I’m up and running with my Fall Bucket List!  I had a day of being incredibly productive in the kitchen, and made baked falafel.

Here’s the deal: baked falafel is not as good as fried falafel.  I mean, no one in their right mind will tell you that baked anything is better than its fried version (and if they do, de-friend them immediately).  I’m not here to tell you that baked falafel is amazing and will forever replace the crispy, fried goodness that is restaurant-quality fried falafel.  I mean, I would love to be that good at lying, but I’m just not.

What these falafel are though, is easy to make, considerably healthier than their fried friends, and will most likely satisfy whatever weird falafel craving you might be having on a random Wednesday.

A note before we get on with the recipe — you’ll probably want to use a food processor for this one, it will make your life 1000x easier (that’s an actual scientific measurement — I did the math.)  ← Nope.  Not true.

Baked Herb Falafel

• 1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small or 1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• generous handfuls of parsley, cilantro, mint (or other herbs of your choice), roughly chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander (optional)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• large pinch of salt
• black pepper
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1-2 tbsp. flour (use a gluten-free flour here to make these g-free)

1. Combine all ingredients and half the flour into a food processor.  Pulse until the texture is sandy.  Add in flour as needed until the mixture comes together (don’t worry if it looks wet, it just needs to be cohesive enough to be scooped and stay together.  It should set up more in the oven).
2. Using a cookie scoop, scoop mixture onto a baking sheet, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375º.
4. Bake falafel for 40 minutes, flipping patties halfway through (20 min per side).

*Note: These are best right out of the oven, but will save in an airtight container in the fridge, or can be freezed after baking.  For best results, reheat in the oven or in a toaster oven to get the crispy texture on the outside.

A baba ghanouj-style eggplant spread to go along with the falafel is up tomorrow!