This authentic Falafel Recipe, passed down from my Egyptian father, is crispy on the outside, tender and vibrant green inside, and bursting with fresh herbs and spices! Made with dried, soaked chickpeas, it’s naturally vegan and gluten-free, with easy pan-fried, baked, and air-fryer options. Video.
This recipe was passed down to me by my Egyptian father, who called them ta’amea. He loved making falafel because it reminded him of his own mother, back in a little village in Egypt. For him, it was comfort food. And today, it is for me, too.
Growing up, the smell of falafel cooking in our kitchen was pure happiness. After I moved away from home, my dad’s falafel and my mom’s tabouli were the two dishes I missed most. Every time I make them, I’m transported right back to my childhood kitchen.
I’m excited to share this family recipe with you, along with my favorite tips for making falafel that’s beautifully crisp, flavorful, and tender inside.
I have never made falafels before and this recipe was easy to follow. They turned out perfectly cooked and delicious. My family loved them. My daughter has made falafels before and said the recipe was authentic and the best falafels that she has ever eaten!
Why you’ll love this Falafel recipe!
Authentic family recipe. Passed down from my Egyptian father, these falafels are made with dried, soaked chickpeas, fresh herbs, garlic, and warming spices for incredible flavor and texture.
Crispy outside, tender inside. Beautifully golden on the outside and vibrant green inside, with a deliciously savory, herbaceous flavor. Pan-fry, bake, or air-fry!
Perfect for meal prep. Naturally vegan and gluten-free, these falafels freeze beautifully and are delicious in pita sandwiches, bowls, salads, and mezze platters.
Falafel Ingredients
- Dry chickpeas (not canned) – Authentic falafel is made with dry chickpeas that have been soaked but not cooked. * Using cooked or canned chickpeas will result in mushy falafel- with no texture. Authentic Egyptian falafel can also be made with fava beans or a combination of both.
- Cilantro (or parsley)- Falafels hav a greenish hue to it because they are loaded with herbs!
- Small onion and garlic cloves- both add great punchy flavor and depth!
- Green Chili Pepper (jalapeno peppers, Serrano, or sub cayenne) add fresh “heat”. Feel free to go light or make them spicier.
- Spices: Ground coriander, ground cumin and a teaspoon of salt.
- Baking soda – give them a lighter interior
- Extra virgin olive oil – so they don’t get overly dry and crumbly.
How to make Falafel
STEP ONE: Soak. Soak dry chickpeas overnight in a bowl with plenty of cold water for 8-24 hours, until they double in size. Drain them well, and pat dry. I often just spread them out on a sheet pan and let them dry completely.
STEP TWO: Blend. Place the chickpeas and remaining ingredients in a food processor and pulse repeatedly (don’t blend). Pulse-pulse-pulse, scrape down the sides, and pulse again until combined but not overly smooth.
TIP: Don’t over-blend- you want to be granular, not smooth like hummus. It should resemble the example below. You must pulse, scrape sides, and repeat a few times to achieve this.
STEP THREE: Form. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (right in the food processor is fine) and then, using wet hands, form into tight golf ball-sized balls, compressing them tightly with your two palms. The dough will seem wet; that is okay, just compress them tightly. They will feel delicate but will hold together. No need to add flour.
STEP FOUR: Cook the falafel. Heat a skillet with high-heat oil over medium heat. Without crowding, carefully place falafels in the warm skillet, pressing down to flatten slightly. To bake or Air fry, scroll down.
PRO TIP: Don’t move them or fuss with them; let them develop a crust. Letting them develop a golden crust will allow them to naturally release themselves from the pan. This goes for almost anything you are searing or frying. When deeply golden, use a thin spatula to turn them over.
Remember, wait until they form a crust before moving, that way they will contract and release themselves from the pan.
STEP FIVE: Place the falafels that are done, uncovered in a warm oven while you cook the rest. This will warm them all the way through, activating the baking soda, giving them a little lightness.
How to Bake or Air Fry Falafel
While traditionally deep-fried, homemade falafel can also be baked or air-fried for a lighter option. Both methods produce a deliciously golden exterior with less oil!
Baked Falafel
Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange the falafel on a greased, parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly brush or spray the tops with olive oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes, flip, and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Air Fryer Falafel
Preheat air fryer to 375°F. Arrange the falafel in a single layer on a lightly greased air-fryer basket, leaving space between each one. Spray lightly with olive oil. Air fry for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Chef’s Tips for Perfect Falafel
- Use dried, soaked chickpeas, not canned. This is the secret to authentic falafel with a wonderfully crisp exterior and tender, slightly crumbly interior. Cooked chickpeas contain too much moisture and produce a softer texture.
