Oil-Free Baked Falafels

By Chuck Underwood @brandnewvegan

If you've never had Oil-Free Falafels - you're really missing out on a treat.  Crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, these little chickpea patties never tasted so good!

Falafels are a popular Middle Eastern street food. While we have hot dogs, tacos, and pizza.....they have Falafels.

And Falafels are definitely the better choice......much better.   

Not just because they're Vegan (which they are), but because if you make them at home...they can be completely oil-free.  Better for your waistline and MUCH better for your heart.  

If this recipe looks ridiculously easy - that's because IT IS.  All you need is basically a blender and a food processor.  The sauce literally comes together in minutes, and there's hardly any prep to make the falafels.

All you need is some canned chickpeas, fresh veggies, my tasty tzatziki sauce, and something to wrap it all up in

Oil-Free Baked Falafels

Tzatziki sauce

Cut a 14oz block of extra-firm tofu into cubes and add to your blender. Then add all the other sauce ingredients and blend on high until it's smooth and creamy - you can adjust the salt to your own taste.

Note: Any plant-based yogurt will work but make sure it's plain unflavored yogurt. Foragers has a cashew yogurt that is in many stores.

The Falafels

Note: A food chopper or food processor is really handy to make the falafels. I tried using my Vitamix blender and ended up with hummus instead of falafel mix. Not good. This is the mini-chopper I used and it worked fine. I'll post my Amazon Affiliate Link and I do earn a little from each purchase but at no extra cost to you. Just remember we do NOT want to overmix our chickpeas or we'll end up with mush, not falafels.

Back to the recipe.

Add ¼ of an onion and 3 to 4 cloves of peeled garlic to a food chopper or food processor and mince them very finely. Then drain and rinse a 15oz can of chickpeas, pat them dry, and add them to your food processor as well.

IMPORTANT: ONLY PULSE THE CHICKPEAS 3-4 times, just until they form a very rough meal. We are NOT trying to make hummus here!

Empty the contents into a bowl.

Add the ½ cup of cilantro and/or parsley to your food processor and mince them as well. You can use a combination or all cilantro/parsley if you wish.

Add the minced herbs to your bowl of falafel mix, add the seasonings, and mix well. It will be a fairly WET mix.

So now we simply add the flour to firm the mixture and allow us to make our patties. I used ½ cup of oat flour but any flour should work fine.

Note: If you have an old coffee grinder you can easily add old-fashioned rolled oats and make your own oat flour.

To make the falafel patties I used a ¼ cup measuring cup, filling the cup completely and pressing the mixture down tightly. The patty should then easily slide out with a few taps on the bottom.

Place the patties on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 min at 400º F, flip, then bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until slightly browned.  

The Wrap

Now all you have to do is make your wrap!

Pitas are a good choice or you can simply use whatever wrap or tortilla you have available. Many people add hummus to their falafels too - and if you need an oil-free hummus recipe - I got you covered.

Add 1 or 2 falafels, some fresh leaf lettuce, a few slices of English cucumber and tomato, and drizzle with your homemade Tzatziki sauce.

Oil-Free Falafels! Enjoy!

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Oil-Free Baked Falafels

★★★★★ 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Chuck Underwood
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Cook Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 7 Falafel Patties
  • Category: Sandwiches
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

If you've never had Oil-Free Falafels - you're really missing out on a treat.  Crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, these little chickpea patties never tasted so good!

Ingredients

Units

Tzatziki Sauce

  • 14 oz extra firm tofu
  • 3 Tbs lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
  • 3-4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 English cucumber
  • 1 Tbs fresh dill
  • 6 oz non-dairy yogurt
  • ½ tsp salt

Baked Falafels

  • 15 oz can chickpeas - drained, rinsed, & patted dry
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • ¼ med onion
  • ½ cup fresh parsley and/or cilantro
  • 1 Tbs lemon juice
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cumin

Instructions

Tzatziki Sauce

  1. Drain and cube the tofu and add to your blender
  2. Add all the other sauce ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy
  3. Keep refrigerated until needed

Baked Falafels

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Finely mince the onion & garlic using a chopper or food processor
  3. Drain, rinse, and pat dry the chickpeas, then add them to the processor and only pulse 3-4 times
  4. Empty contents into a bowl
  5. Finely mince the parsley and/or cilantro and add that to the bowl
  6. Add seasonings and mix well
  7. Add up to ½ cup of oat flour and mix well
  8. Form into 7 patties approximately ¼ cup each
  9. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 min
  10. Flip and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes
  11. Spread hummus (if desired) on a wrap, add 1-2 falafels, and top with lettuce, tomato, English cucumber, and Tzatziki sauce.

Notes

Like This Recipe?  Tips & Donations Are Always Appreciated!

Keywords: oil-free baked falafels

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