Gluten free Falafel Balls with tahini sauce are a healthy, Middle Eastern specialty. Gluten free cooks want to know about and make all the naturally gluten free dishes from around the world. If you've got chickpea flour in your pantry this is another way to use it.
Chickpeas and chickpea flour are high in protein and fibre, two things you want more of when you're on a gluten free diet. Serve these as an appetizer or as part of a falafel bowl. They can also be squished into a wrap for a satisfying sandwich.
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Ingredients
Chickpeas, tahini and chickpea flour and three ingredients that might be new to you. They aren't hard to find and once you get them I've got more ways for you to use them all!
- Dried chickpeas - All you do is soak them and chop them in a food processor. There is no long boiling time so just buy them and make this recipe.
- Onion & garlic - Important for the savoury goodness of so many dishes!
- Parsley & cilantro - Fresh herbs are essential for this recipe.
- Lemon juice and maple syrup (for the sauce) - These balance out the flavours.
- Cumin, coriander & cayenne pepper - typical spices for Middle Eastern cooking
- Chickpea flour - Highly nutritious and once you're got it in your pantry I've got more ways for you to use it.
- Tahini - This single ingredient product is sesame seed paste. Sold in the deli section of grocery stores or a Middle Eastern shop, buy a brand that lists a single ingredient.
Exact amounts in recipe card.
Instructions: Making Falafel
This recipe needs a food processor. Chickpeas triple in size after soaking overnight. That means you'll have about 6 cups of chickpeas so it's a large amount. Using a food processor work in batches. Then mix the whole recipe together in a large bowl before measuring the falafels.
Instructions: Cooking
Deep-Fried: Falafel are traditionally deep-fried making crispy round balls that are moist inside. I know lots of you don't want to deep fry, or eat deep-fried foods or clean up the mess. Deep fry or air fry if you like.
Pan-Fried: It takes a bit of time to pan-fry these in small batches so work with two pans at a time. Balls are harder to pan fry so I measure the mixture with a scoop, round on top and flat on one side. Then I squish it into a patty with a small spatula making them easier to cook.
Oven-Baked: Baking falafel in the oven is easy but they are too crunchy for me and too dry inside. Although the taste is fine I prefer to pan-fry mine.
Substitutions
Canned chickpeas make soggy falafel balls so don't do it. I've done the research and Middle Eastern cooks say don't. You can find a few recipes using canned chickpeas but I took the advice of many cooks before me and bought the bag of dried chickpeas.
Chickpea flour has a distinct taste and the flavours marry well. I've never made falafel with another flour but if I was going to I'd try almond flour or quinoa flour.
Fresh cilantro and parsley are important elements in falafel so I don't recommend using dried. For the effort it takes you should use fresh and you'll get the taste you expect.
Tahini is made from sesame seeds which became the 9th top food allergen in recent years. If you must avoid sesame I suggest you try a no-nut butter for a similar taste. These can be made from sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, soy beans, peas and more alternative ingredients.
Get The Tools
To get this job done I used my food processor to coarsely grind the chickpea mixture. For the balls I used a small metal scoop with a thumb grip to make a consistent size. This gives a rounded top with a flat bottom so they can then be flattened into disks or rolled into round balls.
Storage
Falafel balls freeze well. Thaw them in the fridge or put them on top of a salad for your lunch bag. I include any of the ingredients from this falafel bowl recipe or what you'd put in a Greek salad. The falafel will have thawed and you'll have a high protein lunch.
Top Tip
Just make them! It's a big recipe and takes a lot of time so I remind myself that I'll end up with healthy, delicious falafel to make several snacks and lunches after I make an amazing falafel bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sadly, the answer is no. Canned chickpeas make soggy falafel balls. Fluffy falafel balls are best made with dried chickpeas that have been soaked overnight. Darn it, hey!
Tahini is a paste made from ground, roasted sesame seed. It is sold in jars or tubs in grocery stores and Middle Eastern specialty shops. All the brands I’ve seen list a single ingrediet, sesame seeds, making it naturally gluten free.
Gluten Free Falafel Balls with Tahini Sauce
Equipment
- metal portion scoops, 1¼ inch or 1¾ inch (get 3 sizes, you'll never be sorry!)
Ingredients
FALAFEL BALLS
- 1 lb dried chickpeas (454 g)
- 1 small onion , coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , chopped
- 1 cup parsley , roughly chopped
- ½ cup cilantro , roughly chopped
- 1½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon coriander
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoon tahini
TAHINI SAUCE
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- ¼ cup water
- oil for pan frying
Instructions
MAKE FALAFEL BALLS
- Place chickpeas in a large bowl and cover water. Soak overnight (12-24 hours). Choose a bowl large enough for them to triple in size and still be under water.
- Drain chickpeas and add to food processor bowl with onion and garlic.
- Process until roughly chopped (working in batches if needed).
- Add parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and cayenne. Process until well combined and green in colour.
- Add chickpea flour and tahini. Process until evenly mixed.
- Using a 1¼-inch portion scoop drop balls of dough onto a tray. Roll into balls with your hands or flatten slightly with a flipper to make small disks. Makes about 36 falafel balls.
- Pan-fry, deep-fry or oven bake. Serve with tahini sauce. They freeze well.
TAHINI SAUCE
- Combine tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup and garlic in blender cup. With motor running slowly add water and blend until smooth. Set aside.
PAN-FRY METHOD - my preferred method
- Using 2 frying pans, heat 1-2 tablespoon oil in each pan over medium heat. Without crowding, fry falafel balls 3-4 minutes per side until nicely browned. Serve warm or room temperature.
DEEP-FRY METHOD
- Heat oil to 350°F. Fry in batches until nicely browned, turning as needed, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
OVEN-BAKED METHOD
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Portion falafel balls directly onto a parchment lined baking tray. Bake 15 minutes, turn and bake another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown all over. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
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More Recipes Using Chickpeas and Tahini
I used dried chickpeas in this recipe, but canned chickpeas are nutritious and convenient so should also be in your pantry too. Since you've got tahini now you can make hummus. Here are some ways to use these ingredients.
- Chickpeas and tahini are the main ingredients in hummus. My two favourite recipes are this Lemony Hummus or a Roasted Carrot version I make when I get carrots from my garden.
- Make Roasted Chickpeas anytime you make a recipe that uses less than a whole can (like that carrot hummus). They're a nice snack or a crouton substitute.
- This Easy Bean Salad uses canned chickpeas plus a canned bean medley, for a quick lunch bag option, summer barbecue salad or even a healthy snack. It keeps in the fridge for a whole week.
- My Middle Eastern falafel bowls have two dressings made with pomegranate molasses and tahini.
Martha Davidson
Loved making this recipe. So easy. I did find it a bit dry when mixed together so I added 1/8 cup Olive Oil.
They are fantastic! Thanks again for sharing the recipe.
Cinde Little
That's great Martha, thanks for letting me know! I think falafel are dry so I prefer the pan-fried method.They seem more dry when oven baked. I've always just used lots of sauce since I love sauce, all of them! (I hope you'll try the pomegranate tahini sauce I just posted in the Falafel Bowl recipe.) I just looked at 10 different recipes and only 1 of them added water. I like your idea of adding olive oil so I'm going to try that next time. Thanks again. Happy cooking!