This Easy Vegan Baked Falafel is oil-free, healthy and incredibly delicious and full of flavor. No oil, not fried and baked for a delicious healthy dinner. Made with only 8 ingredients and whole foods and fresh ingredients for a satisfying plant-based meal.
EASY VEGAN BAKED FALAFEL
A couple of weeks back, my family and I took a little mini vacation to Austin. We had some out-of-this-world falafel pita sandwiches while there. The flavor was incredible, bold and spicy. The only issue was the ridiculous oil content. They were soooooo greasy, I mean greasy.
WHAT IS FALAFEL?
Falafel is a Middle Eastern popular dish traditionally made with chickpeas, spices like cumin and coriander and fresh herbs that can vary, like parsley or cilantro. Cilantro can be overpowering, so I use parsley. They are typically fried in oil.
I did a bit of research on how traditional falafel is made and using canned chickpeas is a big fat no-no apparently, because it doesn’t give the right texture and makes them too wet. Traditionally, you are to use dried beans and soak them overnight, but then it’s followed by frying them in oil.
Well, I don’t fry my recipes in oil and I didn’t have any dried chickpeas. So, I had an idea of roasting canned chickpeas to dry them out and give them a flavor boost at the same time, while preventing them from being mushy!
Another thing I did differently for extra flavor? I roasted the onion and garlic before adding it to the batter! So much flavor in these little gems, I tell ya. Oh, and I also added some hot sauce for a spicy kick.
HOW DO YOU MAKE OIL-FREE VEGAN FALAFEL?
Traditional falafel is also fried in a lot of oil and isn’t exactly my cup of tea these days. So, to replace the oil, I used potatoes! That is the magic ingredient I use in so many of my recipes. It helped to make them more moist and hold together better too. I promise, you do not need oil to make the most delicious healthy plant-based food. I teach you just how to do this with my oil-free tips here How to Cook and Bake Without Oil!
Now, these aren’t as moist as the typical fried, grease bombs….obviously. But, who wants that anyways? The texture is a bit different because they are not fried and are totally oil-free falafel, but they so delicious, you won’t mind.
I served these with my reader favorite, Vegan Lemon Cream Sauce, which also goes well with these my Oil-free Zucchini Fritters!
As usual, this recipe for these baked falafel requires just 8 ingredients (plus s/p & water) and if you want, throw in the optional hot sauce if you like extra heat, but it’s totally optional!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these flavor-loaded Easy Vegan Oil-free Baked Falafel! It makes the perfect healthy dinner or meal to impress anybody, vegan or not! If you are looking for impressive meals to serve your guests, check out these 20 Healthy Vegan Recipes to Wow Non-Vegans!
VEGAN DINNERS TO TRY
- Best Vegan Garlic Alfredo
- Vegan Stuffed Ricotta Shells with Spinach
- Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Easy Vegan Quick Curry
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Easy Vegan Baked Falafel (Oil-free)
Ingredients
PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!
- two 15 oz cans low-sodium chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 4 extra large garlic cloves (with skins on)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 3 tablespoons (48g) smooth runny tahini
- salt and pepper (1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper)
- 1/2 cup (120g) cooked, mashed and tightly packed gold or red potato
- 3/4 cup packed flat leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons water (use a bit more if needed if not using the optional hot sauce)
- Optional for a kick of heat: 2 tablespoons hot sauce (If you don't want to use hot sauce, then increase the black pepper to 1/2 teaspoon and add 1 additional tablespoon water if needed)
FOR SERVING (optional)
- chopped tomatoes, pita bread
- Serve with my Vegan Lemon Cream Sauce
Instructions
- Carefully read the instructions as to prepare these falafel correctly. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You will first drain and rinse your chickpeas. Spread them out evenly on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Roast for 25 minutes. This helps them to give more texture to the falafel instead of just turning into mush like hummus when blended. It also gives a bit more flavor.
