Falafel. Falafel. Falafel… I said this so many times in my head today it doesn’t even seem like a real word anymore! Weird when that happens! It’s really a funny word isn’t it.. faaalaaafeeellll.
So, what IS a falafel?
According to wikipedia.. the source of all reliable answers 😉… a falafel is a Middle Eastern dish of spiced mashed chickpeas or other pulses formed into balls and deep-fried.
Aaaah.. that’s why we all love falafel so much, tasty little chickpeas, mashed, then deep-fried.
I can’t even tell you how many times in my ol’ bar-star days my friends and I would stumble into the middle eastern restaurant nearby, always open late, and order up huge falafel pitas. Thankfully those days are over, and my falafel cravings are no longer booze induced!!
There’s just something about them, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, garlicky, warm, and filling!
When I decided I wanted to make falafel, I knew I had to alter them a bit to make them fit the healthy bill.
First of all, no frying.. boooo, I know. But really, it’s not much of a newsflash, nothing deep-fried is healthy. So, baking it would be!
Then, I tried to think how I could sneak something super healthy into the falafel to amp up the nutrition even more…. I perused through my fridge, and there it was, the bag of kale I had just about ready to kick the can. Perfect!
I hate wasting, so if you have any spinach, kale, or other greens that need to be used up quickly… just throw them into this falafel recipe!
The combination of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon, and spices really create a flavor overload!
Although kale tends to have a pretty strong taste, the other flavors are strong enough to hold up so these little falafel have only a slight taste of kale to them, which I think is nice!
Nutritionally speaking, this recipe is awesome!
We’ve got fiber and protein from the chickpeas, more protein and healthy fats from the tahini, antioxidants from the lemon and garlic, and tons of vitamins from the kale.
Oh, and making the falafel… a total breeze!
Pretty much whiz everything up in your food processor, a little ‘scoop, scoop’ and ‘pat, pat’ … bake, and you’ve got yourself some crispy, yet squishy, patties-of-yum!
The hardest part is waiting the 30 minutes for these little guys to cook up!
It’s really up to you how you decide to eat these. On their own they are delicious, they would also taste great with a healthy sauce like hummus, tatziki, tapenade, or even salsa!
Enjoy them on a salad, in a wrap or pita, stick em’ in a sandwich, or dip them in soup (ok… that one’s a little weird, but I bet you with the right soup it would taste good!).
I deemed 3 of these to make a “serving”… but you could totally get away with 4 or even 5. The calories are quite low for being as filling and nutrient dense as these are. 3 falafel brings in less than 190 calories and only 8g of fat, with a whopping 10g of protein, and 6g of fiber!
Pretty good stats if I do say so myself!
- 2 cups stem removed, torn, and rinsed kale
- 1- 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 3 medium to large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1½ tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoon gluten free oat flour
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil to grease the baking pan
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper to a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add in the chopped kale and pulse until all is well combined. This may take a while, I had to use a spoon to help scrape the mixture from the sides of the processor.
- Once well incorporated, transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the oat flour.
- Grease a large baking pan with the coconut oil.
- Form the mixture into small patties, and place on the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then flip carefully (bottoms should be a nice golden brown)
- Bake for an additional 10 minutes on the opposite side.
- Allow falafel to cool slightly.
- Serve immediately with whatever sauce or dip you prefer! Or enjoy on a salad, or in a wrap!
*recipe adapted from the beautiful Minimalist Baker blog!
Fave Five Friday: Chickpea Goodness
Seeing as chickpeas are the main component of this delicious little falafel recipe, I thought I’d search the blogosphere and see what other chickpea featuring recipes there are out there! Wow, did I find some amazing stuff…. snacks, meals, and get this.. desserts, yep, chickpeas even make their way into sweet treats and you’d never guess it! Check out this awesome list!
1. Cilantro Lime Hummus from A Sweet Simple Life
2. Easy Chana Masala from Kurry Leaves
3. Chicken Chickpea Stew from The Shiksa in the Kitchen
4. Healthy Cookie Dough from Mix It Up
5. Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies from Ambitious Kitchen
… and just for fun here are some ‘chickpea deliciousness’ recipes on Nutrition in the Kitch:
Mashed Chickpea & Pesto Sandwich
Roasted Lime & Black Pepper Chickpeas
Butternut Squash (& Chickpea) Coconut Curry
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!
I have a big jar of Tahini in the fridge that someone gave me, some spinach, and I always have chickpeas on hand in case I am in the mood for this http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moroccan-tagine/Detail.aspx I saw where you said you could dip the falafel in the right kind of soup and I thought of the tagine. Today i think I will make both! Thanks so much for the recipe!
yum!! I have a tagine recipe on the blog too!