- Drain the chickpeas thoroughly. After soaking, spread them on a clean kitchen towel or sheet pan to remove excess moisture. Wet chickpeas can make the mixture difficult to shape.
- Don’t overprocess. Pulse the ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped and granular, not smooth like hummus. A little texture is essential!
- Chill before shaping. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 20 minutes to help it hold together.
- Shape firmly. Use damp hands to compress the mixture into compact balls or patties. If they crumble, try pressing the mixture more firmly before adding any additional ingredients.
- Falafel falling apart? Make sure the mixture is finely chopped but not pureed, and compress the patties firmly. Let them develop a golden crust before flipping to help them hold together.
- Let a crust form. When pan-frying, resist moving the falafel too soon. Once deeply golden, they’ll release more easily from the skillet.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches to maintain an even temperature and encourage a crisp exterior.
- Cook through. Falafel should be deeply golden outside and cooked through in the center, not wet or doughy.
What to serve with Falafel
Serve Falafel as a sandwich stuffed into warm pita bread with pickled onions, yogurt tahini sauce, tomatoes, cucumber, and zhoug. You can also create a falafel bowl like the one shown here (or add it to our Crispy Mediterranean Chickpea Bowls!), or serve it as part of a mezze platter with any of the Middle Eastern sides below!
The Best Falafel Sauce!
My favorite falafel sauce is our tahini yogurt sauce- it is so good and vegan-adaptable!
Storage and Freezing
- Cooked falafels will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container and are best reheated in a warm oven or toaster oven to keep them crisp.
- They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Freeze them on a sheet pan in a single layer, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container.
- Tip: The falafel “dough” can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days (in a sealed container) and you can cook falafels as needed throughout the week.
More favorite Middle Eastern Recipes!
You may also want to explore more of our sandwich and wrap recipes! And for another vegetarian patty, try our Hearts of Palm “Crab” Cakes!
WATCH How to make Falafel
⭐️ After you try this falafel recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter!
One thing I encourage you to do is to learn how to cook the dishes that comfort you, from the people who made them for you (if possible). It is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Truly. When I feel homesick or lonely for my parents, I make these falafels and feel comforted. ✨ xoxo Sylvia
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Falafel Recipe (Best Homemade Falafels)
- Prep Time: 30
- soaking time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 falafel 1x
- Category: dinner idea, freezer meal, gluten-free, Main, meal prep, vegan, vegetarain
- Method: air-fryer, oven, stovetop
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
This authentic falafel recipe, passed down from my Egyptian father, is crispy on the outside, tender and flavorful inside, and packed with fresh herbs and spices. Made with dried, soaked chickpeas, these homemade falafels are naturally vegan and gluten-free. Pan-fry, bake, or air-fry!
Ingredients
Falafel Recipe
- 1 cup dry chickpeas – yields roughly 2 cups soaked. Soak 10-24 hours
- 1 1/2 cups cilantro, packed (stems ok) or sub-Italian parsley
- 1/2 cup white or yellow onion, rough chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1/2 of a jalapeno, seeds ok (add the entire thing if you want a little kick)
- 1 tablespoon ground Coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Oil for cooking- olive oil, spray olive oil, avocado oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 375 F.
- Soak: Cover the dry chickpeas in a bowl of ample cold water on the counter for 10-12 hours or up to 24 hours in the fridge. They will swell to 2 cups. Place in a strainer, drain well, and pat dry with a towel for extra dryness or lay out on a sheet pan until fully dry. (Wet chickpeas can make the mixture fall apart.)
- Blend: Place onion, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeno in the food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the 2 cups of chickpeas, salt, spices, and baking soda; pulse again 10 times, scrape down the sides, then add the olive oil and process for 10 seconds, until it is well blended but still coarse like sand. Don’t overwork it; it should be coarse and granular for the best texture, not smooth! Refrigerate 15-20 minutes.
- Form: Using damp hands, carefully form 12 round, ping-pong-sized balls, compressing them between your palms and slightly flattening them. Place on a sheet pan. The dough will feel wet and delicate, and this is completely OK.