- In the last ten minutes of roasting the chickpeas, add the chopped onion and garlic cloves (with cloves still in their skins!) to another sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cook them for the remaining 10 minutes. Place the pan on the bottom rack. At this time, you cook your potato. I just cooked a small potato in the microwave (with skin on) and then remove the skin and mash it. Measure a tightly packed 1/2 cup. You can bake the potato if you want, but do not steam or boil as that will make them too moist.
- Remove both pans from the oven. Add the chickpeas to a food processor. Process just until there are no more visible whole chickpeas, but do not overprocess it too finely. It should look ground up but kind of chunky with no remaining beans whole
- Now, remove the garlic cloves from their skins and tear the garlic up a bit and drop the pieces scattered around the bowl, so they blend up evenly. Add the onion as well. Do not blend up yet. Add the cumin, coriander, tahini, salt, pepper, mashed potato, parsley, water and hot sauce (if using). Sprinkle the spices around the bowl so they blend evenly.
- Process until everything comes together and the mixture starts to form large sticky chunks. This may take 10-15 seconds. As soon as it does, stop processing. It should hold together easily when pressed and not be dry/crumbly, but pureed, but still see little chopped bits of onion in it. It should easily form into balls, if not, process just slightly longer until it's sticky and holds together.
- Preheat the oven again to 375 degrees and line another pan with parchment paper.
- Press, form and shape the mixture into tight balls with your hands. They should be about golf ball size and you should get 10-12. Place them all onto the pan and press them down to about 1/2 inch thick. The edges may slightly crack a bit when pressing them down, just piece back the edges with your fingers.
- If you like a really crispy exterior, you can always spray them with a little nonstick spray before baking if you prefer. I did not, but it is up to you. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip them over and cook another 10 minutes. If they are not flipping over easily, cook another couple of minutes until they flip easily. This will make sure they hold their shape. They should have nice golden brown tops. If you want these extra crispy, bake them longer, but just keep in mind they may become more dry.
I make these over and over in double batches! I do it a little different because I primarily use dried beans. I soak the chickpeas overnight (between a cup and a quarter and a cup and a half dried beans). I pan saute the onions and garlic. (Omit the oven roasting of the chickpeas, onions, garlic. Just because it seems like way too much work to cook the chickpeas then oven roast them. So I just soak, thats all, then in the food processor they go.)
The end result has such phenominal flavor!! I am getting a chest freezer so I can batch cook all my favorites to the high heavens. Thank you again Brandi!!
Yay! So happy you loved these Amanda! So glad they still worked out using soaked beans! And yes, the flavor is phenomena in these, one of my favorite recipes! Thank you so much for the review!
How long do you soak your chickpeas? I like the idea of making falafel this way!
I don’t soak them! The recipe uses canned.
This recipe was great! The only issue was that the falafels came out extremely dry, is there any way to bake them and still have them retain more moisture? I was considering putting a pan filled with water into the oven with them so they could steam but I’m unsure if the method would work… Would you have any suggestions?
Hi Paige! So glad you enjoyed the them! Hmm, mine are never dry! Did you puree the chickpeas enough to release the moisture of them? As far as making them more moist, I am not sure that water oven method would work for these. Rather, instead, I would just increase the tahini by a couple of tablespoons. This will add more fat to them and make them more moist. Hope that helps!
This falafel recipe is genius! Loved them, thank you!
Wonderful to hear Kim, so glad you loved these!
What is a good substitute for Chickpeas??
Hi Amber, the chickpeas are the entire base and main ingredient of the recipe, as all falafel are. It won’t work with another bean unfortunately. If you are looking for a bean patty recipe, I have these Mexican Black Bean Burgers you could try instead.
https://thevegan8.com/2015/05/13/fat-free-baked-mexican-black-bean-burgers/
These are amazing and easy to make! I didn’t make the sauce just ate them like that as finger food.
So awesome to hear that Viv, thank you so much for the wonderful review!
These were so good! (I’m actually not even a fan of falafels. Usually I don’t feel like they have enough flavor or they’re kind of dry.). These were moist and full of flavor. (to be honest, they even taste great right out of the bowl, so I knew I’d like them once they were cooked. 😀
(Brandi,on a completely separate note, if you are ever looking for suggestions, I’d love to make my husband macademia nut cookies. I just found out he’s not a fan of chocolate chip (totally surprised me to hear…). So I just thought I’d mention it in case you had ever thought of making them).