They came out great! I was worried they would be too soft but with a bit of extra time they crisped right up. Great on their own, would be great with various sauces on them, or to dip in, or all of the other things you said plus some. 🙂 They were fantastic paired with the tagine. The broth of the tagine I made by pureeing a cabbage soup I boiled recently that lacked pizzazz. I had the falafel chunked on top of the tagine and one plain by itself with a dip into the stew here and there. Perfect pairing! I have a bunch of other things bookmarked to make soon! I will have to go looking for YOUR tagine and give it a try.. .
Oh and I had to use soy flour and olive oil. I have never used soy flour before. I think I snagged it from a friend who was going to throw out a brand new bag just because they weren’t using it.
Yum! Sounds great, thanks for all your input Jennivie!
These falafel rock! This was my first time makikg my own falafel. I used spinach instead of kale and used 2tsp cumin, 1tsp chili powder, 1/2tsp smoked paprika, and a dash of cayenne. I love spices! I wish I’d baked them like you suggested but my mom wanted me to do them in the skillet so I used 1tbsp avocado oil. It worked well but I think they would have turned out better baked. Served ’em up with an avocado-cilantro sauce and some mediterranean couscous letovers. Can’t wait to make these again!
Your changes sound awesome Robin! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
I am recently on a falafel kick, so found your recipe AND the original from Minimalist Baker (one of my favorite sites). Was looking for a version that was vegan and baked — can’t wait to try these with any and all greens!
Of course these will be best right out of the oven. However, I am wondering if anyone has prepared these, then frozen them? I’m thinking this would be a great Sunday afternoon cook-up for lunches throughout the week. Nothing like a crispy bite to evoke wonderful middle-eastern street food.
And to Valerie, who was worried that she would not use up a jar of tahini: I now keep in on hand as a staple, since following Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live program. A couple of tablespoons of tahini with some seasoned rice vinegar and any spices/herbs you like (giner, garlic, soy for asian, basil & italian seasonings, etc) make a fabulous and highly nutritious salad dressing. You don’t have to add any oil, because of the natural oil in the sesame seeds — minimally processed food — WINNING.
Can’t wait to make these. I foresee this being a go-to recipe for the near future!
Thanks MaryBeth! I’m a huge minimalist baker fan! 🙂 I hope these turn out perfectly for you! Enjoy! 🙂
Since I have a huge bag of spinach could that be used instead of kale is what I will try. Thanks for sharing! These look great and not fried is better for the waistline for sure. Garlic would’ve so good!
Definitely – I think these would be great with spinach too! 🙂
Thanks! I will let you know how they turn out. 🙂
This looks amazing! I’ve had trouble with pureeing the chickpeas though. What kind of food processor do you have? I’m looking to get a new one that I can make falafel, hummus, and nut butters with, any suggestions?
Hi Ashley! I just have a regular run-of-the-mill Black & Decker processor! It works well most of the time! Of course, I’d LOVE a Vitamix, but I can’t afford one of those just yet, lol!
This was delicious! I used red chard instead of kale and it turned out great! I ate it as a sandwich with some sweet potato hummus spread, YUM! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe
DELICIOUS adaptation Anna!! Love it! 🙂
Hi Christal,
I just made these since I had everything on hand and they are delicious! I love the baked texture. I forgot to add the oat flour but it still held up well. I added in extra veggies + cooked quinoa so maybe that helped. Thank you for the recipe!
Awesome! THanks for the feedback Victoria! 🙂
Could I substitute anything for the tahini? I love falafel, but I don’t think it’s worth it to buy a jar just for this recipe!
Sounds SO GOOD THOUGH
Hmmm, you could grind up whole sesame seeds and make your own? That’s pretty much what tahini is!
Ah FALAFEL!
You really can’t say falafel too many times. Whenever I started going out with my boyfriend, there wouldn’t be a day where I wouldn’t mention these great things! He didn’t quite know what they were, but now – well, he knows 😛 We even found a restaurant nearby called Falafel Petra! So far, I had only been there once, sadly, but it’s a great place 🙂 When I make them, I don’t bake them, but I don’t deep fry them either, I just add about a tablespoon of sunflower oil, et voila! Compromise 😛 I find them to be deeelicious with ketchup. I know, it sounds silly, but it’s definitely one of my comfort foods 😀
Great post, and new inspiration! 😀 Thanks Christal! I hope you have a crackin’ weekend 🙂
x J
Lol! Yep, good old falafel! I feel like they are a bit of a comfort food too, I see where you are coming from! 🙂 Have an awesome weekend yourself Julie! 🙂
I love falafels. Little bites of tasty chickpea goodness. I like the addition of kale to amp up the nutrition density,
I, like you, could say falafel over and over again and still be amused. I love the way my mum calls them -fal-a-fells.
Lol! Fallaaaafel! Yep, chickpea goodness, I love it! Thanks Nikki! 🙂