This baked falafel recipe with canned chickpeas is easy and healthy! Eat it with dips, in a pita, on a salad, and more.
Want to make falafel at home but daunted by frying? Here’s the recipe you need: Baked Falafel with canned chickpeas! This spin on Classic Falafel distills the traditional flavors into a shortcut that works for weeknights. Bake up these tasty balls of savory, herby goodness and dunk them into dips like Avocado Sauce, throw them in a Falafel Sandwich, or top them on a Falafel Salad. They save well, making them perfect for refrigerating or freezing for quick and easy meals! They’re also vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. Here are the tricks to this quick method.
Want to make classic falafel that’s baked? Go to Classic Falafel and use the baked option.
Baked falafel with canned chickpeas
Falafel is a Middle Eastern ball of chickpeas, herbs and spices that’s deep fried. Classic falafel is always made with soaked dried chickpeas, which gives them the ideal crispy texture. The problem is: you have to remember to soak the chickpeas overnight. If you have time and the ability to think ahead, try the classic version! It’s absolutely worth it for the flavor, and you can bake it as well. Go to Classic Falafel.
This baked falafel recipe is a shortcut for when you didn’t think ahead and don’t want to mess with frying. So, it’s not an authentic recipe: it’s a variation for weeknights so you can enjoy similar flavors! Make it with canned chickpeas, which you bake in the oven instead of frying them. Falafel is usually shaped as a round ball, but for baked it’s easier to make a disc shape.
Tips for this easy baked falafel recipe
Ready to try this baked falafel with canned chickpeas? Here are a few tips for how to make this easy falafel recipe:
- A food processor is key. It’s easiest for chopping everything for the dough. (If you’re ambitious and don’t have one, you could try using oat flour, finely chopping the veggies, and mashing the chickpeas with a fork.)
- You can use rolled oats or oat flour. We use rolled oats and process them in the food processor to form oat flour, but if you keep oat flour on hand you can skip this step.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then pat them dry. Because you’re using canned chickpeas, you’ll want to remove as much liquid as possible.
- Be careful not to over-process the dough! Be careful not to over-process the dough: you’ll want it uniform and shape-able with a little texture. See the photo below.
- Pat the dough into disc shapes. This makes them easy to bake (versus ball shapes). Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop if you have it, which helps to portion the dough evenly. Then bake 15 minutes on one side and 10 on the other!
Ready to give it a go? Head to the recipe below.
Leftovers save well: try a double batch!
This easy baked falafel recipe is ideal because leftovers save very well! Because of this, we recommend making a double batch and saving the leftovers: especially if you’re feeding hungry eaters. You’ll need a large food processor (shown above). Here’s the recommended storage info:
- Store baked falafel refrigerated for up to 1 week. They’re easy to throw into lunches or onto salads!
- Or, freeze for up to 2 months. Then defrost in the refrigerator prior to enjoying. You can reheat them or eat at room temp.
- To double the recipe, use the 2x button on the recipe below! This makes it easy to double the quantities.
Ways to serve baked falafel
There are so many fun ways to eat baked falafel! We make Classic Falafel on special occasions, but this baked version is more of an everyday style recipe. Here are a few ideas for how to serve it:
- As an appetizer with dips like Avocado Sauce, Tahini Sauce, Lemon Tahini Dressing or one of these 5 Falafel Sauce Recipes
- On a sandwich like this Ultimate Falafel Sandwich
- In a salad like Falafel Salad
- In lunch boxes for kids or adults, with a dipping sauce or hummus
More Mediterranean recipes
This recipe is a great idea for a filling vegan dinner or Mediterranean diet meal! Here are a few more great Mediterranean recipes to try:
- Try a Quick Hummus Bowls
- Opt for a Falafel Burger instead
- Try quick and easy Mediterranean Tuna Salad
- Go for simple Chickpea Soup with Rice
This easy baked falafel recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Print
Baked Falafel
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This baked falafel recipe with canned chickpeas is easy and healthy! Eat it with dips, in a pita, on a salad, and more.
Ingredients
- 15-ounce can chickpeas
- ⅓ cup Old Fashioned rolled oats (or use ⅓ cup oat flour)
- 1/4 small red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, loosely packed (or fresh parsley)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Serve with: Tahini Sauce or Avocado Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dab the chickpeas with a paper towel to remove extra moisture and set them aside.
- Place the rolled oats in a bowl of a food processor. Process 30 seconds to 1 minute until they are the texture of flour. Pour into a separate bowl and set aside. (If using oat flour, skip this step.)
- Roughly chop the red onion and peel the garlic. Place them into the food processor with the cilantro and pulse until finely minced, stopping and scraping down the bowl once. Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and process until combined, stopping and scraping the bowl once. Then add the oats and pulse until a uniform dough forms. (Be careful not to over-process the dough: you’ll want it uniform and shape-able with a little texture. See the photo above!)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to roll the dough into 12 balls that are 1 ½ tablespoons each, then flatten them into discs (use a size 40 cookie scoop, if you have it). Place the discs on the baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.
- Bake the falafel for 15 minutes until golden brown, then flip and bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown on the other side. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before eating. (Storage info: The baked falafel store very well! Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months. Consider making a double batch and storing leftovers.)
Notes
*Makes 12 small falafel: consider making a double batch and storing leftovers. To make a short-cut version of this salad, use frozen purchased falafel. Or, it’s a way to repurpose leftover falafel from restaurant takeout!
- Category: Appetizer or Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Keywords: Baked falafel, Falafel recipe baked
Let us know if you have any questions!
★★★★★
When do you add the chickpeas?
Good catch — we added this to the recipe (with the tahini and spices). Thank you!
I liked the texture but though these guys were lacking in flavor. I feel like I need to amp up all the seasonings next time, including more onion and garlic.
I did like that they were quick and easy to make, and whatever I didn’t like about them I can easily fix.
I’m definitely going to try again!
★★★★
Looks very good and healthy. Any idea on how much sodium? I might be just missing it in nutrition facts. Any idea if this could be cooked in batches in the air fryer at 400? I might give it a go.
High! Our nutrition analyzer doesn’t do well with sodium because brands of broth, chickpeas, etc have vastly different amounts of sodium. We always call for kosher salt which has has 1,920 mg of sodium per teaspoon (or 1440 for this recipe of 3/4 teaspoon). We don’t have an air fryer but just cook until golden brown!
How cool! Every time I’ve tried to cook falafel has been a disaster :( Will defo try this recipe!
★★★★★