Baked Falafels
Who doesn't love a good Falafel? What I don't love is fried foods. In fact, I have no recipes that involve frying food in oil... who needs that garbage clogging up our arteries? Especially when you can have these delicious falafels without the added fat! These turned out really good, and you can use them in a lot of dishes, or just load up your favorite pita bread and make a sandwich out of them.
Ingredients:
1 can of Chickpeas
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 of small onion diced
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup fresh kale or spinach pieces, chopped finely
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs (I like Panko for the extra crunch)
1 T Whole Wheat Flour or flour of your choice. (Garbanzo Bean flour works great too)
S&P to taste
Drain, but not rinse a can of beans. That little bit of aquafaba liquid that is left stuck on the beans will keep your falafels held together. Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until broken down, but not too long or you will have hummus, a few chunks here and there will just add more flavor. Add a few T of water as needed to get the right consistency to "ball up". Now simply roll into balls, mine were a bit smaller than a ping pong ball. I thought they were the perfect size. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 min turning occasionally. Keep checking them after 20 min. Mine turned out nice and crunchy on the outside, firm but tender in the middle. If you have an air fryer, these are EXCELLENT in the air fryer for about 20 min, shaking once. Now you can use these delicious bites of heaven in your favorite recipes, with pasta, or on a Pita sandwich. They are so good. I made a little Lemon Tahini Sauce to enjoy with mine by simply combining 2 T of tahini, 2 T of lemon juice, an 2 T of water. Add more water as needed to get to your preferred consistency. Makes about 10 little falafels, enough for two people to enjoy.
Keep in mind you can make falafels with any added veggies, spices and any shapes you like. Below are some "loaded falafels" I made that I flattened just before baking, so they will fit nicely in sandwich's. The large batch below (above recipe x3) I left some larger chunks of chopped white onions, diced red pepper, celery, chopped walnuts, and double the fresh parsley just because I wanted to. :) They were delicious!
Ingredients:
1 can of Chickpeas
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 of small onion diced
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup fresh kale or spinach pieces, chopped finely
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs (I like Panko for the extra crunch)
1 T Whole Wheat Flour or flour of your choice. (Garbanzo Bean flour works great too)
S&P to taste
Drain, but not rinse a can of beans. That little bit of aquafaba liquid that is left stuck on the beans will keep your falafels held together. Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until broken down, but not too long or you will have hummus, a few chunks here and there will just add more flavor. Add a few T of water as needed to get the right consistency to "ball up". Now simply roll into balls, mine were a bit smaller than a ping pong ball. I thought they were the perfect size. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 min turning occasionally. Keep checking them after 20 min. Mine turned out nice and crunchy on the outside, firm but tender in the middle. If you have an air fryer, these are EXCELLENT in the air fryer for about 20 min, shaking once. Now you can use these delicious bites of heaven in your favorite recipes, with pasta, or on a Pita sandwich. They are so good. I made a little Lemon Tahini Sauce to enjoy with mine by simply combining 2 T of tahini, 2 T of lemon juice, an 2 T of water. Add more water as needed to get to your preferred consistency. Makes about 10 little falafels, enough for two people to enjoy.
Keep in mind you can make falafels with any added veggies, spices and any shapes you like. Below are some "loaded falafels" I made that I flattened just before baking, so they will fit nicely in sandwich's. The large batch below (above recipe x3) I left some larger chunks of chopped white onions, diced red pepper, celery, chopped walnuts, and double the fresh parsley just because I wanted to. :) They were delicious!
