Almond Free Falafel Bites with Tahini Sauce

Total time1 hr 15 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time25 min

4.8

(7)

Almond Free Falafel Bites with Tahini Sauce

Crispy on the outside, tender and herb-packed on the inside, these baked bites deliver everything you want from classic street-food falafel without a drop of oil for deep-frying. Fresh parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, and turmeric do serious flavor work here, giving each little disk a fragrant, golden crust that holds up beautifully on a platter. The tahini sauce — just sesame paste, lemon juice, garlic, and a splash of water — comes together in minutes and is completely tree-nut-free by nature, so there's no label-scanning required. Oat flour acts as the binder instead of any nut-based flour, keeping the ingredient list simple and the texture just right. A quick chill in the fridge before baking is the small but important step that keeps the falafel from falling apart, and the two-stage oven method locks in that satisfying crunch on both sides. Serve them straight from the sheet pan with lemon wedges and a drizzle of that silky sauce, and they'll disappear fast.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the falafel

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, loosely packed
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ small yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp oat flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

For the tahini sauce

⅓ cup tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 small clove garlic, finely grated
3–4 tbsp water
¼ tsp 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 them as dry as possible. Let them air-dry for 10 minutes — excess moisture will make the falafel mixture too wet to hold its shape.
2
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush or drizzle 1 tbsp of the olive oil evenly over the surface.

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