel - so funny. It always reminds me of that How I met your mother-scene where she said falafel instead I love you. Falafel in salads are super yummy too! :D oh..there are so many great ways to eat falafel.
Little Vegan Bear says
Nice! I love falafels -they make great work lunches too :)
Bianca says
Right, I totally agree! And every colleague will be jealous of the homemade falafel :D
Strength and Sunshine says
Baked falafel for life!! I love how little these are! It means you can pile even more on your plate! Yumm!
Bianca says
Yeeees! More falafel :D
Kyra says
I keep finding all these similiarities between us Bianca - 1) I just made falafels tonight, and now you've posted a falafel recipe! 2) Falafels are my go-to meal when I'm in the city too, and 3) I hate deep frying falafels too, soooo much oil :(
Bianca says
Whaaat? No way! How cool is that?! :D
HastaLaVegan says
Wow, these look so neat and cute! I'll have to try these when I next wanna do baked falafel...which is most days!
Bianca says
Thanks! When you make them, you could also form with part of the chickpea-mixture a few falafel patties for a burger :) I love Falafel Burgers!
mumi says
i don't like fried foods either.you're not boiling the chickpeas before am i right?
Bianca says
Yes, exactly. I never cook the chickpeas, only soak them. :)
Ploy says
Hi there! :)
These falafels look sooooo cute I can't wait to make them! :) But would the recipe still work if I half all the ingredients since I'm cooking for one? And I have plenty of oat around. Do you think it would be ok if I sub that for chickpea flour?
Thanks :)
Bianca says
Hi Ploy! They definitely work when you half the recipe or only make 1/4 (I just usually make a huge batch of them and freeze them). I actually don't know if a sub of oats for chickpea flour works, as I don't know if it works as a binder, but you can try it out and let me know if it works if you do :)
Ploy says
Wow I didn't expect such a quick reply. Now I can get this going tomorrow. Thank you so much!! :)
Having to share a tiny kitchen in student hall and all, it's just almost impossible to stock up all the cooking stuff. I will try making 1/4 with oat flour sub and let you know how it goes ;)
Oh, just thinking about it makes me so hungry now!
Bianca says
You're very welcome, I'm so glad you are making them :) I'm excited to know if they work with oat flour too, so I'm looking forward to your next comment. Good luck! :)
Ploy says
Made these this morning. I used about 3/4 cup of ground oat per 250g chickpea and it worked! :)
Ended up with 48 Ferrero Rocher sized (or a bit smaller) falafels that are crispy on the outside but still soft and a bit sticky inside. By the time I packed them up 10 were gone! They're DIVINE!!! This will sure be my basic staple from now on.
Thanks again for the recipe ;)
One more question, how do I heat them up once I've put them into the freezer?
Bianca says
Great to hear that, Ploy! Thanks for the wonderful feedback! I'm really glad they turned out great :) I usually let the falafel thaw in the fridge (overnight) or at room temperature (for a few hours) and then heat them in the pan because I don't have a microwave. Defrosted Falafel often turn out to be drier, so what I love to make is a Falafel Curry. I simply add them to the sauce and let it cook until they're warm.
Nick Abell says
These turned out amazingly! I love the idea of not frying falafel, they always seem to soak up so much oil :/ these would be perfect for a snack dipped in hummus :)
Bianca says
Falafel dipped in hummus? I'm totally up for that :) Thank you so much for your awesome feedback, Nick! I'm so glad you liked them!
Paul says
Just made these... divine! Thank you so much for sharing. Big fan of falafel with hummus in a wrap with avo.
Bianca says
Thank you so much for the amazing feedback, Paul, I'm so glad you liked them! :) YES, falafel + hummus + avocado in a wrap = heaven :D
Lily says
Can you use canned chickpeas?
Bianca says
For a recipe with canned chickpeas please refer to this recipe and simply leave out the collard greens. :)
Debbie says
I just discovered your website last week and am so glad I did. I made these this past weekend and I cannot. tell. you. how. good. they. are! Delicious. I bought the ingredients for the Vegan Falafel Curry and plan to try adding them to that this weekend. Thank you so much for a wonderful website, for being such a great cook, and for sharing your recipes.
Bianca says
Aww, thank you so much Debbie! Your sweet comment made me smile all day! I'd love to know what you think of the Falafel Curry.. I'm making it again soon too because I have so many falafel frozen.. I almost have no space in the freezer left. Hah :D
Susann says
Hello there,
I only have the canned kind of chickpeas. Could you pls tell me how much is required for the recipe?
Best regards from Germany,
Susann
Bianca says
Hi Susann,
for a falafel recipe using canned chickpeas, please refer to my Green Falafel recipe and simply leave out the collard greens. :)
Layna says
Can you use any type of flour if you dont need it to be gluten free?
Bianca says
chickpea flour is my flour of choice for binding in the chickpeas because it's less likely to make the falafel mushy on the inside. But I did have readers reporting that they used regular flour instead of chickpea flour and falafel turned out great for them.
wisteria says
I love your recipe using dried, uncooked chickpeas! Most recipes use canned. I'm making your recipe as we speak. Can't wait to taste them. Thank you
Bianca says
Thank you! I actually have a recipe with dried and canned chickpeas on the blog - so there's one for everyone. I hope the falafel turned out fine for you! :)
Munir says
Hi Bianca. That oven recipe for falafel sounds great. I do not know if any one mentioned it, try eating those falafel with youghurt. The taste is multiplied. Can't wait to try it. Hmmmm
Bianca says
I completely agree, Munir! I'm so glad you mention it! Falafel and (dairy-free) yoghurt are one of my favorite combos!