Black Pepper Free Vegan Falafel Bites
These crispy little chickpea bites are everything you want in a falafel — golden and crunchy on the outside, herby and tender within, with a creamy tahini sauce that ties it all together. The seasoning here leans on cumin, coriander, and cayenne for warmth and depth, so there's absolutely no need for black pepper to carry the flavor. Fresh parsley and cilantro do a lot of heavy lifting too, giving each bite a bright, garden-fresh quality that dried spices alone just can't replicate. The technique matters as much as the ingredients: starting with dried chickpeas (never canned) and pulsing them to a coarse, sandy texture is what gives these bites their signature crisp exterior without falling apart in the pan. A quick chill before frying firms everything up so you get that satisfying crunch right from the first batch. The tahini sauce — just tahini, lemon, garlic, and a little water — comes together in minutes and is honestly good enough to eat with a spoon. Whether you're serving these as an appetizer, stuffing them into pita, or just snacking straight off the rack, they disappear fast.
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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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