Falafel
We are big fans of falafel. This finger food is super popular in our house. It is the healthiest comfort food recipe, and everyone you cook for is bound to love it.
History of falafel
With a recipe as old as falafel, it is hard for food historians to pinpoint exactly when the first falafel was made. Many believe that the first falafel recipe appeared over 1,000 years ago in Egypt. It is said that a baker picked up the idea of frying balls of chickpea batter during his travels through the Middle East.
Other food historians argue that the original recipe for falafel actually came from India. Similar to the history of creme brûlée, there seem to be many early origin stories of falafel and one more modern. And interestingly enough, it combines both Egyptian and Indian cuisine!
The most solid invention of falafel is in 1882. After the British occupation of Egypt, this recipe popped up in Egyptian cookbooks! It is said that the soldiers requested vegetable croquettes similar to what they had during their time in India. Egyptians used local ingredients combined with the methodology from India and voila – falafel is made.
Regardless of what the true origin story is, we love falafel all the same!
A shortcut for this falafel recipe
If you don’t have time to soak the chickpeas and fava beans overnight, we have a trick for you! You can use chickpeas and fava beans that come in a can instead. This will speed up the process significantly.
Canned beans and legumes have a higher level of sodium, but otherwise are pretty much the same as dried beans and legumes. Just give them a rinse after you take them out of the can and they will be ready to go straight into the food processor!
If you’re looking for a healthier version of this recipe, head over to our Air Fryer Falafel recipe.
How to make our falafel recipe
- Soak the chickpeas and fava beans overnight to rehydrate them.
- Set up your food processor. Add chickpeas, green onion, chopped onion, garlic cloves and cilantro to the food processor. Blend everything together.
- Next, add salt, pepper, coriander, and cumin to the food processor. Pulse it together.
- Remove the falafel dough mixture from the food processor and place it in a bowl.
- When you are ready to start frying the falafel, add the baking soda to the bowl and mix it all together.
- Use an ice cream scooper to scoop out little balls of falafel dough. Release it into your hand and sprinkle sesame seeds.
- Drop the falafel into hot cooking oil, and cook until it is golden brown on all sides.
- Serve hot or at room temperature on it’s own or with dip!
What to serve with falafel
The beauty of serving falafel is that it is extremely versatile! You can serve falafel on its own, although we must admit it might be a little dry. Because it can be on the dryer side, falafel lends itself very well to dips. Here are some of our favorite dips to scoop up with a bite of falafel:
- Our Roasted Red Pepper Whipped Feta is outrageously good. It is creamy and we just love the smokey flavor from the roasted red peppers. This feta dip is the perfect compliment to falafel.
- If you haven’t tried Burrata, it is like mozzarella’s creamier cousin. Our Burrata with Roasted Tomatoes and Za’atar Pita is incredible. We love to serve it alongside falafel on a platter. It offers a refreshing balance of flavors!
- For all the true chickpea lovers out there, we recommend serving falafel alongside our Hummus with Roasted Tomato and Olives recipe. It might be repetitive, but we still enjoy dipping falafel in hummus!
- Our Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes with Yogurt Dip is another hit that would go well with falafel. You can make the whole recipe, or just make the yogurt dip!
For more whipped dips check out our roundup of Our Most Popular Whipped Dip Recipes.
How to store Falafel
We love making a big batch of falafel because it is so easy to store! We recommend using an airtight container. You can store them in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Our falafel recipe such a great addition to a
Falafel
Ingredients
- 2 cups fava beans soaked overnight
- 1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
- 1 medium red onion
- 6 whole green onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 small bunch of cilantro (stems removed)
- 1 tsp sea salt (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas and fava beans overnight to rehydrate them.
- Set up your food processor. Add chickpeas, green onion, chopped onion, garlic cloves and cilantro to the food processor. Blend everything together.
- Next, add salt, pepper, coriander, and cumin to the food processor. Pulse it together.
- Remove the falafel dough mixture from the food processor and place it in a bowl.
- When you are ready to start frying the falafel, add the baking soda to the bowl and mix it all together.
- Use an ice cream scooper to scoop out little balls of falafel dough. Release it into your hand and press in sesame seeds.
- Arrange them in the air fryer and cook for 15-18 minutes at 350. Flip the falafel halfway through the cook time to make sure they’re crunchy on both sides!
- Serve hot or at room temperature on it’s own or with tahini, hummus, pita bread, and salad.