- Pan sear: In a non-stick pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat until it sizzles when a pea-sized falafel is dropped. Turn heat to medium. Place them carefully in the hot oil (they are fragile but should hold together just fine), slightly press down, and do not move them until they develop a deeply golden crust (this crust will ensure they naturally release themselves from the pan). Using a thin metal spatula, carefully turn them over. Lower heat if necessary. Sear the other side. Each side will take about 3-4 minutes. Cook in batches, not overcrowding. Place falafels back on the sheet pan in the oven while you cook the remaining falafels to finish cooking. Keep them in a warm oven until ready to serve.
- Tip: Falafels can be cooked ahead, refrigerated, and reheated in the oven. Alternatively, the falafel “dough” can be made ahead, refrigerated, and used throughout the week.
- Serve with pita bread, tahini sauce, or tahini yogurt sauce (my favorite), sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh cilantro and pickled onions.
Notes
Don’t use canned or cooked chickpeas, they’re not the same.
Try Fava Beans: Feel free to use soaked fava beans- or a combo of both- also delicious!
Baking instructions: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the falafels on a greased, parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush or spray the tops with olive oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then flip and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until golden. These can be cooled and frozen.
Air Fryer Instructions: Preheat the air fryer to 375 F. Place falafels on a greased grate and spray with olive oil. Air fry for 5 minutes, turn over, then air fry until golden, another 2-3 minutes.
Meal Prep: The falafel mixture can be kept in the refrigerator and pan-seared “to order”. For example, I’ll often make a double batch and just store the bowl of falafel mix (covered) in the fridge for the week, pan-searing as needed.
Pickled Turnips: Peel and thinly cut turnips and use the pickled veggies recipe. Add a tiny sliver of beetroot to get a lovely pink color!
Tahini Sauce: To make your tahini sauce even creamier, stir in a couple of tablespoons of yogurt.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 falafel
- Calories: 308
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 637.6 mg
- Fat: 3.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 59.8 g
- Fiber: 7.3 g
- Protein: 14.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I’m mid cook and just realized that your recipe doubler doesn’t change the volume of soaked chickpeas. You may want to update if you can! Easy to miss….I was wondering why it looked so light on the chickpeas.
Thanks for pointing this out Jenny. I am unable to change the soaked amount (2 cups to 4 cups) only the dried amount.
These look great (as usual with all your recipes !). I have some fresh fava beans and wondered if I could use those instead of chickpeas. If so, what weight of fava beans should I use do you think ? I will also try them with the chickpeas as per your recipe of course 😉
Hi Sarah- fresh fava beans would be great! Use two cups fresh fava beans. I’m not sure the weight.
I was just going to ask about Fava bean falafel, since that seems to be how they’re made in Egypt. Thanks for answering my question before I even asked it 🙂
These were delicious! The recipe was easy to follow and my family really enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing.
Great to hear Angela!
I have never made falafels before and this recipe was easy to follow. They turned out perfectly cooked and delicious. My family loved them. My daughter has made falafels before and said the recipe was authentic and the best falafels that she has ever eaten.
So glad you gave these a try! Appreciate your review.
When you say “serves 10-12” does that mean people or how many falafel the recipe makes?
Hi Jamie- they Make 10-12 falafels! I made the recipe card more clear and thanks for pointing that out.
Thank you, Sylvia! I was tripping out this morning when I went to make them (I’m catering for 26 people for a retreat in Hawaii, so I had to be sure I was making enough!) because I saw the change, and forgot that I had made the comment 😆 thank you for your speedy response, and for making it clearer! Serving them for lunch today.. they look like they’ll be really good. 😌
Awesome Jamie! Hope everyone enjoys.
These were so easy, quick and tasted phenomenal.
Great to hear Rebecca!
This turned out great. My first time out. Looks just like the photo after my first test round . I doubled the recipe and had to add more parsley and cilantro for more green. Tossed on tome extra spices. Just lovely ! Much cheaper to make them at home,
Great to hear Sandy- I’m so happy you enjoyed!
I have never been a fan of falafel but my husband loves it so I tried this recipe…OMG! Now i love falafel and my husband thinks it is one of the best he has had over the years. A tiny bit of prep and need to soak chick peas in advance but worth planning ahead.
Yay! So glad you gave it a try. Appreciate you taking time to let us know. 🙂
You advise above the recipe to use baking powder however the recipe advises baking soda
Opps! It is baking soda. Fixed it!
This recipe is fantastic! I did add a little bit of lemon juice and zest to brighten it, and I roasted the garlic prior to adding it. I used am air fryer for them.
