Baked Falafel That’s Crisp Outside and Fluffy Inside

Yes, you can make crisp, deeply browned falafel in the oven. The trick behind good baked falafel is using soaked dried chickpeas (never canned), pressing the mix into small patties instead of balls, and baking them on a hot, oiled sheet pan at 425°F (220°C) so the bottoms fry in a thin film of oil. This batch makes 20 pieces with just 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and each piece comes in at about 55 calories.

Below you’ll find the full recipe with US and metric amounts, a quick tahini sauce, a baked vs fried calorie comparison built from USDA data, and fixes for the two things that go wrong most often: falafel that crumbles and falafel that turns out dry.

Why this baked falafel works

Falafel is street food across the Middle East. In Lebanon and much of the Levant it’s made with chickpeas, while in Egypt the version called ta’ameya uses dried fava beans. Either way, the beans go into the mix soaked but uncooked. That raw starch is what binds the patties as they cook, so this recipe sticks to that method.

• Dried, soaked chickpeas. Canned chickpeas are cooked and wet, so they turn into mush and need lots of flour to hold together. Soaked dried ones grind into a coarse, slightly damp crumb that bakes up light inside.
• Patties, not balls. A flattened shape means more surface touching the hot pan, which is where the crust comes from.
• Oil on the pan, not in a pot. One tablespoon goes into the mix and one coats the pan. Turning each patty in that oil before baking gives both sides a golden, crunchy finish.
• A short chill. Twenty minutes in the fridge firms the mix so the patties keep their shape.

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Baked falafel recipe

Makes: 20 pieces (4 servings of 5) · Prep: 25 minutes, plus an overnight soak · Chill: 20 minutes · Bake: 27 minutes · Total: 1 hour 12 minutes, plus soaking

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) dried chickpeas
• 1/2 medium yellow onion (55 g), roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves (12 g)
• 1 cup (60 g) packed chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup (15 g) fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp (12 g) chickpea flour
• 1 tbsp (15 g) lemon juice
• 2 tbsp (27 g) olive oil, divided

Quick tahini sauce

• 1/4 cup (60 g) tahini
• 2 tbsp (30 g) lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 3 to 5 tbsp cold water
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Soak the chickpeas: cover them with at least 3 inches (8 cm) of cold water and soak for 12 to 24 hours. They will roughly double in size. Drain well and pat dry with a towel.
2. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the lower third. Brush a rimmed sheet pan with 1 tbsp of the olive oil.
3. Pulse the onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro in a food processor until finely chopped.
4. Add the chickpeas, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt. Pulse, scraping down the sides, until the mix looks like coarse sand and holds together when you squeeze a little in your hand. Stop before it turns into a smooth paste.
5. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the baking powder, chickpea flour, lemon juice and the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
6. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of mix per piece, press into a firm ball, then flatten into a patty about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. You should get 20 patties.
7. Set the patties on the oiled pan, then flip each one so both sides are lightly coated.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, and bake 10 to 12 minutes more, until both sides are deep golden brown and crisp.
9. For the sauce, whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time until it’s smooth and pourable. Serve with the warm falafel.

Calories in falafel: baked vs fried

A piece of this baked falafel has about 55 calories and 2 g of fat. A home-prepared fried falafel patty about 2 1/4 inches across has about 57 calories and 3 g of fat, based on USDA’s entry for home-prepared falafel. The bigger difference shows up in where the calories come from: fat supplies about 48% of the calories in USDA’s fried falafel and about 33% in this baked version.

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Falafel	Calories	Protein	Fat	Calories from fat
Fried, home-prepared (USDA), per 100 g	333	13.3 g	17.8 g	about 48%
Fried, home-prepared (USDA), 1 patty about 2 1/4 in	57	2.3 g	3.0 g	about 48%
This baked falafel, 1 piece	55	2.4 g	2.0 g	about 33%
This baked falafel, 5 pieces	277	12 g	10 g	about 33%

Restaurant falafel varies a lot with size and how long it sits in the fryer, so treat the fried numbers as a home-cooked baseline rather than a match for any specific shop.

