Eggless Vegan Falafel Bites
Few things hit quite like a batch of freshly fried falafel — crispy and deeply golden on the outside, herbaceous and tender within. The secret here is starting with dried chickpeas soaked overnight rather than canned, which gives the bites that signature coarse, almost nutty texture that holds together beautifully in the pan. A generous handful of fresh parsley and cilantro, plus cumin, coriander, and a kick of cayenne, means every single bite is packed with bright, bold flavor. Since the whole mixture is built from plant-based pantry staples, there's no need to reach for eggs as a binder — the chickpeas, flour, and baking powder do all the work on their own. The accompanying tahini sauce comes together in minutes with lemon juice, grated garlic, and cold water whisked to a silky, pourable consistency that's genuinely hard to stop drizzling. Serve these on a platter with lemon wedges and a dusting of paprika and they look as impressive as anything you'd order at a restaurant — without any of the guesswork about what went into them.
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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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