Jeanie's Falafel

My boyfriend and I were craving falafel and found this recipe which had great reviews and looked fairly easy to prepare. We decided to bake them since my deep-frying skills aren't the greatest. They had a great crunch and were nice and soft inside. The combined flavours tasted just like the yummy take-out ones we craved, and were a lot healthier. This was a great recipe, thank you!

this recipe was great, i pretty much followed everything exactly as stated, with the exception that i added a whole egg to the mixture. (i did this because, like others, i noted that it seemed a bit dry.) everything held together well during the frying process, without coating it anything in flour etc. also, rather than molding the mixture into balls, i patted them into patties about the size of the circle formed when you touch the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb, about an 3/4 of an inch thick. this cut down on the frying time (and absorption of oil), and made neater pita pockets :). thanks for the great recipe!

The first batch that I fried up were GREAT (didn't have cilantro, and added some finely chopped mushrooms as well), but I made the mistake of not letting the oil reheat to make the second batch. MAKE SURE THAT THE OIL IS SUPER HOT AND THAT YOU ALLOW IT TO REHEAT TO A SUPER HOT TEMPERATURE BETWEEN BATCHES, OR ELSE THEY WILL FALL APART.

Delicious!!! Be sure to add enough bread crumbs to make a "burger" consistency. I fried them as burgers, put 1000 island, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers on a hamburger bun, and had a feast! Wonderful, thanks.

this is a great recipe! If you guys want quick, semi homemade falafel that takes about 20 minutes to make from start to finish.. buy a box of falafel mix from an ethnic food store and mix it with a can of mashed chickpeas, extra dried parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper and you have an easy, edible, quick take on a traditional favorite.

What a delicious recipe! I've only made falafel from a mix before, but I am a changed woman! I did have to add water to the mixture for it to hold together. Also, roll the balls (or patties) in flour before frying.. that way they won't fall apart!

This recipe tastes great! But -like some-the bread crumbs from my falafel came out during thee frying process. I found that a great solution for this is to bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown. They stay together, taste even better than fried, and are far fewer in calories. However if you do this, its a good idea to swipe them with a tad of olive oil though its not really needed.

Nice vegan recipe! Very tasty and my husband said it was the best falafel he'd ever tasted although I thought it tasted like regular falafel (which I love and is a compliment for a vegan recipe). The recipe says it serves 6 but for my family (myself, my husband and my three year old son) I had to double the recipe and had only 3 falafel balls left. When frying I had to dump the oil between the first and second batches because the falafel balls crumbled a bit in the oil. To solve this problem next time I think I'll put them in the oven which will cut alot of the fat too. I served them in a pita with tomatoes and tahini sauce with ketchup and had a side of roasted potatoes. Very yummy!!!

I made a few changes, I didn't have cilantro and the only bread crumbs I had were seasoned and I also added about 1/4 cup water and one beaten egg. These came out great and I did not have the problem of them falling apart while frying.

We followed the recipe pretty much exactly; we had just under the amount of chickpeas. We also pan fried them like burgers instead of deep fry. There was a little falling-apart-age, we added a little oil in the balls and less in the pan to help keep them together more. As far as taste goes, this was pretty good. Very cumin-y,and unlike any falafel I have had before. Will probably make it again with a few tweaks. Thanks.

My beans might have been too moist, but my falafels just disintergrated in the oil. The taste and smell were great though.

Oh holy moly - my first foray into the world o'falafels and I.am.hooked. My husband and I didn't even allow them to make it into the pitas I bought - we just stood at the stove and ate them plain (although I added some tahini to mine towards the end. Yum.) I followed directions almost exactly, just leaving out the cilantro due to a rather picky, cilantro-hating better half (is he really the better half if he hates cilantro? Hehe.) He immediately informed me that these need to make frequent appearances for dinner and then went to the kitchen to scrounge the leftover crumbs left on the plate. I already want to make them again. Like, tonight, less than 24 hours after my inaugural batch.

