As I’m eating less meat these days, I’m always on the look-out for recipes that use beans and legumes. They’re healthy, filling, and full of protein and fiber. But when I think falafel, I think fried and weekend project, too.
But Tasty Kitchen member janecooks offers a baked version of the fried favorite that’s weeknight-easy. And with two cans of chickpeas as the bulk of the meal, it’s easy on the wallet, too. These Baked Falafel Pitas are colorful, flavorful, and oh-so delicious. They received rave reviews in my house and I’m sure they will in yours.
Bright, colorful, flavorful ingredients. That’s always a good start.
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
Drain the chickpeas and pour them into your food processor.
Add the flour, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper.
Blitz the ingredients until it looks like this. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a fork or a potato masher instead.
Form chickpea patties about 1 ½ inches wide by 2 inches thick. Place formed patties on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
While the chickpea patties are baking, make this tahini-lemon sauce. We added a little water to make it more … saucy.
Assemble by spreading a portion of the tahini-lemon sauce inside of each pita. Then add a couple of chickpea patties and a generous amount of lettuce, tomato, and crumbled feta. Enjoy!
Thanks to Jane for sharing these Baked Falafel Pitas, I’m definitely adding these to my weeknight repertoire!
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Description
These healthy chickpea cakes have zesty Middle Eastern flavor and are a great, quick dinner-time treat when tucked into a pita! My meat-loving fiance doesn’t even miss the meat in this flavorful, filling meal!
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 Oz. Size) Chickpeas
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
- 3 Tablespoons Parsley (optional)
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- 1 dash Black Pepper
- 4 Tablespoons Tahini
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 3 whole Tomatoes, Diced
- 1 block (8 Oz. Size) Feta Cheese, Crumbled
- 1 head Lettuce
- 12 whole Small Pitas
Preparation Instructions
Throw the chickpeas, flour, parsley, and spices into a food processor and pulse until well blended—or mash up chickpeas with a fork or potato masher and mix in spices. Then form small patties out of the chickpea mixture, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and place chickpea patties on a lightly greased pan and pop into the oven for 15–20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the tahini and lemon juice and set aside with your other toppings (tomatoes, feta, and lettuce). When the patties are done, put them in a pita with plenty of toppings, and enjoy!
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Three Many Cooks is the always-entertaining food blog of Pam Anderson and her two daughters, Maggy and Sharon. Pam is a well-known and much-respected food writer and author, Maggy is a “hippy adventurer meets 1950s housewife,” and Sharon refers to herself as a recovering food snob learning to survive on a graduate student’s budget. Theirs is a strong relationship both inside and outside the kitchen, and it shows in the food they create and the stories they tell.
27 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Jenna Hopkins on 9.25.2012
The recipe is awesome. I made it and it tasted amazing. Can you provide the recipe for the Hummus with this article to make it a complete falafel sandwich experience.
farah saleem azeez on 9.13.2012
hi….just tried out these baked falafels….tasted sooo good! glad to have come across ur blog
please check out my page and see how my falafels have turned out. thanks!
http://amumsjournal.blogspot.in/2012/09/baked-falafels.html
Viswa on 8.3.2012
Absolutely love this baked recipe.. looks so simple without eggs or bread.. thank you
Alexandra on 6.27.2012
I never had Tahimi and since im currently living in Japan i do not have the slightest idea where to get it. Is there aything that is similar in taste that i can substitue the Tahimi with?
Andrea on 6.25.2012
Well I’m sorry to say that I actually made them last weekend and was definitely NOT thrilled with the result. I ended up baking them like 3 times longer than the recipe stated but still they didn’t really form that great, they sort of fell apart when you picked them up. They looked like cookies on the outside, but were still too mushy inside. I didn’t make them too large or anything, in fact I made them pretty flat so that they would for sure cook through easily.
Texture aside, the flavor was nothing to write home about. My husband and I both weren’t big fans of this one. Sorry:(
Bottom line…sometimes there’s a reason we fry stuff instead of baking it.
