Easy Chickpea Falafel – Healthy, Flavorful and Fabulous

Bonjour and happy Autumn! To celebrate the 1st day of October I have fun, fall recipe for you, Easy Chickpea Falafel – healthy, flavorful and fabulous! I love falafel, so much so that I created my own special recipe, à la Charlotte. It includes some of my favorite flavors: pistachios, cardamom, cumin and carrots. I think fresh, homemade falafel taste the best and because these are baked, not fried, they are also très healthy. In addition to baking the falafel, using canned chickpeas makes this recipe easy to make, any night of the week. These fabulous falafel are so flavorful, fragrant and elegant, simple and nutritious too. I’m in love with these Easy Chickpea Falafel and I know you will be too.

fabulous falafel

Chickpeas are a perfect addition to any healthy meal plan. They contain lots of vitamins and minerals. High in protein and fiber, they are a natural appetite suppressant. Soluble fiber is good for digestion too, great for a detox! Don’t forget the antioxidant filled herbs and spices like cumin and cardamom. These Easy Chickpea Falafel are not just healthy, they are a fun, plant based addition to your week. Perfect for your meal prep day, they can be made ahead and baked later in the week, or frozen for future use.

How to serve these fabulous falafel? Place on a big bowl of greens with a delicious tahini sauce or a zesty yogurt sauce. Add to a whole wheat pita with lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled onions and tzatziki sauce. Or make it a falafel party, fun and festive! Assemble a platter or spread and along with the falafel, serve cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, feta, Greek olives, pita chips or fresh pita triangles. Add even more October seasonal veggies like cauliflower, radishes or grapes. I’m loving these Baba’s Pita Puffs. Don’t forget tzatziki sauce and hummus for dipping.

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5 from 3 votes

Easy Chickpea Falafel

These Easy Chickpea Falafel are my new obsession. I canned chickpeas for simplicity and bake them in the oven instead of frying. These are Charlotte style, with beautiful pistachios, aromatic cardamom and sunny carrots for glow. They're not only super healthy, they are fragrant, flavorful and absolutely fabulous.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: chickpea, fragrant, healthy

Servings: 4

Calories: 240kcal

Ingredients

• ¼ cup pistachios
• 2 tbsp shallot chopped
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 15 oz can chickpeas drained and dried *see note below
• 1 carrot finely shredded
• 1 tsp cumin freshly ground if possible
• ¼ tsp cardamom seeds or ground cardamom
• ⅓ cup fresh parsley leaves torn
• ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves torn
• 5 mint leaves
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp oat bran
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• olive oil or coconut oil to grease the pan

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios a few times until ground. Add the shallot and garlic pulse until all are ground together. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until combined, stopping a few times to scrape sides of bowl with spatula. Mixture should be a paste like consistency, like cookie dough.
• Form 12-15 walnut sized balls and place on the oiled baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the falafels halfway through. Enjoy fresh from the oven with tahini sauce and/or yogurt.

Notes

*After draining the chickpeas I heat them in a skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes, shaking the pan to make sure they don’t stick.  This gets rid of extra moisture that might make them crumble when you form them (or eat them). This step isn’t necessary, just an extra precaution. I also like to get rid of excess skins that fall off in the pan. 

Calories: 240  Protein: 10 g  Fat:  10 g  Carbs:  21 g  Fiber:  9 g

Easy Chickpea Falafel – Healthy, Flavorful and Fabulous! Make them tonight, I’m ready. Stayed tuned for my October meal plan this Friday, which will of course include these fun falafel. Until then I hope you are enjoying a fabulous fall. 🍂 À bientôt!