Is your falafel falling apart? Add 1-2 tablespoons of flour and it will be OOOOKAY! Tried this recipe 2 other times and failed, flour was the trick. Did a shallow fry. Great recipe, maybe add 2tbs of lemon juice and another clove or 3 of garlic :)

Amazing falafel! Sometimes, if the mixture is not sticking very well, I just add a little bit of water. I also have used this same recipe and baked them in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes on both sides and it was fantastic. Just have to make the balls more as patties so they cook all the way through.

YUM! The spice combination is the perfect flavor! I love it when I can throw all my ingredients into a food processor and be half way done! Went a healthier route and baked the falafel instead. Took 25 minutes at 350 (turning every 10) for a crispy brown outside. Stuffed the falafel in a pita with lettuce and tomato with a light champagne dressing and now my boyfriend thinks I'm a genius! Thank you so much for sharing! These are delicious!

After watching in horror as my first perfectly formed batch of falafel completely disintegrated into the (very hot) oil, I was ready to give this a vindictive-one star; but then I regrouped, added an egg AND used flour just to be on the safe side. They fried perfectly in the pan after that! I did not have turmeric or cumin so I substituted a little dry mustard and garam masala which added some interesting flavor that I'm not sure I want to repeat. I used the food processor to mix everything which cut down on prep time. Will definitely make this again with the right spices and an egg. Might put some bread crumbs on the outside to give it some extra crunch?

Great Recipe!! I altered it a bit for my taste...BEST Falafel I have ever eaten!! I added 1 beaten egg, juice from 1/2 a lemon and they held together great..I added green onion and left out cilantro and dried parsley. Great base recipe you can "tweek" to fit your taste!

The seasoning on this recipe is good, but I highly recommend using dry garbanzo beans, soaking them overnight, and then grinding them in a food processer. This makes the falafel more crunchy and textured instead of the mushy version that using canned garbanzo beans will produce.

One word: AMAZING! I did not alter this recipe (I felt like I didn't have to) and it came out amazing. Love this recipe and will continue to make it just as is. Highly recommended!

I made these exactly as directed, with one crucial tip between steps 1 and 2: Freeze the falafel balls before frying. Just a couple hours in the freezer, then just throw them in the oil, no defrosting necessary. This helps the balls to keep shape without disintegrating in the oil (I do the same with Chinese fried spring rolls!). I kept them in the oil, flipping once until just brown on the outside (about 2 minutes), then stuck in the oven at 150C for 15-20 minutes to heat them through. Nice and crunchy on the outside, soft and flavourful on the inside!! Delicious!!!

Very good and easy to make although I did add an egg to bind them together a bit. I also used only half the cumin since my husband isn't a big fan of it. They turned out great. Thanks for introducing a new meat substitute to my dinner table!

This was delicious! I served it as a 'wrap' in a tortilla (ran out of pitas) with lettuce, tomato & tahini sauce. The changes I made: used more cilantro/parsley and added some coriander. I added breadcrumbs tablespoon at a time til I reached the consistency I wanted (took about 5 TBS), so they were not too dry. I think 1 cup is a lot! I whirled it up in the food processor, then put the mix in the fridge for about an hour. Rolled them up in balls and put them in my cast iron pan with just a bit of oil. I squished them flat with my hand so they looked like silver dollar pancakes. I pan fried them at medium heat til done. If you have big eaters then double the recipe; my husband and I ate about 6 of these apiece but they are so yummy I need to go lock up the leftovers so I don't eat the rest up myself! The tahini is a must: 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 c. tahini, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/2-1 cup of water. Mix up to the lemon juice in the food processor, then add water til it's smooth and runny enough to pour.

The mix was easy to prepare, and I always appreciate eggless recipes. But unfortunately, they fell apart in the oil. I've tried this twice, and it happened both times. In reading the reviews, I'm clearly not the only one who had this problem. So, perhaps this is an issue that should be addressed somewhere in the instructions -- how do you prevent them from falling apart?

These falafel taste AMAZING! Probably the best that I've ever had. I am new to fried foods, and when I made the mistake of not waiting for my pan-fried oil to reheat between batches, the falafel came out pale and fell apart. But the ones that I did right are crisp and attractive.