I Just Want To Eat! on 6.17.2012
They look great and the recipe seems straight forward. I will definitely try! Thanks!
Marie on 6.15.2012
Looks great! I don’t have a food processor though, can this mixed in the blender???
Spicy Richmond on 6.13.2012
I want these in my belly. Just bought some Tahini so I’m thinking I need to whip this up!
Lauren's Latest on 6.9.2012
These look fantastic! Trying them out this week!
Melissa O. on 6.8.2012
Made these last night and everyone loved them….even my 14 year old carniverous son! My hubby thought the tahini sauce was a bit overpowering compared to the rest of the flavors, but otherwise enjoyed them. I also made a tzatziki sauce which added another layer of yumminess.
I served this with a couscous salad and for dessert made Ree’s apple tart from her “10 favorite summer desserts” post. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Caroline on 6.7.2012
Made these lastnight and it was fantastic! Even my fiance, who previously hated falafels thought they were amazing.
Suzy-Q on 6.7.2012
I love falafel – I am going to give this version a try. Looks really yummy.
Nicole on 6.7.2012
I have never had a falafel before and it’s funny because all I hear about is people loving falafels. This looks really good, and it doesn’t look too difficult to make.
Katrina on 6.7.2012
This looks fabulous! Yum!
Paula Clark on 6.7.2012
My recipe is very similar to this but I fry mine. And add some diced onion. I just don’t find frying that messy and intimidating for just a weekend project and in my opinion they need that little bit of oil to get the proper flavor. My husband, who was a very picky eater, can’t get enough falafel. We add some ranch dressing to them because I NEVER think to have things on hand for tzatziki and he isn’t crazy about too much tahini. I do think they are better with home cooked beans. Hummus is definitely better using home cooked and slightly warm beans.
Marianne on 6.6.2012
I have to try those! The look and sound delicious! AND easy- what a great combo!
Lisa K on 6.6.2012
These sound great! Do they keep well? Wondering if I can make them ahead of time and reheat at meal time?
wifemothereventplanner on 6.6.2012
I LOVE the pictures – and I love falafel – so thank you!!
TiffH on 6.6.2012
If only I had bought pitas yesterday I could make this for dinner tonight. I will be picking some up next week so I can make these. Thanks for sharing!
Suzanne on 6.6.2012
Thank you for this! I’ve been making falafel for years, and I don’t know why my little brain has never thought to put it in the oven. I will definitely try this next time!
SteffiWeffi on 6.6.2012
My husband is from Iraq and it always cracks him up at how crazy Americans are over falafel and are willing to pay so much for them. In the Middle East falafel is consider “poor people’s food” because it is very very inexpensive because of it’s ingredients….funny….here we have 99 cent cheeseburgers and there they eat falafel….cheeseburgers there are too expensive and falafel here is too expensive!
Travis Cotton on 6.6.2012
I need to add more Mediterranean dishes to my repertoire and this looks like a good one.
Stephanie R on 6.6.2012
I had seen this recipe on a another site, literally made it just two days ago, and its AMAZING! Adding a bit more water to the sauce is a genius idea. The man of the house wasnt so crazy about them, but he’s not a big fan of a meal without meat. I simply loved how delicious and easy this recipe was
Heather (Heather's Dish) on 6.6.2012
i absolutely love falafel – and i love that these are baked!
Erica Lea | Cooking for Seven on 6.6.2012
Wow. That looks AWESOME. I’ve never tried my hand at falafel, but this looks incredibly easy!
SheilaKay on 6.6.2012
Wow what great timing. I just had falafel for the first time yesterday at work and was looking for a recipe. I can’t wait to try this.
Allyn on 6.6.2012
Oh yum! These would be an amazing addition to our lunch project: http://lollingabout.wordpress.com/category/foodie-friday/lunch/
They’d be even better with home cooked chickpeas I bet. Might have to bust out the crock pot this weekend and make a batch.