Better than fried! Homemade oven baked falafel is so simple, nice and crispy but without the grease and hassle of deep frying. It's hard not to eat the whole pan in one sitting!
Prepare the mix. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In the food processor, pulse the parsley and cilantro 4 to 5 times to give a rough chop. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until combined and mostly smooth, some roughly chopped pieces are fine.
Sit. Let the falafel mixture sit for 1 hour to thicken.
Preheat. Heat the oven to 400°F. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside. While the oven preheats, form the falafel patties.
Roll 2 tablespoons of falafel mix into a ball then lightly press into a disk about ½ inch thick. Place on the oiled sheet tray and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully flipping half way through. Season with a sprinkle of salt immediately after baking.
Notes
Having a few coarse pieces in the mixture is 100% completely fine. If you have a little trouble with the ingredients blending together, add 1 to 3 teaspoons of water (1 at a time.)
Let the chickpea mixture sit for at least 1 hour. This allows the flour to bind with the wet ingredients.
A medium cookie scoop works grate for scooping balls of falafel mixture.
Make sure the oven is preheated.
Use a piece of parchment paper when making the falafel patties to easily transfer them to the pan.
Flip the falafel halfway through baking so both sides end up crispy.
Falafel mix can be made up to 24 hours in advance, keep in an refrigerated airtight container.
To 'lighten up' the recipe further, these can be made with just a ¼ cup flour and baked on just parchment instead of oil. The falafel will be a little 'wetter' and less crispy but still delicious!