Homemade Baked Falafel without Chickpeas

My obsession with falafel started later than most. I was in my 20s’s and lived down the street to a falafel bar. You order a pita with falafel and hummus and then load up your pita with ALL TYPES of goodies from their bar.

And, the unspoken rule is after you eat all the stuff from the inside of the the pita, you go up again and restock your pita with more deliciousness. And the sauces! There were all types of sauces you could drizzle and dip. It was my first foray into the falafel world and I was hooked.

Then we went home and Jaryd began making his own falafel which I shared in this blog post. His is super moist and wet on the inside and super crispy and fried deliciousness on the outside. His ability to make delicious falafel made our falafel bar habit dwindle and our zeal for homemade falafel soar.

I began to experiment with homemade falafel and swapping out the ingredients to make fun combinations, like this baked beet falafel. Delicious. And this I put this sweet potato falafel onto of a fattoush-inspired salad. Delicious again.

But, I began to think of ways I could make more versions. Wait, after all of these endeavors into the falafel world it just occurred to me that I should google what exactly qualifies as falafel. if I take the chickpeas out, is it still falafel? brb….

Well ok, here’s where we’re at people. Technicccallllly falafels traditionally use chickpea or fava beans. But nowhere in my wiki reading did it say chickpeas HAD to have these beans and these beautiful balls act exactly like falafel balls. I’m wrapping them up in a pita-like situation. Smearing some hummus, some greens, some onion slices, and a drizzle of tahini sauce.

So what’s I’m trying to say if these are falafel. Don’t come at me trying to tell me they’re not. They are. I believe in them and once you taste them, you will too.

I ate one delicious wrap for dinner last night and absolutely was raving a seconds. My belly was full and so I couldn’t for the life of me eat a second but the want was there, you know?

Anywhoo, let’s make some Homemade Baked Falafel WITHOUT Chickpeas. First, place the almonds, hemp hearts, garlic, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and sea salt in your food processor. Process for 10 seconds until chopped up and mealy.

Add the egg, coconut oil, and parsley. Process for another 10 seconds until combined. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a small cookie scooper, or two tablespoons, to scoop 12 dollops onto the parchment paper. After all the falafel batter is used up, roll each ball in your hands to smooth it out and place it back on the parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the falafel are baking, make your lemon tahini dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, juice from 1 lemon, agave nectar, and avocado oil. Right before you drizzle or pour it on top of the falafel, whisk in 2 – 4 tablespoons of water to thin out the dressing.

When the falafel is done baking, spray each ball with avocado oil spray and broil for 1-2 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Spray is easiest but you can just brush each ball with avocado oil if that’s what you have on hand.

Prepare your wraps. Lay out 4 of your favorite wraps. I really like these low carb ones from Mission or these ones from Siete. The wraps I’m linking to from Siete are a sampler pack – their almond flour tortillas and cashew flour tortillas are my favorite.

Place 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, one by one place the wrap in the pan and toast/fry it for 3 minutes, flip and toast the other side for another 1 -2 minutes. Once the wraps are golden brown, plate them.

Place 1 tablespoon of hummus on the center of each wrap and spread it out. Add the arugula, sliced red onions, and 3-4 falafel on each wrap. Drizzle with the lemon tahini sauce.

Did you make this? Leave a review below and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Homemade Baked Falafel without Chickpeas

If you want to make falafel but don’t have chickpeas, you HAVE to make these Homemade Baked Falafel Balls! They’re nut based and made without chickpeas!

Recipe by:Lindsay Grimes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

Prep: 40 minCook: 22 minTotal: 1 hour 2 min

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Servings: 4 1x

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Ingredients

Falafel Wraps:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
• avocado oil spray for spraying the falafel (or can brush with non-spray avocado oil)
• 4 wraps (I like these Mission low carb wraps – also see note below!)
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil (for toasting the wraps stovetop)
• 1/3 cup hummus
• 1 cup arugula
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced, cut in half moons
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted stovetop over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently
• 4 tablespoons harissa

Lemon Tahini Dressing:

• 1/3 cup tahini
• juice 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 tablespoons avocado oil

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Instructions

1. Place the almonds, hemp hearts, garlic, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and sea salt in your food processor.
2. Process for 10 seconds until chopped up and mealy.
3. Add the egg, coconut oil, and parsley.
4. Process for another 10 seconds until combined.
5. Chill the falafel batter in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Use a small cookie scooper, or two tablespoons, to scoop 12 dollops of the falafel batter onto the parchment paper.
8. After all the falafel batter is used up, roll each ball in your hands to smooth it out and place it back on the parchment paper.
9. Bake for 20 minutes.
10. While the falafel are baking, make your lemon tahini dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, juice from 1 lemon, agave nectar, and avocado oil. This will be a thick dressing. Right before you drizzle or pour it on top of the falafel wrap, whisk in 2 – 4 tablespoons of water to thin out the dressing.
11. When the falafel is done baking, spray each ball with avocado oil spray and broil for 1-2 minutes until the tops are golden brown. If you don’t have avocado oil spray, you can just brush the tops of each ball with avocado oil.
12. Prepare your wraps. Place 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, one by one place a wrap in the pan and toast/fry it for 3 minutes, flip and toast the other side for another 1 -2 minutes.
13. Once the wraps are golden brown, toasted but not too crunchy, plate them.
14. Place 1 tablespoon of hummus on the center of each wrap and spread it out.
15. Add the arugula, sliced red onions, and 3-4 falafel on each wrap.
16. Drizzle with the lemon tahini sauce.
17. Add the toasted pine nuts and harissa, fold and enjoy!

Tips

My favorite wraps to use are Mission low carb wraps (not gluten free but perfectly fold-able and bendable) or Siete’s tortillas! Because wraps can vary depending which ones you use, I didn’t include them in the nutritional facts below, so keep that in mind!

© The Toasted Pine Nut

Enjoy!! xo