That’s so wonderful to hear Allie, thank you for the review! Totally agree on the flavor thing, so many falafel I’ve tried were just too bland for my tastes, so I really upped my spices on these more than the average. So glad you agree! Ha, I actually have a white chocolate macadamia cookie granola recipe coming in my cookbook next year! It’s not an actual cookie though, so I will add that to my list, thank you for letting me know!
Typically, I shy away from buying cookbooks, but I definitely need this one lol. I can’t wait. 😀
Ha! Awesome! So many of my best ever creations will be in this book! 🙂
Quick question regarding the cookies, your hubby isn’t allergic to any flours, right? Any ingredients are ok?
No allergies!
No allergies here 🙂
These look scrumptuous! We are big fans of felafels and we love the addition of the potatoes and no oil! We are also a gluten free family and would love to know where you get your pita bread! Or do you make it yourself?
Hi Susie, so very sorry I somehow missed this comment before! I purchased these pita bread, it is not gluten-free. I can’t remember where I got them from now since it’s been a while since I wrote the recipe but they weren’t very good…very dry 🙁
Your husband is so lucky to have a wife that not only eats oil free vegan, but makes delicious food within those guidelines.
That is so sweet to say James, thank you so much!
Thanks Brandi – your idea to use mashed potato is pure genius. Off to try that right now! We have been plant-based and fat free for 8 years now and it has changed our lives. Cheers!
Thank you so much Jon!! Potatoes work so great to sub for oil!
Hi Brandi
I owe you a big apology because when I saw the video on Youtube, I assumed (never assume) that the person making the video was responsible for the recipe. I now know the brains behind the magic is you. A tremendous thank you for your Falafel recipe. As a plant-based vegan, its the bomb! I made it twice and I keep getting better at it.
Stealth
Aww, thank you Stealth! So glad you love this recipe so much and thank you for taking the time to come back and leave feedback!
I just made these tonight. I’m pretty sure I over-processed it. They came out a little crumbly. But mixed with the usual toppings, it didn’t matter. They have a really good flavor. I like the addition of the potato and the tahini. And toasting canned chickpeas was a good tip. I typically soak beans over night for falafel. But toasting canned beans will allow me to consider this as a dinner option that doesn’t need to be planned an evening ahead of time. We really like our falafel with tomatoes, avocado, and a pea and cucumber yogurt sauce (which comes from Bob Shacochis’s book Domesticity. My 10 year old daughter is excited about having this in her lunch tomorrow!
Wonderful! So glad these were a hit Karen, thank you! Yes, these should not be crumbly at all. I make them often and they are always very strong as they look in the pics. Make sure the potato is processed well as it is what helps to bind the falafel.
Hi there! This Oil Free Falafel recipe turned out great…but I made one change in the recipe. I used sweet potato instead of white potato and it was delicious. The Lemon Pepper sauce was so good with the Falafel. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
WOW!!! These are yummy! I followed the recipe and they turned out exactly as pictured! LOVE the tangy pepper sauce too! I didn’t even make a meal out of them with pita bread. Just drizzled those warm falafels with the tangy sauce and made a perfect snack! Will be a hit with nonvegans as well!
Yay Janet!! So very happy to hear these were such a hit with non-vegans as well! Sorry I missed this lovely comment before, thank you!
Made them this afternoon. Oh so delicious but they did not hold together as well as I expected they would. I think perhaps I processed them not quite long enough for fear of doing it too long. I’m new to using a Food Processor. Also I had my own homemade tahini with no added oil…that may have made a difference too. Since I put them in a pita pocket it didn’t matter that they crumbled. Most of them held together enough to turn them over but some started to break apart on the tray so just left them to cook on the one side. Definitely will make them again as the flavor is outstanding.
