To celebrate International Falafel Day, we’re paying homage to those little balls of delicious flavour with our two favourite healthy falafel recipes.
We’ve all seen pots of falafel in the supermarket and you may think that purchasing a pre-packed pot is the easier option, BUT these recipes are not only cheaper, they also have fewer calories and are actually very easy to make. It helps that they’re very tasty too!
The falafel you get in restaurants and in shops is usually deep-fried, which we all know isn’t the best way to cook your food, so we’ll be baking ours in the oven.
Chickpea Falafels
Amount: 14 Balls // Prep Time: 5 minutes // Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
| 1 can of chick peas (drained) 1 small white onion 40g of buckwheat flour (you can also use spelt flour or wholemeal) Handful of fresh parsley 1/2 tbsp cumin 1 tsp paprika |
Juice from half a squeezed lemon 2 gloves garlic 1/2 tsp baking powder Salt & pepper, to taste 1 cal oil spray |
Method:
- Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees C (400 F)
- Add all of the ingredients listed above into a food processor and blend until all of the ingredients are very well combined.
- Cover a baking tray with baking paper and use a spray of 1 cal oil
- With a spoon, scoop out some of the mixture and roll it into a ball using your hands. Place the falafel balls onto your tray and press down slightly to flatten it a bit. They will cook better this way.
- Repeat this until you have 14 falafels on a tray and give them a spray with your 1 cal oil
- Bake for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes and giving them another spray with the 1 cal oil
- Serve & enjoy
Sweet Potato Falafels
Amount: 17 Balls // Prep Time: 15 minutes // Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
| 2 medium sweet potatoes 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 2 small cloves of garlic, chopped 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1 heaped cup spinach, chopped |
Juice from half a squeezed lemon 1 cup of chickpea flour Oil for pan Chia seeds and chia flour for garnish Salt and pepper, to taste |
Method:
- Preheat oven to 400F. Pre grease a baking sheet with oil or spray.
Peel the sweet potatoes. - Stab the sweet potatoes with a fork a few times and then microwave on high for 9-11 minutes until tender.
- While the potatoes are microwaving, in a medium sized bowl mix together the cumin, chopped garlic, coriander, and chickpea flour. Stir well.
- Add chopped spinach and lemon juice and mix well with a fork.
- Chop up sweet potatoes into small chunks and then mash with a fork. Add potatoes to the other ingredients. Mix well until all ingredients are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place mixture in the freezer for a few minutes to cool.
- Wet your hands and form falafel balls and then roll the balls in chia flour, ground almonds, or spelt flour (optional). You can also sprinkle the balls with chia seeds or sesame seeds too, but again this is optional.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden.
- Serve & enjoy
Parting Shots
Obviously while our falafel is cooking, we’ll be flowing through some sun salutations in the lounge or relaxing with some restorative yoga poses. This is the perfect way to use that cook time productively.
With these two recipes to help us, we can all be falafel-making professionals! We’re all enjoying ours with some tzatziki and a salad or maybe packed into toasted wholemeal pitta bread with our homemade humus and vegetables. Did you see our top five hummus recipes last month? If not, have a read and make a batch to go with your falafel.
What’s your favourite falafel recipe? Is there a different ingredient you prefer using? We hear broad bean could be quite good too… Let us know in the comments below!
