Falafel may be king of Middle Eastern street food, but that doesn’t mean you have to travel to enjoy it at its best. Boasting a crisp, golden-brown exterior and a center that’s soft, tender, and packed with chickpeas and fresh herbs, our favorite homemade falafel recipe hits all those classic Middle Eastern flavors and familiar street food vibes. Never made it homemade before? Read on below for all of our top tips on making the perfect falafel at home:
What is falafel?
Falafel, at its essence, is a round, deep-fried fritter, typically made with ground chickpeas and seasoned with fresh herbs and spices. While many countries lay claim to it—including Egypt, Israel, and Palestine—most seem to agree that wherever you’re eating it, it should be accompanied by all the fixings, including fresh pita, salad, and tahini sauce.
How to make the best homemade falafel:
You can create excellent baked or pan-fried falafel using canned chickpeas, but if you want to make the universally loved deep-fried variety, you’ll need to use dried chickpeas, which you soak overnight in water before blitzing with the other ingredients. Dried chickpeas, even when partially hydrated through soaking, are drier and starchier than the canned variety, yielding a batter that will stick together and not disintegrate when deep-fried.
While it might seem strange to add baking powder to a savory chickpea fritter, the leavener helps create a lighter, more tender texture in the falafel, just as it would in a sweet fritter.
Frying at home might seem intimidating at first, but I promise it’s not difficult. Use a large heavy pot (I recommend a Dutch oven) and keep a candy thermometer clipped to the side so you can monitor your oil temperature at all times. You’ll need to keep adjusting the heat as you fry, since adding the falafel will cause the temperature of the oil to drop. I recommend using a heatproof slotted spoon to gently lower the falafel balls into the oil—the balls will be too delicate for tongs, and air-dropping or even trying to gently lower them by hand into a pot of hot oil is never a good idea.
Storage and freezing.
Falafel are best served fresh, but they will keep for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I enjoy eating any leftovers cold, but if you want to reheat them, I recommend warming them in the microwave. These balls are pretty small, so trying to “re-crisp” them via the oven or the air fryer will only dry them out.
Alternatively, you can freeze the uncooked balls separately on a parchment lined baking sheet, then transfer them to an airtight container once they’re frozen solid and store for up to 1 month. At that point, they can be fried straight from frozen.
Made this recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Falafel may be king of Middle Eastern street food, but that doesn’t mean you have to travel to enjoy it at its best. Boasting a crisp, golden-brown exterior and a center that’s soft, tender, and packed with chickpeas and fresh herbs, our favorite homemade falafel recipe hits all those classic Middle Eastern flavors and familiar street food vibes. Never made it homemade before? Read on below for all of our top tips on making the perfect falafel at home:
What is falafel?
Falafel, at its essence, is a round, deep-fried fritter, typically made with ground chickpeas and seasoned with fresh herbs and spices. While many countries lay claim to it—including Egypt, Israel, and Palestine—most seem to agree that wherever you’re eating it, it should be accompanied by all the fixings, including fresh pita, salad, and tahini sauce.
How to make the best homemade falafel:
You can create excellent baked or pan-fried falafel using canned chickpeas, but if you want to make the universally loved deep-fried variety, you’ll need to use dried chickpeas, which you soak overnight in water before blitzing with the other ingredients. Dried chickpeas, even when partially hydrated through soaking, are drier and starchier than the canned variety, yielding a batter that will stick together and not disintegrate when deep-fried.
While it might seem strange to add baking powder to a savory chickpea fritter, the leavener helps create a lighter, more tender texture in the falafel, just as it would in a sweet fritter.
Frying at home might seem intimidating at first, but I promise it’s not difficult. Use a large heavy pot (I recommend a Dutch oven) and keep a candy thermometer clipped to the side so you can monitor your oil temperature at all times. You’ll need to keep adjusting the heat as you fry, since adding the falafel will cause the temperature of the oil to drop. I recommend using a heatproof slotted spoon to gently lower the falafel balls into the oil—the balls will be too delicate for tongs, and air-dropping or even trying to gently lower them by hand into a pot of hot oil is never a good idea.
Storage and freezing.
Falafel are best served fresh, but they will keep for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I enjoy eating any leftovers cold, but if you want to reheat them, I recommend warming them in the microwave. These balls are pretty small, so trying to “re-crisp” them via the oven or the air fryer will only dry them out.
Alternatively, you can freeze the uncooked balls separately on a parchment lined baking sheet, then transfer them to an airtight container once they’re frozen solid and store for up to 1 month. At that point, they can be fried straight from frozen.
Made this recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
- Yields:
-
20
- Prep Time:
-
10 mins
- Total Time:
- 8 hrs 30 mins
Directions
-
- Step 1
Pour chickpeas into a large bowl and add cold water to cover by at least 2″. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Step 2Drain chickpeas well, pat dry, and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until chickpeas are halfway broken down. Add onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, salt, baking powder, coriander, and cumin and continue to pulse until finely chopped but not pasty. Sprinkle flour over and pulse just until combined.
- Step 3Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop or 2 spoons, portion chickpea mixture into 1″ balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Using clean hands, roll each ball, tossing between both hands and lightly squeezing to compress, until smooth and compact (mixture will feel wet). Arrange balls on a clean plate or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Step 4Into a large heavy pot fitted with a deep-fry or candy thermometer, pour oil to a depth of 2″. Heat over high heat until thermometer registers 350°. Set a wire rack in a large baking sheet. Working 6 to 7 at a time, gently lower falafel into oil and fry, adjusting heat as needed, until deeply browned on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 5Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to prepared rack to cool. Serve warm with tahini sauce alongside.
- Step 1
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE
