Almond Free Baked Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Crispy on the outside, tender and herb-packed on the inside, these baked patties deliver everything you want from a great falafel without a drop of oil in a deep fryer. Fresh parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, and turmeric do serious flavor work here, turning humble chickpeas into something genuinely craveable. The key move is patting the chickpeas completely dry before processing — it's the difference between a patty that crisps up beautifully in the oven and one that steams into mush. A short chill in the fridge firms the mixture just enough to shape cleanly, so the whole process is more forgiving than it looks. Every single ingredient in this recipe — from the chickpea flour binder to the silky tahini sauce — is naturally free of tree nuts, so there's no label-scanning or substitution stress involved. That tahini drizzle, loosened with lemon juice and a little cold water, is bright and nutty in the best sesame-seed way, and it pulls the whole plate together. Serve these straight from the oven with lemon wedges and you've got a dish that feels like it came from a really good restaurant.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the falafel
- 2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, loosely packed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 3 tbsp chickpea flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
For the tahini sauce
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 3–4 tbsp cold water, as needed
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
- lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Spread the drained chickpeas on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and pat thoroughly dry — excess moisture is the main reason falafel falls apart or steams instead of crisping. Let them air-dry for 10 minutes.
- 2
Combine the dried chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, and cayenne (if using) in a food processor. Pulse 15–20 times, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture is finely chopped and holds together when pressed — it should look like coarse, slightly damp crumbs, not a smooth paste.
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