Mini Falafels

Lately I’ve been testing out some vegetarian dishes to balance out the protein heavy meals we’ve been consuming while we’re out. I thoroughly enjoy my steaks, pork and most of all chicken, so sometimes I find it hard to eat vegetarian and be satisfied. But lucky for me, I had some chickpeas lying around one and wanted to try making something aside from my usual hummus.

After a bit of searching on the internet I found an interesting baked falafel recipe. Falafels are said to be healthy since they’re fully vegetarian, but since they’re normally fried, it really takes away from that aspect. So I was pretty intrigued by a baked version.

What I found was the falafels were just as satisfying without feeling heavy afterwards due to the grease from the frying process. My husband even mentioned that he would prefer eating them this way as opposed to the falafels we’re used to. That was enough to make me want to share the recipe with all. I’ve changed the original recipe a bit. I like the spices a bit stronger, therefore I’ve upped their amounts, but you can find the original recipes here.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Falafel Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained or you can use 1/2 cup dried chickpeas and boil them ahead of time
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped (cut down to 1 tbsp if using dried parsley)

Falafel Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425ºF, prepare a baking sheet.

In a food processor, add the chickpeas, chopped onion and minced garlic. Pulse for 1-2 mins until combined, remember to scrape down the sides of the food processor. The mixture shouldn’t be smooth like hummus but still a bit coarse.

Add in the cumin, coriander, salt, cilantro and parsley. Pulse for 15-30 secs until everything is incorporated. Remember to taste everything!

Form the mixture in to small 1 inch sized balls and place on the baking sheet.

Place in oven and bake for 15 mins, flip them and bake for another 15 mins or until the exterior becomes brown and crispy, but not burnt.
Meanwhile, assemble the ingredients for the pita.

Pita Ingredients:

Mini pitas

Tzatziki

Hummus
Tomatoes, sliced
Lettuce
Cilantro
Onions, sliced

Pita Preparation:

Once the falafels are ready, in a small pita spread a bit of hummus on the side.

Add in tomatoes, onions, lettuce, place a falafel ball in the middle, top with cilantro and Tzatziki.

Serve and enjoy!

Makes roughly 24 mini pitas.

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