Chicken Free Vegan Falafel Bites
These crispy little bites are built entirely from pantry staples and fresh herbs, making them a naturally satisfying option for anyone steering clear of poultry. Dried chickpeas — soaked overnight and pulsed to a coarse, herb-flecked mixture — are the heart of the recipe, delivering a dense, savory interior with a deeply golden crust that shatters when you bite in. Fresh parsley and cilantro bring brightness, while cumin, coriander, and a hit of cayenne give each bite real warmth and depth. The key to getting that perfect texture is patience: chilling the mixture before shaping keeps the falafel from falling apart in the pan, and frying in batches ensures every side gets properly caramelized rather than steamed. The accompanying tahini sauce — just tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and cold water whisked to a silky ribbon — is the ideal cool, nutty counterpoint to all that heat. Serve them straight off the rack with a squeeze of lemon and a dusting of paprika, and 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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