Almond Free Vegan Falafel Bites
These crispy little bites are packed with fresh herbs, warm spices, and the kind of satisfying crunch that makes it hard to stop at just a few. Starting from dried chickpeas — never canned — gives the falafel a coarser, more textured interior that holds together beautifully in the pan without falling apart. The food processor does the heavy lifting, blending parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, and cayenne into a fragrant, herb-flecked mixture that smells incredible even before it hits the oil. A quick chill in the fridge firms everything up so each bite fries to a deep, even golden brown. The tahini dipping sauce — bright with lemon juice and a hint of raw garlic — comes together in minutes and is the perfect creamy counterpoint to all that crispiness. Every ingredient here is straightforward and naturally free from tree nuts, so there's no label-scanning or substitution stress involved. Whether you're serving these as an appetizer, stuffing them into pita, or just eating them straight off the rack, they deliver serious flavor with very little fuss.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the falafel
- 1 ½ cups dried chickpeas
- ½ medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, loosely packed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ cup neutral oil (such as canola or avocado oil), for frying
For the tahini sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 3–4 tbsp cold water
- ¼ tsp salt
For serving
- pinch of paprika (optional)
- lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with at least 3 inches of cold water. Soak at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight, until the chickpeas have roughly doubled in size and are tender enough to pierce with a fingernail but still raw at the center. Drain and pat dry.
- 2
Combine the drained chickpeas, onion, garlic (for the falafel), parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts, 15–20 pulses total, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture resembles coarse, slightly damp sand — no whole chickpeas remain, but the texture is not a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl.
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