This is a recipe for flavourful, fluffy and healthy falafel. These falafel are easy to make, including lot of fresh herbs, spices and lemon juice. They are perfect to make in a double batch and freeze and then just bring out when you need something quick and healthy to eat during the week.
Falafel is such a versatile food. You can really use it for so many different purposes without ever getting sick or bored with them. I love making a really big batch of falafel and then just put them in the freezer for those days when I want to eat something delicious and healthy but when I don’t have the time to cook from scratch. These falafel are made with lots of fresh parsley and cilantro (the amount can be adapted according to taste), lot of different spices, chili for some heat and lemon juice and zest to provide a fresh and zesty flavour. I made mine in the oven to make them healthier. But they can of course also be fried in a pan or deep fried.
A few tips:
- Use dried chickpeas and let them soak for at least 5-6 hours but preferably over night.
- The amount of fresh herbs can be adapted according to taste.
- When forming the falafel make equally sized once to that they have the same baking time.
- Don’t pack the falafel too tight. That will make them too dense and not light and fluffy as they should be.
- I prefer to make my falafel in my air fryer or oven. But you can deep fry them as well if preferred.
- These falafel are good to store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- You can also freeze them and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Ingredients for these Healthy Falafel:
- Dried chickpeas
- Red onion
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Red chili
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh parsley
- Cumin
- Paprika powder
- Cinnamon
- Dry cilantro
- Lemon
- Baking soda
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Healthy Falafel – Oven or Air Fryer Baked (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 250 g Dried chickpeas soaked for 12 hours
- 1/2 Red onion roughly chopped
- 1/2 Yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2-3 Garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 Red chili roughly chopped
- 2 dl Fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 dl Fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1/2 tbsp Paprika powder
- 1/2 tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp Dry cilantro
- 1/2-1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2-1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 2-3 tsp Olive oil
Instructions
- Place the dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak for at least 5-6 hours, but preferably over night.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas thorowly.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius or the air fryer to 190 degrees Celsius.
- Place roughly chopped red onion, yellow onion, garlic, chili, cilantro and parsley in a food processor and run until you have a smooth texture.
- Add the chickpeas, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, dry cilantro, sea salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil and baking soda to the batter and pulse until you have a smooth batter. Scrape the sides if needed. Don't mix the batter for too long, it should be smooth but not pureed.
- Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Form equally sized balls using your hands, melon baller or ice cream scoop. Don't pack them too tight otherwise the falafel will be very dense instead of fluffy and light.
- Bake the falafel in the oven for 20-30 minutes (depending on their size). Flip them half ways. If you want to can drizzle some olive oil on top of them before putting them into the oven. Or bake spray your air fryer with some cooking spray and bake for 12 minutes, then flip the falafels and bake for 8-10 minutes more.
- Serve warm or let them cool and store in the fridge.
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