Baked Falafel

by Alexandra Dawson, In My Bowl

A baked alternative, these green chickpea falafel are made with cumin and lemon juice, dark leafy greens and fresh herbs, almond flour, and hemp seeds. Celebrating wildly nourishing and accessible ingredients, these come together in minutes for a workweek’s worth of meals. I love adding my falafel to green salads, whole or crumbled, and served with Tabbouleh, olives, and cucumber, or with roasted eggplant and hummus in a warm pita. 

BAKED FALAFEL [makes 12 falafel]

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained + rinsed
½ medium yellow onion
½ cup SimplyNature baby spinach
¼ cup fresh dill
¼ cup fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons almond flour
2 tablespoons hemp seeds, divided
2 tablespoons SimplyNature extra virgin Mediterranean olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon SimplyNature ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor fitted with an S-blade, pulse chickpeas, onion, spinach, dill, parsley, garlic, almond flour, 1 tablespoon hemp seeds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, salt, and lemon juice until almost smooth.

Using a spring handle ice cream scoop, or a large spoon, scoop falafel mixture onto the baking sheet, being sure to flattening scoops down into disks. Brush each falafel with remaining tablespoon olive oil, then sprinkle with remaining tablespoon hemp seeds.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until falafel are firm and golden. Remove from heat and transfer to cooling rack to continue firming. Falafel can be refrigerated in an airtight Tupperware for up to 1 week.

Nutritional Information [per serving, 2 falafel]

160 Calories, 9g Fat, 14g Carbohydrates, 4.5g Fiber, 3g Sugar, 6g Protein