Whether you steam or fry them, these falafel are a cinch to make and pack up for your next picnic!

Fried falafel are hands-down delicious. They are crispy and firm on the outside and spongy soft on the inside. But…they’re fried. Steaming maximizes the nutritional profile and results in a falafel that is made in 20 minutes and maintains a firm texture, inside and out. So feel free to toss these into your salad, roll them up in a quinoa wrapper (as shown) or pop them into your mouth as you’re lounging on the picnic blanket. Which way will you enjoy falafel next?

This recipe was inspired by the Smitten Kitchen and modified to make this gluten free, plant based and vegan, allium free (no onions, no garlic), nightshade free, corn free, soy free and oil-free (steamed) recipe. We love it with the oil-free cauliflower tahini sauce. 🙂

In our home, we fry these for company, but eat them steamed (sometimes pan-cooked) when it’s just us. We love them stuffed inside a quinoa-based wrapper made using the Grain Free Crepes recipe (without the oil) and poured into smaller, thicker rounds. With that…

…let’s begin! Jump to Recipe

Process the Falafel Mix

Add the rinsed, soaked chickpeas (black or white) to your food processor with all of the other ingredients. Process until you have a fine, grainy mixture with pieces the size of couscous or quinoa kernels.

Note: I used soaked, black chickpeas here. Feel free to use white chickpeas, or substitute another bean altogether in this recipe.

Steam the Falafel (Option 1)

Transfer to a bowl and shape into about 14 ping-pong-sized balls (or larger patties), and steam for 12 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes and serve!

Pan-Cook the Falafel (Option 2)

Preheat a skillet at medium-high temperature. Add the room temperature, steamed falafel to the preheated pan in the desired amount of oil and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Serve!

Print Recipe

Falafel with Cauliflower Tahini Sauce

Whether you steam or fry them, these falafel are a cinch to make and pack up for your next picnic!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: allium free (no onions, no garlic), nightshade free, oil free, Plant-based and vegan

Servings: 4

Calories: 165kcal

Ingredients

Falafel

• 1.5 cups soaked or sprouted chickpeas
• 0.5 cups flatleaf parsley
• 0.75 cups chopped cabbage substitute fennel bulb or carrots for low FODMAP
• 2 tbsp oats Ground through food processor or blender, substitute oat flour or GF Flour of choice
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger up to 2 tbsp, to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice to taste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp 7-spice blend
• 1 tsp salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Cauliflower Tahini Sauce

• 3 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp lemon juice to taste
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp herbs (flatleaf parsley, dill, etc.) to taste, not shown here

Instructions

Steamed Falafel

• Preheat water for steamer
• Add all ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until fully mixed and chickpeas are the consistency of couscous. Transfer to a bowl
• Shape into balls or patties.
• Carefully place in steamer. Cook for 12 minutes. Let rest with cover closed for ~3 minutes more. Remove and serve!

Cauliflower Tahini Sauce

• Steam the cauliflower for 10 minutes. This step can be done alongside the falafel.
• Add the steamed cauliflower with tahini, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and any herbs in a high speed blender. Puree into a creamy sauce that has the texture of yogurt adding water as needed to get the desired consistency. Alternately, run the ingredients through a food processor and then a standard blender to achieve a similar consistency.

Notes

This recipe can be used to make fried or steamed falafel. The fried falafel are crispy and firm on the outside and spongy soft on the inside. To fry, preheat oil in the fryer at medium heat. Add a few falafel at a time to the preheated oil and fry in batches until golden brown. Repeat for remaining falafel. Serve.  

The steamed falafel (as shown in the featured image above) are cooked at a lower temperature than frying and baking. This maximizes the nutritional profile and results in falafel that are moist and firm, inside and out, and easy to eat in a salad, wrap or by hand! We love them stuffed inside a quinoa-based wrapper made using the Grain Free Crepes recipe (without the oil) and poured into smaller, thicker rounds.

Pan-cooked Falafel: Once cooled to room temperature, about 25 minutes, steamed falafel can be pan-cooked in a skillet at medium-high heat with or without a few tablespoons of oil until golden brown. 

Storage: Package room temperature steamed falafel in a sealed container and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a steamer or pan-cook to serve.   

Tried this recipe or just have something fun to share? I’d love to hear about it. 🙂