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Easy Vegan Falafel - Chickpea Falafels in soft pitta pockets with crisp salad leaves, juicy tomatoes and a tahini drizzle
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Easy Vegan Falafel

Chickpea Falafels, coated with breadcrumbs and fried - crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 20 Falafels
Author Chris Mosler @ thinlyspread

Ingredients

For the Falafels

  • 100 g/1 cup red onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 450 g/3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (you can just grab a handful of fresh parsley and bung it in to the food processor, I do!)
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, or to taste (I like a lot of garlic, I know some people don't)
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder to taste
  • salt and black pepper to taste

For the Coating

  • 3 tbsp gram flour
  • 3 tbsp plant milk of your choice
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

To Cook

  • Enough sunflower oil to come halfway up your falafels - I can't give a quantity because it will depend upon the size of your frying pan

To Serve

  • Sliced tomatoes
  • Fresh salad leaves
  • Pitta bread (check it's vegan)
  • tahini thinned with a little plant milk so it will drizzle nicely

Instructions

  • Add all the falafel ingredients to a food processor and mix until you have a soft dough.
  • Take walnut sized pieces of dough and roll into balls, squash slightly to make little patties (you don't have to do this, they are perfectly happy as little balls but I think they fit into their pitta beds better as patties!)
  • Put the gram flour, milk and breadcrumbs into three separate bowls. Heat the oil in a large non stick frying pan. You will know the oil is hot enough when a breadcrumb dropped into it starts to sizzle and brown. 
  • Roll each falafel in the flour, dip it into the milk and then coat it in breadcrumbs before popping it carefully into your pan and letting it sizzle away. Turn your falafels frequently until they are brown all over. Drain on a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. It is best to fry them in two or three batches to keep the oil nice and hot. 
  • Toast your pittas, open them up, stuff them with salad leaves, hot falafels and tomato slices, drizzle on a little tahini (or sauce of your choice - hot sauce is very good!) and dig in!