Gluten Free Falafel

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This falafel recipe uses canned beans, is moist and tender and lasts all week for dinner or snacks. Great as a vegetarian main, or side dish with some Greek marinated chicken souvlaki. Make this batter a day before, and fry the patties the next day if you want to prep ahead. Goes great with some vegan tzatziki sauce, recipe included at the bottom!

I found the recipe for homemade falafel in a vegetarian times magazine in 2008! I used to be a vegetarian for many years, and I really liked beans, tempeh and tofu. I still like eating those things today alongside my other proteins. I still have all those old magazines with dog ears and post it notes marking the pages of recipes I’ve wanted to try. Everything looked so good in them and I knew I wanted to make those falafel at some point.

I finally made some falafel when my friend Sabrina wanted a healthy snack to make with her kids at a summer camp. The day I was helping out had a Greek theme. So I went through my old magazines and came across that falafel recipe.

The original recipe wasn’t gluten free, but it only called for ¼ cup all purpose flour. Any time you are replacing a little flour in a recipe like this that is clearly not a baked good, then a 50/50 mix of brown rice flour and tapioca starch works great.

Dried Beans vs Canned

Traditionally, falafel is made with dried chickpeas that are soaked. Which makes for a more intense chickpea flavor. There are many canned chickpea recipes online now but they are not considered “traditional”.

I used to think falafel was kind of dry and bland. Whenever I saw the little balls in a restaurant or food truck, they looked so dry, that if you couldnt have the yogurt sauce with it, why would you bother. When I found this recipe that used canned garbanzo beans, I knew I wanted to try it. This batter is wet, so you have to give it a quick pan fry, to help set up the fritter and then finish in the oven if they arent all the way cooked through.

Why You’ll Love This Falafel

• No need to soak beans ahead of time

• Super moist because you aren’t using dried beans

• Gluten free

• Bursting with fresh flavors from the parsley, lemon and tahini

• Great delivery mechanism for some Tztaziki

• Good enough for meat eaters or vegans

• Crispy on the outside and light and creamy on the inside

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Canned chickpeas

• Gluten free flour - helps with binding, I use a combination of brown rice flour and tapioca starch

• Red onion - this brings in a little crunch, you can substitute shallots too

• Spices: cumin, coriander ,chili powder, salt and pepper

• Egg - also helps with binding

• Tahini

• Fresh parsley - a signature ingredient in Greek food

How to Make Gluten Free Falafel

Dry the chickpeas

Place drained chickpeas on paper towels and pat dry. (To dry them further you could also place them on a plate, uncovered in the fridge for a couple hours. The drier the better.)

Make the falafel batter

Place garlic in food processor and process to break it up into small pieces. Add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon zest, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper. Process until well mixed, but still a little chunky. Add the egg and pulse again to incorporate.

Transfer the mix to a bowl and stir in the flours, onion and baking powder. Your mix should be thick enough to hold together, but won't be dry enough to form into patties).

Fry the falafel

Set a baking sheet next to the stove and line with paper towels.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to have about ¼ inch of oil in the pan. Once the oil is hot, use a spoon to scoop about 2 tablespoons of falafel mix and drop into the pan. Smooth out the batter with the back of the spoon to make a patty shape. Add enough patties to fill pan but making sure they don't touch. Cook about 3 minutes, until golden brown, then gently flip over and brown the other side, about another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet and repeat until all batter is used.

Your falafel may be cooked at this time depending on how hot your oil was, break one open and check that the batter is fully cooked. If it's not, place baking sheet in 325 degree oven for 10 minutes.

What to Serve with Falafel

What goes with falafel? So many things. When I made these for retreats, I would always serve them with tzatziki sauce, hummus, a cucumber, olive and tomato salad, and some grilled chicken. You can do a search for “greek dishes” and find so many ideas. Here are some of my recipes that go with falafel.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad - a zesty salad with cucumber, tomato, avocado and lots of fresh herbs

Dairy Free Tzatziki - you can still have this tasty yogurt dip without dairy

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki - chicken marinated in lemon, red wine vinegar and oregano

Kalamata and Lemon Baked Chicken - lemon and olives make this chicken super moist and tasty

Put them on top of your Buddha Bowl

Add them to salads

Put it in a wrap for lunch along with chopped lettuce, tzatziki or hummus and tomatoes

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Author: Andrea Sprague

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Falafel

This falafel recipe uses canned beans, is moist and tender and lasts all week for dinner or snacks. Great as a vegetarian main, or side dish with some Greek marinated chicken souvlaki. Make this batter a day before, and fry the patties the next day if you want to prep ahead.

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 large clove garlic
• 2 tablespoon tahini
• 2 tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup brown rice flour
• ¼ cup tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Coconut oil for frying

Instructions

1. Place drained chickpeas on paper towels and pat dry. (To dry them further you could also place them on a plate, uncovered in the fridge for a couple hours. The drier the better.)
2. Place garlic in food processor and process to break it up into small pieces.
3. Add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon zest, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper. Process until well mixed, but still a little chunky.
4. Add the egg and pulse again to incorporate.
5. Transfer the mix to a bowl and stir in the flours, onion and baking powder. Your mix should be thick enough to hold together, but won't be dry enough to form into patties).
6. Set a baking sheet next to the stove and line with paper towels.
7. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to have about ¼ inch of oil in the pan. Once the oil is hot, use a spoon to scoop about 2 tablespoons of falafel mix and drop into the pan. Smooth out the batter with the back of the spoon to make a patty shape. Add enough patties to fill pan but making sure they don't touch. Cook about 3 minutes, until golden brown, then gently flip over and brown the other side, about another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet and repeat until all batter is used.
8. Your falafel may be cooked at this time depending on how hot your oil was, break one open and check that the batter is fully cooked. If it's not, place baking sheet in 325 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Recipes that go great with Falafel:

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Dairy Free Tzatziki

Bursting with fresh dill and tangy yogurt, pairs great with falafel

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki

Chicken marinated in greek flavors of lemon and oregano

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

A well balanced side dish or main course!

If you try this Falafel recipe, please leave a comment below and tell me how you liked it! And what did you serve it with?