Sounds great Kelly!
These were the most flavorful, moist/light falafels I have ever had. I used dry Fava and Chickpea combo, with some fresh raw Fava,( because I had some). I will never order out for falafel again! Thanks.
Thanks Joseph, glad you gave this a go! This is the way my dad made them and he would use favas too! So delicious!
Your falafel recipe is better than mine !
Thanks you
Wow Bev. Thank you for circling back and rating this for us. Very Appreciated!
Oh my goodness, I’m hooked! So easy & delicious. I paired with your tzatziki sauce (also wonderful) & baked them. They came out perfect. I only made a single batch, but should’ve done a double. Thank you!
Yay, so happy you enjoyed!
This recipe made my week! I have made falafel many times, using recipes that called for canned or cooked beans, but I knew that was not authentic. My husband and I were both happy with the results, but I just assumed I’d never be able to make restaurant quality falafel at home. Until I saw this recipe. I knew Sylvia would not let me down. I followed it to a “T” except used fava beans (yes, I really did peel 4 cups worth of fava beans!), and my husband and I were both thrilled with the results! I am now a falafel expert after making one batch. Sylvia, you are an amazing legacy for your father! Thank you so much for passing this along. Now, a couple of questions: 1) do you ever add pistachios to this recipe and if so, how does it change? 2) I want to freeze some, should I freeze uncooked patties or cooked patties?
Hi Patricia! Glad you enjoyed and love tht you used fava beans! YUM. I would freeze cooked falafels. Haven’t tried them with pistachio but sounds yummy!
Hi Sylvia! I made these a few months ago and loved them. I baked and froze a second batch. Should I defrost the frozen falafels before heating? Reheat covered or uncovered? At 375?
Thanks !
Hi Pat, I would reheat them uncovered so they crisp up a bit. 🙂
Tasty!
They just fell apart when forming and cooking!
Hi Lou, they are tender, but if you compress them togeher in your palms, they should stick together?
I will make them again as they are delicious
Wonderful!
delicious and perfect. Process till chicpeas are ground to mustard seed size for patties that stay together. Also pat dry rinsed cilantro.
Perfect tips, thanks Ann!
PS – I switched those weights around. It’s 16 grams in this version and 60 in the other.
thanks Mary- got it!
First of all, this is excellent! I wish I had followed your advice and doubled the recipe – it would be great to have some ready in the freezer. I baked them for use in your falafel bowls and they came out great.
BUT, a comment with regard to the ingredient section of the recipe. I tend to go by weights. 1 cup of cilantro is listed as 60 grams in this version of your recipe, and as 16 grams in the otherwise-identical version in your falafel bowl recipe. I packed a one cup measure and got 40 grams. After forcing more into the cup, I ended up using 50 grams. The product tasted great, but was definitely “greener” than your photos in the recipe.
Thanks Mary! Appreciate your notes here!
Really enjoyed these. I find that chilling the dough overnight in the fridge in an airtight container helps keep them from falling apart when I form the balls and pan sear them.
Glad it worked out!
Does your recipe call for baking POWDER or baking SODA? In the ingredients you list baking soda but in Step 5 you refer to baking powder. I’ve made falafel before using baking powder.
Sorry about that confusion Deborah, baking soda is what we use. Recipe is updated!
Love this recipe & made it in the air fryer. Thank you for a great recipe.
Oh great idea!
Great flavour and texture! Only thing is that many pieces broke during frying (even though I tried hard to compact the patties with wet hands before putting them into the pan and they felt wet enough).
Used 1 full tsp each of cumin and coriander powder as I roast and grind the seeds into powder ans keep them in my freezer for use anytime. Enough flavour with a tsp each.
The conversion into metric may not be accurate – 16 g of parsley is not 1 US cup. 40 g parsley =1 US cup.
Will make it again soon, I’m determined to get it right 😉
Thanks Su! Thanks for pointing out the metric conversion- it is so often inaccurate- very frustrating. Yes the falafels are quite delicate. But adding any filler just dilutes the flavor I think.
Recipe is easy and yields tasty falafel. My guests and husband all liked them. I would like to add a bit more flavor/complexity. If I add more cilantro or parsley will that introduce too much water? I used all cilantro, would mixing parsley and cilantro add more flavor or less?
Yes, You could try that. Sometimes I’ll add mint too! Some folks add more salt, and that may help bring out the flavors.
can the falafels be done in an air fryer?
Yes, absolutely! I added recipe notes!