Seed Oil Free Baked Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Crispy on the outside, herby and tender within, these baked chickpea patties deliver everything you want from a classic street-food favorite — without a drop of industrial vegetable or seed oil in sight. Most restaurant falafel and even many store-bought versions are deep-fried in canola, soybean, or sunflower oil, so making them at home is really the only way to stay in full control of what goes into the pan. Here, extra virgin olive oil does all the heavy lifting, brushed onto the parchment and over the tops of the patties so they roast to a deep, satisfying golden brown in a hot oven. The food processor does the hard work of building flavor — fresh parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, and a warm trio of cumin, coriander, and turmeric all get pulsed together into a coarse, fragrant mixture that holds its shape beautifully after a quick chill in the fridge. The tahini sauce comes together in minutes with lemon juice, grated garlic, and a little cold water whisked in until it's silky and pourable — no emulsifiers, no mystery ingredients, just real food. Serve them straight from the oven with a generous drizzle of that sauce and a squeeze of lemon, and it's genuinely hard to believe these came out of your own kitchen.
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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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