Classic Falafel Recipe (No Canned Beans)

Classic Falafel recipe made with dried chickpeas and tahini, this traditional falafel is exactly what you’d have at your favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. No canned chickpeas, so no mushy texture!

Falafel recipe with no canned beans served with hummus and salad

Easy Falafel Recipe

A classic Falafel recipe is not a quick recipe to make, but it couldn’t be much simpler. The length of time is 99% the soaking of the beans. Working with dried garbanzo beans is the magic ingredient to a great falafel recipe. It will make falafel that tastes like the ones from your favorite restaurant.

falafel ingredients

Falafel is made of chickpeas, tahini, parsley, onion, flour, and spices. Once formed into balls (I used a meatballer for volume of falafel balls in a hurry) they are fried until they are crisp on the outside while being fluffy on the inside.

Is Falafel vegan?

YES, we don’t have too many vegan recipes on the site, but this falafel recipe is naturally vegan. Some falafel recipes will include eggs, but this falafel recipe binds well together thanks in part to the resting period.

how to make falafel with no canned beans

Canned Beans and this Falafel Recipe

But then there’s the skipping the canned beans (this makes mushy falafel). Yes, I know what you are thinking, “I don’t have time for this!” but like my favorite Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies with the 36 hour resting period, you get what you put into these delicious Classic Falafel balls.

I’m going to be honest with you here, I make this recipe maybe 50% of the time I make falafel. I know, I know I just told you how amazing they are right? But sometimes I can’t help getting a craving for falafel for dinner…tonight. I’ve found the best quick falafel recipe to be from AllRecipes. I do make adjustments (I’ll post this version soon), but even as written it is still better than your local takeout spot.

How to make Falafel your way

There are also a number of variations you can make to your falafel recipe to have it more suited to your tastes:

  • Add extra parsley to the mix to give it a fresher, herbier taste (I use about one bunch of parsley total for the whole recipe to do this)
  • Add a mixture of peas or fava beans with the chickpeas. Whatever you add in of those beans, subtract from the recipe.
  • Make it say “HELLOOOOO GARLIC!!” and double the garlic in this falafel recipe – this one is a family favorite.

What to serve Falafel with

Don’t forget to serve this Classic Falafel recipe with Pickled Turnips and Classic Hummus for a perfect Falafel pita sandwich!

And if you want to make this Classic Falafel into the best sandwich or wrap…ever. And I do mean ever people…. make Zankou Chicken Garlic Paste recipe to go with it. It’s magical. And it pretty much has a cult following in Los Angeles.

Pickled Turnips to serve with falafel recipe


Classic Hummus goes perfectly with a classic falafel recipeZankou Chicken's Armenian Garlic Paste Copycat to serve with Falafel recipe

Serve Falafel with a Sauce

This Classic Falafel recipe is a great vegetarian option that meat eaters won’t balk at! Give it a try and make sure to make the additional sides for it, the falafel does need some moisture to be added to it in serving, that’s why you’ll frequently serve it with tahini, hummus or other sauces.

How to make falafel with a falafel recipe with no canned beans

Tools used in this Falafel recipe:
Meatballer: Yes, you can totally use your one tablespoon measure twice, but I love this scoop for so many things, including cookies! It just makes everything go so much faster.
Hamilton Beach Food Processor: I know they make a newer one, and there are many fancier ones, but this this workhorse has been going for almost 10 years!
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet: My favorite pan (even though I own almost 20 pieces from All-Clad that I love!) it has a permanent spot on my stovetop because I use it almost daily (and it is heavy!).

falafel ingredients make this falafel recipe vegan
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Classic Falafel (No Canned Beans)

Classic Falafel made with dried chickpeas and tahini, this traditional falafel is exactly what you'd have at your favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. Not a single canned chickpea in sight, so no mushy texture!

Course Main
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Keyword Classic Falafel Recipe (No Canned Beans)
Prep Time 12 hours
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 12 hours 15 minutes
Servings 20 falafel balls
Calories 35 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 3/4 cup yellow onion chopped (just under one onion)
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 tablespoons garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions

  1. Add the garbanzo beans into a large bowl and soak in water overnight (the water should be a couple inches higher than the beans, so the beans plump up).
  2. Rinse the beans and add them to a food processor with chopped onion, minced garlic, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.
  3. Process the ingredients together until it looks like a coarse paste, like a super chunky peanut butter.
  4. Be sparing with how long your process it, the chickpeas should still be visible in small chunks.
  5. Put the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

  6. Make the paste into small balls, rolling them in your hand.
  7. If your falafel batter is too loose to stay in a ball you can add a few more tablespoons of flour.
  8. Make the falafel balls with 2 tablespoons of the mixture.
  9. In a large cast iron (or other good frying skillet) add a couple of inches of oil.
  10. Heat the oil on medium heat and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

  11. Serve with pita, pickled turnips, hummus and tomatoes for a great falafel sandwich.

Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Tori Avey.

Nutrition Facts
Classic Falafel (No Canned Beans)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 35
% Daily Value*
Sodium 235mg10%
Potassium 69mg2%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 80IU2%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 15mg2%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Falafel
Chickpea Falafel

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I just fried my first batch of falafel! I did add a couple more tablespoons of flour. I shaped them more like patties so they would fit into pitas more easily. They are delicious! I will, absolutely, make these again!

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