You probably won’t find many bean recipes on my site.
Truth is, I actually do love to eat them, but I tend to eat more poultry, meat, fish or seafood. In fact, my quinoa black bean burger is pretty damn tasty, so that might be a yummy vegan recipe for you to check out.
Oh! and my Vegan Tempeh Chilli. Ok… that one is delish!
You’ve probably heard me say the term Qualitarian before, and for me, that’s really the type of ‘diet’ I follow. Regardless if it’s paleo or vegan, for me, it’s all about quality food.
And if you’ve participated in any of my detox programs, I like to include a variety of vegan, vegetarian and paleo meals because that’s pretty much how I eat and so I share those recipes with you in my programs.
Some days I feel like eating more meat and other days I feel like keeping it plant based. I listen to what my body is craving and go for that.
Today, I was craving falafels! And unfortunately, most restaurant falafels or store bought brands tend to contain low-quality vegetable oils and are typically deep fried.
I baked my falafels and they still got a nice crispy coating. I’m sure if I kept them in the oven a little longer and broiled them on high, they would have gotten even more crispy (definitely something you can experiment with), but I was happy with the texture minus the broiling.
These hearty little gems made the perfect dinner! I served them in a lettuce leaf, with cucumbers and little hummus. Honestly, I kept it reeeal simple. It was one of those “I just want to sit on the couch and watch bad TV” kinda nights and spending a long time prepping food wasn’t really on my agenda.
Tahini or tzatziki would be a great addition to this dish. Even some guac and salsa. Honestly, it’s pretty endless what you can do with these falafels. With my leftovers I plan on making a massive salad tomorrow with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, crisp romaine lettuce and top it with my falafels and hummus.
Can you say yum?! Healthy and easy is how I like it over here!
Putting these falafels together is pretty easy. Your food processor does all the work!
Once you blend all the ingredients together, simply roll the batter into balls and place onto a baking sheet. (NOTE – I used a stone baking sheet which doesn’t require parchment paper. If you’re baking sheet is stainless steel, or if you find your food tends to stick to it, definitely use parchment paper).
Now you bake! Bake them at 375F for 40 minutes. If you want them a little crispier, you can experiment by broiling them for a few minutes. It’s important to flip them half way so they get crispy on both sides. I also slightly flattened them once I flipped them, which helped them cook a little better.
And now, they’re done! Time to eat and make your wraps. Get creative with this step and use your favourite toppings, use the falafels on top a salad or simple eat them as is!
Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas (rinsed & drained - I used Eden Organic Beans)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1⁄2 tsp chilli powder (less or more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (less or more to taste)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp brown rice flour
- 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Add all the Falafel ingredients into a food processor and blend until well combined and creamy.
- Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I got 10 balls out of this mixture. Depending on the size you want, you can make more or less.
- Bake for 40 minutes, making sure to flip half way through at the 20 minute mark. *When I flipped mine, I flattened them slightly.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve on lettuce wrap, in gluten free wrap, in a salad or eat as is!
