Easy Baked Falafel Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why can't you use canned chickpeas for falafel? ›

Canned chickpeas do not work for falafel. They're far too wet. If you try to use canned chickpeas instead of dried and soaked chickpeas, you'll end up with sad falafel pancakes. Some recipes try to counteract the wetness by adding flour, which significantly dulls the flavor and makes the texture more doughy.

Is baked falafel healthy? Yes! Baking instead of frying reduces the amount of fat and calories in this healthy falafel recipe! With protein and fiber rich chickpeas and loads of fresh herbs, these baked falafels are a great healthy meal!

A binding ingredient can help keep it together, especially if you are using canned beans instead of dried. And the perfect binding ingredient for falafel is flour. Nothing fancy, just plain all-purpose flour. Add a few tablespoons at a time to your mixture, until you can press it easily into balls or patties.

Falafel are flavorful balls of ground chickpeas, herbs, and spices. In Middle Eastern cooking, they're typically fried, but here, I bake them for an easy homemade twist.

The only difference is that canned chickpeas tend to be moist and hold extra liquid. This can make your hummus runnier than if you used dried chickpeas soaked overnight. Go ahead and try making hummus with canned chickpeas - it should still be delicious!

Unless the recipe tells you to keep the canned beans in their liquid, you should drain your can and give the beans a good rinse before using. This will improve the flavor and texture of your finished dish. Open your cans of beans using a can opener.

High-carb foods, such as pizza and chips, raise blood sugar levels quickly, leading to energy slumps. Whereas falafel is a complex carbohydrate, which contains fibre, vitamins and minerals that take longer to digest. Fibre slows down sugar absorption, which helps to control blood sugar levels.

It's a good source of fiber, an amazing source of proteins, and chickpea fiber; it helps manage blood sugar levels by slowing down carbohydrate absorption. Too much falafel can never be bad for your health, conditional to the fact that you're not deep-frying it every time.

Go with the falafel. The gyro has more saturated fat, more calories, and (usually) more sodium than the falafel—or chicken or vegetable sandwich fillings—on most menus. Take Daphne's, a "California-fresh" West Coast chain with 56 restaurants that lists calories on its menus and Nutrition Facts on its Web site.

Baking soda and powder: Baking soda breaks down and softens the chickpeas as they soak. Baking powder, mixed in just before baking, makes the falafel light and airy. Fresh herbs: The tender leaves of parsley, dill, and cilantro bring fresh, herbal flavor and color.

What are the 2 types of falafel? ›

There are three types of falafel--Traditional falafel, baked falafel and lemon falafel. “Where the traditional falafel is the basic fried falafel comprising a mix of chickpeas, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, baked falafels are made using fresh herbs in the chickpea mixture,” says Chef Sati from Ophelia.

If the mixture is too wet, the falafel has a tendency to fall apart when being fried so please pat dry the ingredients before using them.

Is Falafel Vegan? Since falafel is prepared with chickpeas, herbs, spices and alliums, it is vegan. However, falafel is sometimes served in wraps which may not be vegan, or with yogurt- or dairy-based sauces, so be sure to seek out vegan-friendly accompaniments.

Provides essential nutrients such as protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Health benefits may include weight management, heart health support, and management of anemia. Baking falafel instead of frying can reduce fat content and make it healthier.

Falafel features prominently in Israeli cuisine and has been called a national dish. Some Palestinians and other Arabs have objected to current identification of falafel with Israeli cuisine as cultural appropriation.

Interference with medications. Canned chickpeas contain high amounts of potassium. Since people who are on certain medications, such as beta-blockers for heart disease, have increased levels of potassium in the blood, they should be careful about their potassium intake.

Canned chickpeas are pre-cooked chickpeas. You can eat canned chickpeas straight out of the can! (Just be sure to rinse them off before chowing down to wash out excess sodium) Otherwise, you can roast them or turn them into any number of delicious dishes, like these here.

Canned chickpeas are cooked and seasoned with salt prior to canning. Dried chickpeas are sold in a raw, dehydrated form. Before serving at home, they'll need to be both rehydrated and cooked.

Phytic acid content (mg/g) was the highest in soybean (36.4) followed by urd bean (13.7), pigeonpea (12.7), mung bean (12.0) and chickpea (9.6).