Here’s my all time favorite gluten-free baked falafel! It’s amazing and I usually eat it with raw veggies and some vegan yogurt sauce on top, so delicious!
Cooking your our food is so rewarding, you can use the ingredients you like, for example, I make homemade yogurt sauce and I prefer to bake the falafel because I don’t feel well when I eat fried food. This recipe is also oil-free, yay! The yogurt sauce is made with extra virgin olive oil, but you can remove the oil or use another sauce.
Falafel is usually made with bread crumbs or flours that contain gluten, but I use oats instead. I also use leafy greens instead of the pita bread, romain and collard greens are my favorite ones, but feel free to use any greens you want.
Some people use canned chickpeas, but I prefer to use raw chickpeas and soak them overnight. The more natural is your food, the healthier it is and as you don’t need to pre-cook them, you don’t save time using canned chickpeas. Here in Spain canned food is full of sodium, preservatives and other additives, so I try to avoid this kind of food.
I just want to thank you all your love and support with our first eBook: simple vegan smoothies, 31 delicious and easy recipes for a healthier you, you’re the best readers in the whole world! ?
Tips:
- You can use any other fresh herb instead of the cilantro, I also love parsley, mint and basil.
- To make the oat flour you just need to blend rolled oats in a food processor or a grinder, it’s so easy and inexpensive.
PRODUCT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE (AFFILIATE LINK):
Gluten-Free Baked Falafel
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
I’m in love with this gluten-free baked falafel, it’s so delicious! I usually serve it with raw veggies and homemade vegan yogurt sauce.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup raw chickpeas, soaked overnight (120 g)
- 1 handful of cilantro
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 onion
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- Black pepper and salt to taste
- 8 tbsp oat flour
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in water overnight.
- Add chickpeas to a food processor or blender and blend for a few seconds.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except the oat flour) and mix to combine. Don’t overblend, you want a chunky texture.
- Add the oat flour and blend just until it’s mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
- Place the mixture in a bowl, cover and let stand in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven 390ºF or 200ºC.
- Make about 20 small discs, place them onto a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake them for 30-40 minutes or until they’re golden brown, flipping once at the halfway point for even cooking (the time may vary depending of the oven you’re using).
- Serve with vegan yogurt sauce and your favorite raw veggies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/20 of the recipe (1 falafel)
- Calories: 38
- Sugar: 1.1g
- Sodium: 3mg
- Fat: 0.6g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 6.6g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 1.8g
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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HI I am thinking of making these as a finger food for my baby. Can they be frozen? if so is it best to do it before or after they have been baked?
Hi Kate! Yes, you can freeze them 🙂 I prefer to freeze them after they have been baked, but it’s up to you. Have a nice day!
I have to tell you how much I looked forward to making this recipe in anticipation it tasting authentic. Especially since it was baked vs fried. To my surprise and delight, it was great without having to tweak the recipe. That doesn’t happen often. It had great texture and great taste. I purchased some hummus, tahini and schug (middle eastern hot sauce) from the local pita grill, garnished with some diced cucumber and tomato and wrapped it in lettuce instead of a pita and it was absolutely fantastic.
Thank you for a great recipe! I will be making this on a regularly!!!
★★★★★
Hi! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoyed our recipe!
Can you use a gluten free flour mix instead of oat flour? Is the oat flour used to add flavor or simple used for binding/browning?
Hi Deedee! I’ve never used a gf flour mix, but I think it should work. Chickpea flour works amazing as well. The oat flour is to thicken the falafel dough. Have a nice day!
Iosene, I love your blog and have made numerous dishes from it. All wonderful! That Roger guy was saying something obscene to you. Delete him.
Hi Mary! Thanks a lot 😀 Happy new year!!
Hello.
After soaking the chickpeas do you need to boil them also before you start to follow the recipe? Packets say they need to be boiled after soaking. The receipe sounds wonderful and chickpeas are soaking ready to try recipe out!
Thank you.
Hi Aerona! No, you don’t. Just soak the chickpeas, blend them with the rest of the ingredients in your food processor and follow the recipe 🙂
Hi Roger! English is not my first language, so I don’t understand what you want to say with “bang me”, sorry!
Just found your blog and I am thrilled to try all of them! The recipes are so simple and sound delicious 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Ruby! Thanks a lot for your kind words 😀 I’m so glad you like our blog. Have a beautiful day!
Hi Shay! I’ve never made falafel using black-eyed peas, but you could try… Have a nice day!
Could I sub black-eyed peas for the chick peas?
My coworker & i both made the falafel & were quite pleased with the results. my friend followed the instructions exactly where as i baked half & lightly fried half. Over all they were quick & very good.
★★★★
Hi Marisa! I’m glad you liked it 😀 Have a nice day!!!
These look amazing, pinning right now!
Thanks a lot Barb!!!! Have a nice day 😉
The 2/3 cup of raw chickpeas that is called for, how much does it come to if using canned? I would like to make these today instead of taking the time to soak the raw chickpeas. In the future, I’d definitely soak, but for now, what is the quantity after soaking?
Hi Donna! I’d use 1-15 ounce can (400g) 🙂