Nutrition per serving

One serving is 5 pieces: 277 calories, 12 g protein, 37 g carbs, 10 g fat and 7 g fiber. The quick tahini sauce adds about 89 calories, 2.5 g protein and 8 g fat per serving if you split the whole batch four ways. These numbers come from USDA FoodData Central per-100 g values for each ingredient. The spices and baking powder add very little and aren’t counted.

Most of that fiber comes from the chickpeas. If you’re looking for more meals built around beans and lentils, our high fiber meals and vegetarian protein sources guides are good next reads.

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Tips for crisp falafel that holds together

• If the patties crumble, the mix is too coarse or too dry. Pulse a few more times, or add another teaspoon of chickpea flour and a teaspoon of water.
• If the mix feels wet and sticky, the chickpeas weren’t dried well or the herbs were damp. Stir in another tablespoon of chickpea flour and chill 10 more minutes.
• If the centers come out dry, you probably ground the chickpeas too fine or baked thick balls. Keep the texture sandy and the patties about 1/2 inch thick.
• Use a dark or heavy pan if you have one. Thin, shiny pans brown more slowly.
• Don’t skip the flip. The first side gets the crust from the oiled pan; the second side needs its turn.

Ways to serve baked falafel

• Pita sandwich: warm pita, 3 or 4 falafel, chopped tomato and cucumber, pickled turnips or onions, and plenty of tahini sauce.
• Falafel bowl: cooked bulgur or rice, a big handful of greens, hummus, sliced cucumber and a spoonful of yogurt.
• Packed lunch: falafel with chopped salad and sauce on the side so nothing gets soggy. It fits right in with our 10-minute healthy lunches.
• Soup and falafel: a bowl of red lentil soup with a few falafel on the side makes a filling, budget-friendly dinner.
• Something sweet after: a couple of dates with coffee is a classic finish. Here’s what’s in them: are dates healthy?

Make ahead, storage and freezing

• Raw mix: keep it covered in the fridge and bake it the next day. Add the baking powder just before shaping for the lightest texture.
• Baked falafel: cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container. FoodSafety.gov’s cold storage chart lists 3 to 4 days in the fridge for cooked leftovers such as patties.
• Freezing: freeze baked patties on a tray, then move them to a freezer bag. The chart gives 1 to 3 months for cooked patties and notes that freezer times are about quality, not safety.
• Reheating: 8 to 10 minutes at 375°F (190°C) in the oven or air fryer brings back the crunch. The microwave makes them soft.

Baked falafel FAQ

Can I use canned chickpeas?

Not for this recipe. Canned chickpeas are already cooked, so they don’t bind the same way and the result is pasty. If canned is all you have, you’ll need to add a lot more flour, and the texture will be closer to a chickpea cake than falafel.

Can I make falafel in the air fryer?

Yes. Brush or spray the patties lightly with oil and air fry at 375°F (190°C) for about 12 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway. Work in a single layer so they crisp instead of steam. More ideas in our healthy air fryer recipes.

Is falafel gluten-free?

This recipe uses chickpea flour, not wheat flour, so the falafel itself contains no wheat. Check your baking powder and spices if you need to avoid gluten strictly, and remember that most pita is made with wheat.

How much protein is in falafel?

About 2.4 g per baked piece, or 12 g for a serving of 5. Add hummus, yogurt or the tahini sauce and the plate climbs higher.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central per-100 g values via getfoodfacts.com: Falafel, home-prepared (FDC 172455), Chickpeas, mature seeds, raw (FDC 173756), Chickpea flour (FDC 174288), Olive oil (FDC 171413), Tahini (FDC 170189), plus onion (FDC 170000), parsley (FDC 170416), cilantro (FDC 169997), garlic (FDC 169230) and lemon juice (FDC 167747).
• FoodSafety.gov: Cold Food Storage Chart