Soy Free Vegan Falafel Bites
These crispy little bites are everything you want from street-style falafel — deeply golden on the outside, herbaceous and tender within, with that irresistible crunch that comes from pan-frying in a hot skillet. The base is built entirely from dried chickpeas, fresh parsley, cilantro, and warm spices like cumin, coriander, and cayenne, so every ingredient is straightforward and plant-based without any hidden additives to worry about. Soy has a way of sneaking into packaged convenience foods, but this recipe is made entirely from scratch, meaning you control exactly what goes in. The overnight soak and a quick chill in the fridge are the two small steps that make the texture genuinely great — no mushy centers, no falling apart in the pan. A silky tahini sauce made with fresh lemon juice and grated garlic ties everything together and doubles as a dip or a drizzle. Serve them on a platter with lemon wedges 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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