Artificial Food Coloring Free Vegan Falafel Bites
These crispy little bites are built entirely from whole, real ingredients — dried chickpeas, fresh herbs, warm spices, and a silky tahini sauce made from scratch. That matters more than you might think, because packaged falafel mixes and restaurant versions often sneak in additives and dyes that have no business being in something this naturally vibrant. Here, the gorgeous golden color comes purely from a hot pan and good oil, and that deep green interior is nothing but parsley and cilantro doing their thing. Soaking dried chickpeas overnight instead of using canned is the move that gives these bites their signature texture — coarse, earthy, and satisfying rather than dense or pasty. The tahini sauce comes together with just lemon juice, garlic, and water, so there's no mystery about what's in the dip either. A dusting of paprika at the end adds a subtle warmth and a pop of rusty color without any artificial enhancement. Whether you're serving them as an appetizer or piling them into a wrap, these are the kind of snacks you can feel genuinely good about putting on the table.
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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 oil 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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