SO glad to hear you loved these Anne! Yes, you definitely need to make sure they are processed enough so that they hold together. There is very little fat, so if they aren’t processed enough, they won’t hold. You should really only see some visible onion maybe, not whole chickpeas. I make these all the time and they hold together very well. Also, do not flip them over the first time if they are too crumbly, they will be tender but flip them once they hold together, it is at the 2ND flip and cooking time that they really begin to bind and cook solid. Hope that helps!
I made this and it was by far my most favorite vegan recipe ever!!!! I used dry beans which I soaked over night in filtered water and in the refrigerator, then cooked them as you instructed! The white cashew sauce was amazing! I stuffed the pita with spinach, cucumber, tomato and pickles along with the falafel and lots of the yummy sauce! Thank you so much for this one!
Yay, that is the best feedback ever Jennifer, thank you so much! So glad this is your favorite vegan recipe ever, so awesome!
Are there any substitutes for tahini?
Could I just leave it out??
Tahini is there for flavor and moisture, so no, I wouldn’t leave it out or they will be too dry. You could sub with almond butter if you like, but it will change the flavor some.
Are there any substitutes for tahini?
Could I just leave it out?
I made this recipe last summer and just loved it! I went to make it again tonight and only had one can of chickpeas, so I cubed a cup and a half of sweet potato and threw it in with the chickpeas. So delicious!!
Do you think unsweetened applesauce could work similarly to the potatoes as a binder? I’m trying not to eat as many potatoes 🙁
Hi Ashley, I don’t think that would work the same because the potatoes become like glue and applesauce would just make them more wet and likely more fragile. This makes about a dozen falafel so that’s a very small amount of potato per each falafel, since there’s only 1/2 cup total. I do believe another reader had success with sweet potatoes if you have an issue with regular potatoes, that might work.
These look amazing! I love that they don’t use flour or breadcrumbs!
So happy to have found HEALTHY falafel! These were actually really easy to make, and they turned out so delicious! I am really happy to have leftovers… and I will MOST DEFINITELY be making these again. These would impress carnivores and herbivores alike! 🙂 Thanks for the amazing recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that Meghan! Thank you so much for such wonderful feedback and your gorgeous pic you shared on Instagram!
These look great! Can’t wait to try. Do you have any idea how these would freeze? Would love to make large batch and save for quick lunches later. Thank you!
Oh gosh Megan, I’m so sorry I missed this comment! I apologize, I don’t know how they would freeze since we eat them so fast, but I would think if you wrap them really tightly and then put in a sealed container, they would be fine. Just reheat them gently on low in an oven.
These are the most scrumptious falafels I have ever eaten and I travel lots so I’ve eaten them in a lot of countries. Not only are they not greasy, but they are so perfectly spiced!
I don’t have a food processor due to travelling so I used a mini chopper which meant I had to pulse it in two batches. I was worried they would become too mushy due to over processing however that was not a problem since after pulsing the beans I mixed all the ingredients really well in a bowl before dividing and continuing. I also made them a little smaller because my oven is not great.
They cooked wonderfully. So wonderfully in fact that my carnivorous husband, who won’t touch any vegetables other than potato or mushroom with a 10ft pole, cautiously tried one before scoffing half!! If there is higher praise than that, I’d like to know what it is. Safe to say these have become a favourite in our household.
I think next time I will also make a batch switching the potato for pumpkin, because I am obsessed with pumpkin, I’ll let you know how they go.
P.S These are also a fantastic pre/post workout snack!
Oh wow, such amazing feedback Hannah!! Thank you so very much and I’m thrilled your hubby loved them so much! I truly appreciate you leaving feedback . Oh, pumpkin sounds like a wonderful idea, I can’t wait to hear how they turn out!
Okay so I tried them with pumpkin and they are just as amazing! I did cut the amount of water to half as roasted pumpkin holds more water than potato. Apart from that I made no alterations. They had a beautiful orange colour. My husband scoffed these down as well.
This is my secret weapon to get him to eat some vegetables, so thank you so so much Brandi!!
That is so awesome to hear Hannah! Such a great idea too, thank you so much for letting me know!