Pretty good! All I had in the cupboard was a bag of dried garbanzos and some odds and ends, but I was able to turn it into falafel! I used chicken stock instead of water to get the right consistency. I rolled them into 12 balls and fried them in a couple inches of olive oil, 3 minutes per side. Served them with tahini sauce made from tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, parsley, cumin, and sweet curry powder.

I had never even had Falafel but I made it anyway & was not disappointed...loved it

I thought this was an easy recipe to follow as it was my first time making falafel.

You must add water to hold it together

These were yummy but very messy to make. Everything was neat and tidy until the frying started. I don't have a deep fryer so I used the stove... many of them fell apart during the frying process and I felt like I was losing gold. I'll make a couple of adjustments next time, mainly baking them instead of frying by lining a baking sheet with foil, brushing oil on the sheet/foil, forming small patties instead of balls and brushing the tops with oil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, flipping halfway between to prevent burning. Healthier and cleaner.

I used panko. I needed to use a food processor. It wouldn't stay together otherwise. I ran the food processor until the dough balled up, like bread dough. Then I used a 1 1/2 inch melon-baller to create the balls. I needed to add about 4 tablespoons of water. It was delicious! Cooked very, very fast. Don't walk away.

This is my go-to falafel recipe. It seems to be necessary to add an egg to the recipe, though, or else you run the danger of your falafel disintegrating in the frying pan. Fresh herbs make a world of difference, but the falafel is still tasty without them. I usually pat the falafel circles flat and pan-fry them in a thin layer of olive oil. I've tried baking them but they aren't as flavourful.

Will NEVER used the boxed mix again! These are fantastic, crispy outside, tender inside and just....magical!

These are really good. If you find your falafel falls apart when you try to fry it, put the dough in the fridge for a few hours and then roll and fry. You can also roll them in a little flour, too, which helps them hold their shape in the oil.

Great taste, but mine fell apart. I baked them instead of frying, next time I will try frying them and see if it works out any better.

Fantastic falafel recipe! I bake these at 350 for about 15 minutes instead of frying. They are a bit dry, so I add a bit of water or vegetable broth if I have it handy. Sometimes I cut the cumin back and add garam masala. I may add some shredded carrot, too. These are great topped with tamarind chutney!

This is very crumbly, I added 1 egg, still pretty loose and dry. Maybe needed another egg? Taste was great though. Some patties held together, some fell apart.

I liked it and will make again with the addition of a lot more garlic, more turmeric, fresh parsley and a little less salt. I formed the rolls Jeanie suggested, put them on a lightly oiled baking pan, smashed them down slightly with the back of a spoon, brushed with olive oil and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through..they did crisp up a bit and stayed soft on the inside...definitely not the same as frying but very tasty all the same. I did use an egg as others suggested as well as I squeezed about half of a lemon into the mix...really brightened it up.

Love to surprise my family with "Josie's test kitchen" recipes. This was my first try making falafel's and they came out great. Pan fried in olive oil and had to add just a little water to hold them together. Served them in pitas with tzitki, lettuce & tomato. Thanks for a sucessful Josie's test kitchen meal the family really enjoyed this.

Very good in taste, but mine wouldn't stay together, and I didn't fry them . . .I used my slow cooker (seriously, it works). Still tasty, and worth making but I have to agree that it needs an egg. (I added water instead when it seemed crumbly bc I didn't want to add an egg, but that didn't work very well). how to make them okay for people who can't have eggs or are vegan or whatever, I can't say, but I'll try an egg next time. otherwise, very nice flavor and a good falafel. Thanks for the recipe.

Sorry but authentic falafel doesn't used cooked garbanzo beans, certainly not canned cooked garbanzo beans. Use dry beans soaked in water for at least 12 hours. Don't cook them! They get cooked when you fry them. And why bother with the dried parsley? It has practically no flavor. Fresh parsley is the way to go here and use plenty. Using the dried, raw, soaked garbanzo beans will make this recipe almost useless because the quantities will be off. There are plenty of recipies that use dried garbanzos. I would eliminate/reduce the bread crumbs and add ground corriander seed. What this recipe produces may taste ok but it isn't authentic and it will have a very different texture from a properly made falafel ball. Youtube has a huge number of falafel recipes that show you step by step how to do it. Unfortunately even a few of those use canned, cooked garbanzos.

