We’re super excited about sharing our recipe for Baked Walnut & Oat Falafel with you! Falafel is something we like to prepare when we know we’re going to unwind and spend quality time together. It’s a relaxed, fun natured, and casual type of food perfectly suited share with friends and family. And it works well on the go as a bagged lunch or picnic fare, too.

For a few years in a row, we’ve created a tradition of enjoying homemade falafel and Heart Healthy Hummus during the holidays. That’s right, the holidays are our falafel-days! So when those sleigh bells start jingling or the bunnies start hopping down the bunny trail, we think falafel. Maybe it’s because we like to make a big deal out of simple joys! And we do make a big deal of it enjoying the many traditional, simple, toppings. Olives, beets, peppers and of course, a fresh batch of hummus fill our table.

But don’t misunderstand what we’re saying here, falafel is any day, any time sort of food – it’s even considered to be in the category of “street food” since it’s so portable.  There’s nothing particularly fancy or special occasion-ish about the little balls of chickpeas and spices, but they do taste extraordinary!

There’s just something kind of wonderful about a place that serves those freshly cooked crunchy nuggets of satisfaction. So why not make that place be home? The ingredients are pleasantly simple, comforting, relaxed, and fuss-free.

So How Do Baked Walnut & Oat Falafel Taste?
This falafel recipe makes a crisp baked nugget that tastes mildly spicey.
The fresh herbs add a perfectly balanced note of freshness to the cooked chickpeas.
Sesame seeds add just the right amount of crunch on the outside.
And thanks to the freshly squeezed lemon juice, these falafel tastes lite and bright.

Traditionally a Middle Eastern food, falafel is usually a deep-fried ball of ground chickpeas or fava beans. We opt to bake our falafel and skip the added oil and subsequent fat required by frying. If you prefer to cook your falafel on the stovetop, there are instructions in the notes section at the bottom of our recipe.

A Little Falafel History
Though most people probably think falafel originated in Israel, they’re actually from Egypt. Falafel dates back to the “Christian Copts” of Egypt who were forbidden from eating meat during specific holidays. To obey the rules of their faith, they came up with a tasty alternative bite of food made out of fava beans. Jewish pioneers put their own spin on the Egyptian’s delicious fava fritters and made their own version with chickpeas. The chickpea version is what we know today as Israeli falafel.

Food is fascinating and when you learn little tidbits about what you eat and where it came from it can be very grounding. For example, our new habit of enjoying fresh falafel during downtime makes us feel connected to those early Egyptian folks. Much like them, we were looking for a satisfying alternative to meat.

When you give our easy Baked Walnut & Oat Falafel a try, whip up a fresh batch of Heart Healthy 5-Minute Oil-Free Hummus, too! And we’d love to hear how it goes when you do!

By leaving a comment on the recipe, your words encourage others to give it a go. And those who are thinking about trying a plant-based recipe for the first time appreciate hearing about how good the food tastes. We know this because we were once at the beginning of changing the way we thought about food, too!

Happy eating!

Baked Walnut & Oat Falafel (Gluten-Free)

VEEG

• 10
  Prep:
• 20
  Cook Time:
• Yield: 6 Servings

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Everyone enjoys a savory bite of crispy, satisfying, and nourishing falafel!  This recipe is super easy to make and in our experience, a real people pleaser, too! And it’s no wonder because they’re high in nutritious protein, fiber, and iron!

Since it comes together primarily in one bowl with the optional use of a food processor, cleanup is a breeze! And what’s not to love about a delicious meal with easy cleanup?

Serve this falafel with a fresh batch of our Heart Healthy 5-Minute Oil-Free Hummus!

This recipe makes about 24 Baked Walnut & Oat Falafel and serves about six to eight people with three to four falafels each.  The nutritional info anticipates a serving as being a generous four falafel per person.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of raw walnuts, chopped

• 1/2 cup of oat flour - You can make your own by dropping your gluten-free old-fashioned oats in the processor.

• one medium-sized onion or about 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion

• 3/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro leaves, a little more or less is fine

• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley leaves, chopped, a little more or less is fine

• 2 cans of chickpeas or about 3 cups of chickpeas, drained and chopped - You can save that bean liquid (aquafaba) for another use in a jar in the fridge.

• 2 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1/4 cup of sesame seeds

• 3 tsp of ground cumin - Grinding your own tastes wonderful! You can use a spice grinder like this!

• 1/2 tsp of coriander

• 1/2 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt or another salt or to taste

• 1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

• an optional batch of Heart Healthy 5-Minute Oil-Free Hummus - We highly recommend homemade hummus when dining on falafel!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or reusable nonstick baking sheet. Since none of the ingredients need to be cooked to be eaten, you may wish to bake at 400º Fahrenheit to shorten the length of baking time by five or so minutes, but be sure to watch super closely. We opted to bake ours at 375º Fahrenheit.

2. To begin, either in a food processor or by hand, chop each of the first six ingredients and add each to a large mixing bowl. We used a food processor.

3. Now go ahead and add the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir until everything is thoroughly combined. The mixture should look a bit like a bowl of chopped nuts or a pretty crumbly dough. You want falafel dough to have some texture. Be careful not to overmix as it will become pasty.

4. Form the dough into about two dozen little patties for slider-sized portions.  Or, you can also opt to roll the falafel into ball shapes.  Sprinkle, press, or roll a few extra sesame seeds onto each falafel if you like. Bake the falafel on a parchment paper lined sheet pan at 375º Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes. Flip and bake for about five to ten or so additional minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy with a quick and EASY fresh batch of our Heart Healthy Hummus!

    

Notes

• If you'd like you can make the dough ahead and transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to marry. Refrigeration also helps the mixture firm up.  Chilling the dough allows the falafel to hold together easily.

• Topping each falafel with a few additional sesame seeds is a cute idea. We sprinkled some in black sesame and some in white.

• You can opt to use the fresh home cooked chickpeas in this recipe just as you would the canned variety. And let us confirm what you are already thinking, yes, home-cooked chickpeas make for fabulous falafel!

• There's no need to rinse the chickpeas for this recipe. The little bit of clinging cooking broth or "aquafaba" on the chickpeas adds welcomed moisture to the finished falafel. You can even add a bit of the reserved aquafaba to the mix if it seems too dry.

• If you prefer you can also opt to cook the falafels over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet - we use a cast iron skillet for stovetop cooking. To keep your falafel from sticking it's essential to make sure your skillet is nice and hot before you put the falafel into the pan. Cook each side until smidgens of a golden brown crusty color begin to appear

• This tip may come in handy. When you need a small amount of oat flour, you may opt to grind your oats in a spice grinder in small batches to make homemade oat flour.

Nutrition

% DV

Calories Per Serving: 329

• Total Fat 15.7 g 24 %
• Saturated Fat 1.6 g 8 %
• Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
• Sodium 125.1 mg 5 %
• Carbohydrates 34.7 g 12 %
• Fiber 8.6 g 34 %
• Sugar 2.5 g ---
• Protein 12.8 g 26 %
• Vitamin A 7 %
• Vitamin C 11 %
• Iron 23 %
• Calcium 16 %