• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Domestic Dreamboat
  • Recipes
  • Special Diets
  • Kitchen Basics
  • Meet Carissa
    • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Resources
  • Work with Me
  • Subscribe and Follow

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Resources
    • Work with Me
  • Subscribe and Follow

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Dish Type / Entrees / How to Make Great Falafel (Crispy Chickpea Fritters)

    How to Make Great Falafel (Crispy Chickpea Fritters)

    Published: Jun 29, 2020 · Modified: Feb 7, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you buy an item in my links, at no charge to you.

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    Total Time 30 minutes
    Number of Servings 10
    Two halves of a falafel stacked on top of another.

    Making great falafel isn't hard, but it takes a few tricks. Learn how to how make delicious light, crispy chickpea fritters! They're vegan and gluten free!

    Falafel

    Falafel is one of those things it seems you either love or hate. I've always been firmly in the falafel love camp, while it took a bit of convincing for Mr. Dreamboat to get here.

    The problem was, my husband had had too many experiences with bad falafel. You know the ones - dry, flavorless - you might was well be chewing on a sawdust patty!

    It's easy to make those bad sawdust falafel, but fortunately, once you've figured out a couple of tricks, it's also easy to make them great as well.

    Falafel overhead 1

    Tricks to making great Falafel:

    There are a couple of keys to making great falafel. Once you know what they are, making them is pretty darn easy!

    1. Use dried chickpeas and soak them overnight. Canned chickpeas (or cooked chickpeas of any sort) are far too soft and will make mush instead of a light, crispy fritter.
    2. Make sure not to overprocess your falafel mixture. Use your food processor to get your chickpeas to finely chopped or coarsely minced. You still want to be able to identify individual bits of chickpea. This keeps the falafel light and airy and prevents them from getting too dense and dry.
    3. Add flour to your falafel mixture. I didn't learn this trick until recently. I used to get so frustrated making falafel because they always crumbled and fell apart while I was cooking. The flour (in this case chickpea flour) holds the mixture together, and no more crumbling!
    Falafel closeup

    Falafel Ingredients:

    •  Dried chickpeas
    • Scallions
    • Parsley
    • Cilantro
    • Chickpea flour
    • Garlic
    • Salt
    • Ground black pepper
    • Cumin
    • Cinnamon
    • Canola oil for frying
    Falafel in hand

    Falafel are traditionally deep fried, but I always choose to pan-fry them in only a thin layer of canola oil to avoid waste and mess. I would like to think that frying in less oil means they absorb less oil, but it doesn't quite work that way.

    Falafel are versatile and can be served for a meal or snack. Eat them with pita or any other flatbread as a sandwich, or simply dip them in tahini sauce or hummus and eat them on their own!

    What to serve with Falafel:

    Traditional Hummus with Garlic, Tahini, Lemon and Spices
    Classic Hummus
    Homemade Pita Bread
    Homemade Pita Bread
    Chicken Shawarma Pita
    Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma

    Falafel Nutrition Notes:

    The nutrition info in the recipe is for one 2" falafel. The actual fat content will vary slightly depending on the temperature of the cooking oil and how much oil is absorbed during cooking.

    Never Miss a Recipe!

    Sign up to recieve my monthly newsletter.

    Two halves of a falafel stacked on top of another.
    5 from 1 vote
    Pin for later
    Print Recipe

    Falafel (Crispy Chickpea Fritters)

    Carissa Serink
    Making great falafel isn't hard, but it takes a few tricks. Learn how to how make delicious light, crispy chickpea fritters! They're vegan and gluten free!
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time10 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 100kcal
    Keep your screen on

    Ingredients

    For the Falafel

    • 1 cup dried chickpeas, picked over and rinsed
    • 4 scallions, coarsely chopped
    • ½ cup lightly packed parsley leaves
    • ½ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
    • ¼ cup chickpea flour
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon cumin
    • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
    • canola oil for frying

    Instructions

    • Soak chickpeas in a medium bowl in enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Cover and allow to soak at room temperature overnight.
    • Drain chickpeas and transfer to food processor. Add the scallions, parsley, cilantro, chickpea flour, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and cinnamon. Process until the chickpeas are coarsely minced and the ingredients are evenly mixed. Do not over process so that the mixture forms a paste . Form mixture into 1.5-2" patties. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
    • Pour enough oil into a large skillet to cover the bottom. Heat over medium high. When oil is hot, carefully add the falafel patties to the oil. Cook until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and continue cooking until both sides are golden brown. Reduce heat to medium if the patties are browning too quickly. Carefully transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Keep warm in a 200°F oven if needed or serve immediately. Serve in a pita sandwich or on their own with tahini sauce or hummus.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition Disclaimer: I try my best to make sure the nutrition information I provide is accurate to provide you with the best information possible. However, due to ingredient discrepancies and other factors, the above nutrition information should be considered an estimation only.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @DomesticDreamboat or tag #DomesticDreamboat!
    A plate of falafel with flatbread, tahini sauce, and radishes

    More Entrees

    • One-Pan Pork and Broccoli Noodle Bowl in a pale blue bowl.
      One-Pan Pork and Broccoli Noodle Bowls
    • Spiced meat pie with phyllo crust on a white plate.
      Spiced Meat Pie with Phyllo Crust
    • A singer larger snack-sized sausage roll on a white plate.
      Homemade Turkey Sausage Rolls
    • A hand holding half of a Baked Turkey Scotch egg.
      Baked Turkey Scotch Eggs

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Carissa! I'm the face behind Domestic Dreamboat. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to stay healthy. Thanks for joining me in my homemade journey!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    What's Trending

    {"title":"","limit":"5","offset":0,"range":"custom","time_quantity":"12","time_unit":"hour","freshness":false,"order_by":"views","post_type":"post","pid":"","cat":"","taxonomy":"category","term_id":"","author":"","shorten_title":{"active":false,"length":0,"words":false},"post-excerpt":{"active":true,"length":"75","keep_format":false,"words":false},"thumbnail":{"active":true,"width":"75","height":"75","build":"manual","size":""},"rating":false,"stats_tag":{"comment_count":false,"views":false,"author":false,"date":{"active":false,"format":"F j, Y"},"category":false,"taxonomy":{"active":false,"name":"category"}},"markup":{"custom_html":"1","wpp-start":"
      ","wpp-end":"","title-start":"

      ","title-end":"","post-html":"
    • {thumb_img}
      {taxonomy}{title}"},"theme":{"name":"cards-compact"}}

      Quick & Easy Meals

      • Ham and Cheese Muffin with Butter cropped
        Savory Whole Wheat Ham and Cheese Muffins
      • One-Pan Pork and Broccoli Noodle Bowl in a pale blue bowl.
        One-Pan Pork and Broccoli Noodle Bowls
      • Tomato and cucumber salad in a white bowl.
        Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Tahini Dressing (Jerusalem Salad)
      • Chickpea salad with carrots and olives in a square, white bowl.
        Chickpea Salad with Carrots and Olives

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Policies

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    About Me

    • Contact
    • About Carissa

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023

    38 shares
    Domestic Dreamboat
    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}