Just when I thought I could not be more involved with hummus and anything chickpea related, I decided to make these homemade baked falafels. By viewing a few different recipes online such as ones from Just A Taste and Minimalist Baker, I was able to whip up a unique mini falafel recipe. Instead of pairing it with tahini sauce or tzatziki, I threw mine with some Heidi Ho Organics‘ Chia Cheeze sauce and zucchini noodles for a fully vegan and plant-based dinner. Sometimes I’m craving all of the veggies and this was one of those times.
My kitchen smelled like someone shot 30 garlic cloves into my oven and blew it up, my food processor was put to work and all in all it took me about an hour to whip up a batch of 6 mini falafels with leftover “dough” for more to bake. Completely okay with all of this, however, because the end result only put a smile to my face.
Since I’m not used to whipping up recipes on my own and I usually stick to the basics (smoothie bowls and muffins), this was a bit of a struggle at first. I originally wanted to use the first recipe I found but when I made the mistake of mixing up the directions and then grinding my chickpeas for too long, my mixture ending up being crumbly and I needed to go to into crisis mode.
What ended up saving the night was two flax eggs (a vegan friendly substitution for eggs). After I let the flax eggs sit in the fridge for 15 minutes and squeezed some lemon juice in, the bites were able to mold into small balls and I threw ’em into the oven as soon as I could!
30 minutes later, all the browned and crispy goodness was ready to be devoured.
- ½ cup oat flour (I used rolled oats ground in my food processor)
- 1 container of organic parsley leaves
- ¾ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
- Dash of crushed red chili pepper
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon himalayan pink sea salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 can of organic garbanzo beans
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 tbsp water
- The juice of ½ a small lemon
- Coconut oil spray or olive oil
- Begin with blending your oats in a food processor to create oat flour. Set aside into a large bowl.
- Next, blend the parsley through the garlic cloves into the food processor until well combined and no chunks are left.
- Thoroughly rinse and dry your chickpeas. Add into the food processor bowl and grind/mash until chickpeas are processed but not pureed! We don't want hummus here 🙂
- Toss this chickpea mixture in with the oat flour, mix until well combined and set aside while you make your flax eggs: combining the ingredients in a small dish and setting aside (I put mine in the fridge for 10 minutes).
- Cover the bowl containing the falafel mixture with plastic wrap and let sit for 10-20 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 375º.
- Take the bowl out of the fridge and add in your lemon juice and flax egg, mix with your hands and then drop large tablespoon sized blobs onto parchment paper or a sprayed baking sheet.
- Cook for 15 minutes then rotate, cooking for another 15.
- Let cool and pair with hummus in a wrap or on top of your favorite salad!
Garlicky, salty, savory, bite sized and wonderful to quickly pop into your mouth one after the next.
This recipe was one of those that turned from a fail into a success (thank god because I was banking on these for dinner).
These falafels force me to ask the question, where would the world be without chickpeas? Am I the only one who eats chickpeas WITH hummus? Chickpeas on chickpeas? True chickpea in the city style right there. Can’t wait to cook up the rest of my batch and toss them into a sprouted wheat tortilla and slather them with tahini sauce. Oooooh yeaaaah.
-Addie
