Bring together some carrots, parsely, green onions, cumin, eggs, garlic, a lemon, sesame seeds, and a few other delicious ingredients and you have vitamin-rich falafels. Both falafel recipes are gluten-free and grain-free (quinoa is a seed).
Just to warn you, after eating some of the raw falafel batter, I was told that I had the distinct aroma of Mediterranean food, which can probably be attributed to the cumin, sesame, and garlic in the recipe. Frankly, this is so tasty, I don’t care. Just share and it won’t matter.
For both falafel recipes I used almond butter but you can change it up by using pumpkin or sunflower seed butter, or other ground seed or nut to add some crunch to the falafel. And while using chickpeas is still a gluten-free endeavor, I prefer these recipes to the chickpea-based fafalel.
The falafel using quinoa has a bit of a crunch thanks to the quinoa. I use red quinoa, but you can use any quinoa you have on hand—yellow or a blend come to mind. Just remember to cook the quinoa before adding it to the falafel batter.
These taste good cold too, especially in a salad, just in case you need to grab a quick carry-on snack. Or, for dinner, this meal goes well with fried cauliflower and yogurt tahini sauce, or in a salad with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. For the falafel salad, I thinned out the tahini sauce for more of a salad dressing-consistency.
These recipes were inspired by Sprouted Kitchen’s Quinoa Falafel recipe.
Falafel {almond flour & butter}
Ingredients
- 1 cup carrots about 2 large carrots
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions about 2 stalks
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted or raw
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup almond flour or other ground nut or seed flour
- 1/2 cup almond butter or other nut or seed butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Suggested salad ingredients
- chopped tomatoes
- chopped cucumber
- shredded cabbage
Nutrition
Falafel {quinoa}
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped carrots about 2 carrots
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions about 2 stalks
- 3 tablespoons parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds raw or toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup almond butter or other nut or seed butter
- 1/2 cup quinoa cooked; red or yellow (red makes a darker falafel)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients, except for the eggs, almond butter, quinoa, and oil, into a food processor and blend for a bit. I like it well blended but you can leave slightly larger pieces in if you like.
- Add the eggs, quinoa and almond butter, and blend well.
- Shape the batter into small patties or balls of falafel and the place them in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight.
- When ready to cook the falafel, heat a wok or frying pan to medium heat with the oil in it and add a few falafels at a time.
- Brown them on each side and then place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
- Serve with the salad and tahini sauce, or store in the fridge for a few days.
Nutrition
Yogurt Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- chopped fresh or dried herbs mint or dill work well
- pinch of salt
- water if needed to thin the sauce optional
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend well.
- Refrigerate in a sealed container. It lasts a few weeks.
I also had a problem with them falling apart, but I added some coconut flour and that did help.
Yes,this can be a bit finicky. thanks for the idea of adding coconut flour. I’ll have to play around with this more, because the flavor is great.
Hi Erica, yes I did reduce the lemon juice. I ground the almonds myself. Perhaps the meal wasn’t as fine as it should be and didn’t soak up enough liquid. Like I said, it will not discourage me to make these again. In fact, I’ll try it again today!!
One final thought which I might try next time: add some coconut flour to it.
I just made the grain free version (sort of halved the recipe) and ate the whole batch in one go. The flavors are absolutely amazing. The texture, however, didn’t quite work. My batter was too wet. I fried some in oil, many fell apart. I tried to bake a few patties in the oven, with slightly better results. Will definitely try again with some adjustments. They are too good.
thanks for the feedback. did you note my changes to the amount of lemon juice? I’ve occasionally had to add more almond flour to the batter, but they can be a bit finicky sometimes.
Recipe didn’t work for me. Measured everything per recipe but turned out soft even after overnight refrigeration. Stuck to the pan cooking them. Might work if they were deep fried.
Sorry this didn’t work for you. thanks for letting me know. The batter should be somewhat sticky though, so it was probably too wet. I also let the falafel sit in the pan for while to get a well-fryed bottom so I can lift it to turn it over in the pan. Adding more oil to the pan may help as well. I checked my notes and reduced the amount of lemon juice, however you can add more almond flour to the batter if they are not sticky enough. I’m assuming you were following the almond flour recipe and not the quinoa recipe. Best wishes, Erica
Your photos are awesome! And I loved the way you explained the recipe so anyone could understand it 🙂
Thanks!
This looks so good! Can’t wait to try it.
These look so yummy. I am such a big fan of your recipes. Everyone i have made has been a success. My fav’s are your banana bread and chocolate p butter ice cream. Soooo yummy. Thank you for sharing!
Chickpeas will work too, of course 🙂
Love the idea of adding carrots to falafel-an extra bout of vitamins!
This is the current rage – everyone on the Food Network is making their version of these. I love yours and will prob give it a try. I’ve never had these, but I like chick peas. Thanks.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this! I recently went gluten free for medical reasons and have been lamenting the loss of falafel (I’m a vegetarian and it was a major food staple for me!). I will be making this pronto 🙂
I really appreciate all your recipes and all your hard work! I love your website.
my pleasure 🙂
yes – and the hummus is another option for pairing with this recipe.
This looks awesome!! I just made the Hummus/Veggies…..delicious!!
Falafel used to be one of my most favorite foods to eat before I started the SCD. This healthy adaptation of the typical ‘falafel’ sounds & looks incredible!!! Thank you for posting this great recipe! I can’t wait till I can tolerate these someday. 🙂
thanks. hope you can have it sooner rather than later.