Everyone in the family loved these. We usually buy the box mix and add water, but had trouble finding the mix at our local store, so I decided it was time to make homemade. This was easy and tasted very good. I did end up adding an egg, and some water, to make it come together better, but otherwise wouldn't change a thing. Will definitely be making this again!

Loved this recipe! First time I tried making homemade falafel, and I will definitely keep this one. I added 1/2 cup of water to help it stick together, but that was the only thing I changed. I also followed someone else's suggestion of mixing mayo & Sriracha sauce (a.k.a. rooster sauce) for dipping, which was great, but the falafel was flavorful enough to eat plain.

Great recipe! I used a 15 oz can of garbanzo beans because that is all that I could find. I kept the spices pretty much the same, and used just a bit less onion and bread crumbs. I baked the falafel instead of frying. I just put olive oil on a pan, brushed the tops of the falafel with olive oil and baked at 375 for 12 minutes on each side. Came out delicious! I served them with pita, tzatziki sauce, onion, spinach, and tomato.

This was my first attempt at making falafel from scratch and it was okay. I think it is probably a great base recipe and I will try it again with seasoning adjustments as I found it a little bland. However, I did bake it instead of fry it and that may have given it less flavor. I added in a mix of 1T ground flax with 3T water as an egg replacer and it held together really well. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will definitely give it another try one of these days.

The balls fall apart in the oil. You need an egg.

Fresh and so delicious! I always used the boxed falafel mix, but never again...this beats it hands down!!

Very easy and very delicious! I used a suggestion left by a previous reviewer and added 1 egg white to the mix. I also ended up having to add about 1 tablespoon of water to get the patties to hold together enough to convince me they wouldn't fall apart when I cooked them. They were crispy, crunchy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside. Perfect! I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. Throw these on a pita with some thinly sliced red onion, chopped tomato, a little romaine, a sprinkle of feta, and a healthy dollup of tzatziki sauce....YUMMY!

simply the best! did add an egg but sure water would have worked to moisten it up a bit.

Great, flavourful falafels! The only change I made was to fry them just for a minute on each side for colour and then baked them at 350 for 20 minutes. You could also just grease the pan for a lighter colour. I will do this next time and there will definately be a next time!

Absolutely amazing falafel. I think my husband has never loved anything quite this much. He can't stop talking about it and directed me to give it a "9 out of 5 stars" on the site. I found the "25 minutes prep" to be a bit off. I've made this twice and the first time I mashed the garbanzo beans by hand, which took FOREVER. It took me about 50 minutes just to prep the mix. The second time I made the recipe, I just tossed the beans, cilantro and onion in a food processor and prep magically dropped to ten minutes. I added an egg as a binder, they fell apart without it. Overall a fantastic, delicious recipe.

Very yummy. I did add 2 eggs to the mix to help it hold together better.

Decent alone with some dipping sauce for a quick lunch. Next time I'm going all out with pita bread and all the toppings.

Delicious!

These taste really great! I will definitely make them again. I made small patties and pan fried them. They do have some trouble sticking together. I added a bit of oil to the mix to help.

These were good but were missing something. I will definitely make them again, and not when I am in a rush! Maybe I forgot to add something! Instead of deep frying, I used a muffin tin and baked at 375 for maybe a half hour. I put a bit of oil in the bottom each cup to crisp them up. A little more oil than just a brush, but not too much. I put maybe a half inch in one cup by accident and the falafel disintegrated. My dinner guests enjoyed them!

This falafel is delicious, and tastes exactly the way falafel should taste. I left the onion out (chopped onion in falafel just doesn't sound right to me), put in 1/2 tsp. garlic powder instead of the garlic cloves, sprinkled some ground black pepper instead of the cracked peppercorns and didn't use cilantro and parsley because I didn't have any. I added a little bit of water so that the batter would hold together better. I don't own a deep fryer, so I fried them in a regular frying pan (I shaped the falafel more like a patty than a ball) and they came out delicious and didn't crumble at all. Everyone loved them, and I will definately make this recipe again(with the changes I made), but will try adding cilantro and parsley next time,even though the falafel is delicious w/o them.

