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Healthy Oven Baked Falafel

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Healthy Oven Baked Falafel

What is a  falafel? A traditional Middle Eastern food made up of Garbanozos (aka Chickpeas)+ Spices. Traditionally fried, but we’re lightening things up over here and making a baked version. Ready in about 20 min.  Perfect for tucking into pita bread and dressing up with some goodies like feta, cucumber, tomatoes and tahini. Make a few extras…they are also great served over a Greek salad, or straight up and dipped in Tzatziki, or even on a small roll topped with lettuce and tomatoes to make Falafel sliders. Easy, delicious, and healthy….how could you go wrong?

To keep things quick and easy I’m using canned garbanzo beans ( of course if you prefer you can absolutely soak dried beans ( 1 cup) overnight and cook to use in this recipe as well). Combine garbanzo’s with onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, pepper, lemon juice in a food processor or a blender with pulse feature. Pulse until everything is finely minced (but not pureed), scraping down the sides as necessary.

garbanzo mixture

Fold in chopped parsley.

garbanzo mixture with parsley

Form the mixture into 12 balls and place onto prepared cooking sheet. Flatten the balls into ½ inch thick patties. Brush the tops of the patties with olive oil. Bake 10-15 min on each side.

falafels

Stuff the pita with the falafel and all the goodies (tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, onions, tahini etc.) Enjoy!

Healthy Oven Baked Falafel 2

Healthy Oven Baked Falafel
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 cans garbanzo beans ( 16oz.cans)
  • 1 Tablespoons canola oil (more if necessary)*
  • Olive oil- for brushing tops of falafels
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 3-4 large pita pockets, cut in half.
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 1 tomato,sliced
  • 1 cup lettuce
  • feta cheese, crumbled for topping
  • Tahini, Tzatziki, Hummus, or Greek Yogurt for topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a baking sheet with 1 Tablespoon oil
  2. Drain and Rinse the garbanzos. Combine garbanzos, oil, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, pepper, lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely minced (but not pureed), scraping down the sides as necessary. Fold in chopped parsley.
  3. Form the mixture into 12 balls and place onto prepared cooking sheet. Flatten the balls into ½ inch thick patties. Brush the tops of the patties with olive oil. Bake 10-15 min on each side.
  4. Stuff each half of Pita pocket with 2 falafels, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. Top with some crumbled feta cheese and a dollop of Tahini, Tzatziki, Hummus, or Greek yogurt or any other topping of your choice.
* there seems to be a difference between various brands of canned chickpeas and moisture content of the chickpeas (which will effect how well they hold together after baking). You may need to adjust and add slightly more oil if your mixture feels dry.
    Nutrition Information
    Serving size: 206 g ( 3 patties) Calories: 338 Fat: 9.2 g Saturated fat: 1.0 Trans fat: 0.0 Carbohydrates: 52.0 Sodium: 217 mg Fiber: 12.4 g Protein: 15.0 g Cholesterol: 0.0

     

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    Comments

    1. Good recipe. I’d suggest, though, that to achieve crispier falafel, the oven temperature should be around 425 degrees. Just an observation, from my personal experience baking falafel for a long time. 🙂

      400 degrees results in modest browning. You really need to be around 425 degrees to get the kind of crispy tops and bottoms on the falafel patties that make the baking method a palatable alternative to deep-frying, in my opinion.

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