Delicious mix of spices, but I had to add an egg because the mixture wouldn't stick... also added a spritz of lemon juice. Baked in the oven at 350F, drizzled in olive oil to get a crispy exterior.

These were yummy and easy to make, I would add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne. I enjoyed not adding the egg, but make sure the oil is super hot before putting them in, and let them brown before flipping so they won't fall apart. Also use the sauce (garlic pepper) in the pita with diced tomatoes and lettuce. Definitely make tzatziki sauce (1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, peeled-seeded and grated cucumber,2 cloves garlic-minced, 1 tbsp parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Yum Yum Yum! These are wonderful especially if you use them in a sandwich. These are so good even my husband the meat eater likes them.

FANTASTIC AND EASY...WHAT MORE COULD ONE ASK?? I used Trader Joe's Tahini, lettuce, and grated carrots on pita bread. OMG!!!! EXCELLENT!

My first time making falafel and it was so easy, and so good!

Wish I had seen that last review before I made these! Used my deep fryer and not only did the balls disintegrate, they made the oil bubble up and overflow!!! Flattened a few balls into a patty and fried (not deep fried!) in a pan to get a crispy coat. Pretty tasty. Will add egg(s) as others suggested today and try again.

This was so good! I added an egg and served it with whole wheat pitas and tzaziki sauce. My whole family loved it including my son who usually doesn't like my vegetarian cooking.

Great.

I mixed everything in my food processor, it turned out great. super easy. My husband ate it like it actually had meat in it. :) I made it once the way the recipe states and it was a crumbly mess in the pan. I made a second batch and added one egg. It made all the difference. it held together beautifully. I fried in a skillet with a little coconut oil.

We didn't have a deep frier so we just cooked them in a skillet with a little bit of vegetable oil. So so good. We'll definitely make them again.

Great recipe! My husband and I love it. I will admit that I do add one large egg, only to help the mixture stay together. :-)

these were yummy. I followed the recipe but used fresh parsley and coriander as i didnt have cilantro on hand. I also baked them instead, by spraying them lighlty with PAM-olive oil spray. Came out yummy although dont hold together too well. Next time I half the amount of breadcrumbs and might add some egg to help them stick togehter.

It smelled great! But we are currently waiting for our pizza to arrive. All the balls disintegrated in the oil. Now, I've never deep fried anything, so I might have done something wrong with the oil, but yeah...what a bust.

Very simply, they did not turn out well. Maybe I didn't use enough water, but after a few seconds in the frying pan, each falafel fell apart. We try to salvage them, but it was a disaster.

Delicious! First time, the falafel totally fell apart in the oil :(. So next time I added an egg to the mixture (which helped with the firmness), and after forming the falafel balls, I put them in the fridge for 10-20 mins. Now it's great. Make sure the oil is hot before you start cooking!

Jason Luuuuuves this!

The flavor of these are good, but they totally disentergrated when they hit the oil. It was a hot, oily mess!! So I salvaged what I could and baked them off in the oven. Don't use regular vegetable oil! Use a lighter oil like peanut, safflower or even olive oil.

Tasted great, but even adding water to get them to hold together didn't save my falafel - they fell apart in the deep fryer. We salvaged what we could and ate that.

I have never heard of tumeric in falafel and authentic falafel always has tahini in it which is a sesame paste. My falafel balls fell apart in cooking; simply disintegrated into a pile of oily crumbs. Other recipes I have read say you need to add some flour otherwise this happens. I think I'll just stick to a falafel mix.

mine totally fell apart in the oil. the tiny bit that did stick together I tried and it was tasty, however this recipe definetly needs a binding agent to be added. Also the recipe needs to include that the chickpeas need to be dried because the ones from the can give it a very wet structure.

This was really great. Easy and delicious! My kids all loved this dinner.

My first time ever making falafel. I did cheat and add an egg to help hold everything together, per some of the reviews, but I think it would have held ok without it. I also pulsed the beans in the food processor to mash them; worked great, then discovered I didn't have any turmeric, so I skipped it. We ended up eating them straight off the platter, and all commented that they tasted like "Mediterranean hushpuppies". Don't know if that's how they should be, but they were great. Will definitely make again, and try without the egg to bind it.

delicious falafel. i added an egg because i wasn't looking for vegan, and wanted an easier to deal with consistency. the fresh cilantro is a must. yum.

i had never had falafel before this, and it was so delicious (and fun to make). the only thing i changed was adding a couple eggs because i noticed the mixture was pretty dry. i will definitely make this again soon! yummmm.

Yum, this was great. I added an egg just to be safe. I'm sure it would have been fine without it and just adding water. I baked mine jsut cause I didn't want a smelly house. 400 for 20mins flipped halfway and broiled for a few mins as another person suggested. My 7yr loved them too. But then again he eats anything :)

Family loved it. Jonathan's favorite.

My vegetarian husband loved these! We thought the flavor was better than what we've had at a Persian restaurant. I also added a table spoon of wheat germ to the mixture. The kids tried them(tentatively) and thought they were pretty good too. I will be making these again for sure!

Tasty. I added an egg as others have done to help bind everything together. I also made patties instead of balls.

Didn't have any cilantro (coriander) leaves so added mint, and lemon juice to moisten it with a little olive oil. shallow fried them too and came out fine but would imagine they would be a lot crispier deep fried. Made 8 small burgers about 2inches by 1/2 inch, perfect for us 2 served in pittas with salad and a corn-on-the-cob on the side. Very nice would make these again. Thanks x

I just finished a batch, straight out of the deep fryer - crisp and nutty on the outside, warm, moist and savory on the inside. This is the BEST! A couple came apart, but I added some water to the mix and the rest held together beautifully.

The first time I made these, they turned out awesome!! But the second time I wasn't so lucky. Next time I'll try baking them.

I normally buy boxed falafel but decided to try something new last night, so happy I did!! This recipe is absolutely delicious!!!! The only thing I added was an egg, it did help it from falling apart when frying. Also, it is very important to let the oil reheat between batches. YUMMY!!!

Everything I ever hoped for, and more.

these were AMAZING. i didn't have any cilantro so i used a few random herbs/spices, can't remember which... and i accidentally burned a few of them, but they were still great. yay for vegan falafel...

Awesome! These are as flavorful as falafel in Israel. I made these for the second time tonight for dinner. Last time I had a problem with my chickpeas not mashing well enough (I couldn't get the chunks to go away no matter how long I kept mashing). This time, I started out using my Pampered Chef Food Chopper to get them finely diced. Then I mashed them. Much better consistency this time. I tried baking them, as someone else suggested. Definitely helped with the fat content and hardly affected the taste! Thanks for sharing your recipe.

First time I ever tried making falafel, and it turned out so well! I followed the recipe to the letter except I baked them instead of frying. This one's a keeper for sure.

OMG!! This was fantastic! I made this for the first time for a vegetarian friend and she just raved about it (the meatatarians loved it too)(: I added a little too much water, fortunately I had some dry mix to bring it back to the right consistency. I made the mixture the night before and cooked it the next day. I did not need any egg, shaped into patties and cooked it in my deep fryer. Reheated in the oven the next day, still tasted great. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.

The core recipe is great- just need to adjust to increase moistness... the texture was a little dry.

I have made this recipe three times now, and every time all my friends love it!!!! The third time I put also lime zest of one lime and some juice, because of the juice i was going to be a little bit watery I add a tablespoon of flour. The juice definitely brings the flavor of the cilantro and it gives a fresh taste.

These were delectable. The only adjustment I made was to add an egg to hold it together, which was definitely necessary since I used beans I cooked from dry rather than canned. My only complaint is that the recipe doesn't make more!

I had never made falafel. they were delicious. I baked them at 350. this is a keeper

this recipe tasted good, but they were not as firm and compacted as I am used to- I may have messed them up by using panko bread crumbs. I also added fresh parsley instead of dry and a pinch of cayenne- the flavor tasted pretty strong before I pan-fried them, but didn't taste as strong after they were cooked so if you want a spicy falafel add more seasoning- Overall this is a good base recipe to spice up if you like.

This is delicous. The only thing I added was a lot of water, and an egg or two help keep it all together in the pan. I make this often, and love it!