World's Easiest Falafel and Tzatziki Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Fry

by: marisab67

April11,2021

19 Ratings

World's Easiest Falafel and Tzatziki Recipe on Food52 (1)

Prep time 27 hours
Cook time 1 hour
Serves 4 to 6

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Author Notes

Is there a better street food than falafel? The smell of the balls frying, the cool, creamy tzatziki on a muggy New York afternoon. The idea that you are eating something good for you that's on the fried food pyramid. It's really got it all. And it even comes with its own slideshow :) —marisab67

Test Kitchen Notes

Call anything "world's easiest" and we're skeptical, but marisab67 is on to something. We'd never made falafel from scratch before and were astonished at how easy—and fun—it could be. The food processor does double duty for the herbed chickpea mixture and then the garlic-scented tzatziki, saving us from both fine-chopping ingredients and washing extra dishes. The falafel patties are easily formed (a good time to put children or other passersby to work) and behave well in the frying pan. One bite into a pita stuffed with freshly crisped falafel, doused in your perfect tzatziki and a few shakes of hot sauce, and ordering takeout will seem like too much trouble. —A&M —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved
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What You'll Need

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World's Easiest Falafel andTzatziki

Ingredients

2 cupsdried chickpeas, rinsed well and soaked overnight
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, divided
1 bunchmint, washed, divided
¹/₂ bunchcilantro, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 egg (optional)
1 piecebread
2 pinchessalt
¹/₂ teaspoonfresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoonsground cumin
2 lemons, juiced, divided
1 cupcanola oil, for frying
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 cupplain yogurt, Greek-style preferred
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package pita or flatbread

Directions

Drain chickpeas and let air dry for 2 hours, or more.
Process chickpeas, onion, 2 cloves garlic, half bunch mint, cilantro, egg, bread, salt and pepper, cumin, and half the lemon juice on low speed until a thick paste forms. No chunks or your falafel balls will fall apart.
Form into 3-inch patties and let rest while tzatziki is made.
Rinse processor and pulse cucumber, yogurt, remaining mint, remaining lemon juice, and the last garlic clove on low just until blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the canola oil in a high-sided, heavy-bottomed pan. When hot, fry patties on medium high heat for 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.
Serve with warm pita or flatbread.

Tags:

Falafel
American
Middle Eastern
Cilantro
Clove
Cumin
Mint
Chickpea
Bean
Make Ahead
Fry
Vegetarian

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174 Reviews

Cgaeta April 15, 2021

Easy, fabulous recipe no problems at all just follow directions!!!!!

Viviana V. April 13, 2021

Hello,
I also tried them today and they were amazing in flavor, but they came apart after frying them. Someone wrote that you don't have to cook them before processing them. Does that mean that your chickpeas are raw? just soaked overnight and dried for 2+hours? please someone help me! This is like the fourth Falafel recipe I make but none of them seem to work. What is the secret on keeping them in a patty after frying?

Heather H. April 15, 2021

Yes, just soaked, not pre-cooked. If you cooked them before processing them, you did it wrong.

V September 18, 2020

I followed the directions--used organic dried garbanzo beans soaked a full day ahead. I fried the patties but didn't bother making neat ones, just blobs. BUT I had two problems--1--I could literally not process this amount of food in my Vitamix and broke my old food processor trying. So, I did it in two batches. 2-- this recipe lacks flavor. It is BLAND! I had to add a lot more salt to the batter and to the Tzaztiki. I added lemon zest to the Tzatziki. I am going to re-blend it now with a third garlic clove. Ugh--I need a different recipe.

Heather H. July 4, 2020

If you tried this recipe and it didn’t work, you did it wrong. User error.

If you used canned chickpeas... you did it wrong.

If you cooked your chickpeas prior to food processing them... you did it wrong.

If you didn’t check the temperature of your oil frequently to maintain 350° oil while frying... you did it wrong.

I make these ALL the time and they are FANTASTIC! This time I even made a mistake... I neglected to air dry the chickpeas for a couple hours. The dough was pretty soft and wet and you know what? IT STILL WORKED! They were even better than when I dry the chickpeas! Instead of making patties, I used a small scoop to place a ball on my fingers of my left hand, used the back of the scoop to flatten it slightly, then turned my hand over and wiggled until the falafel plopped into the oil.

Gorgeous, golden, fluffy and light and moist on the inside... perfect!

The tzatziki is a little loose, but I like it that way. If you don’t, the easy solution would be to chop it and salt it and drain it in a colander for 30 mins before making the recipe.

Heather H. July 4, 2020

Chop and salt the cucumbers, I should have said.

Alyssa May 25, 2020

The falafel was super mushy and just completely fell apart in the frying pan. I tried blending in another piece rod bread but it didn’t help. I ended up baking the rest of them at 375 for around 30 minutes. I switched the oven to 390 halfway through because they didn’t seem to be doing much. They came out fine, but not crispy on the outside, and still seemed a little uncooked inside.

Rhonda35 March 7, 2018

Made these for the first time tonight - delicious! I made the chickpea mixture ahead of time bc: life, and let it sit in the fridge till dinner time. It was easy to form the patties and they held together well. I didn't feel like dealing with the mess of frying, so I oven-fried the patties at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes a side. They came out crispy and nicely browned on the outside and tender on the inside. The tzatziki is a perfect compliment to the well-flavored falafel. Loved this recipe!

Gretchen January 22, 2018

I saw this recipe this morning and decided to try them tonight. I was a little hesitant after reading mixed reviews but I’m SO glad I took a chance. They are delicious! I used dried chickpeas and did a quick soak - simmer in hot water for 2 minutes and then let sit for an hour. I made a few small changes- I used a piece of chewy whole wheat bread, added a pinch of cayenne, and after adding I’ve egg, added another to make the mixture more cohesive. I used an ice cream scoop to form the falafel and flattened them slightly to make patties. The falafel were crisp on the outside and nutty and flavorful on the inside. The dried chickpeas have a far superior taste and texture than canned. So good with the tzatziki sauce! This is a keeper!

Anne G. December 28, 2017

Made this tonight and they turned out great and the tzatziki was delicious, will be making these again in the future. I went by the recipe exactly as written and the whole family loved them.

Bridget M. December 13, 2017

I haven't tried this recipe. It reading everyone's comments leads me to avoid it. Here is a really great and delicious, and quite easy to do falafel recipe I have tried - https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bonappetit.com/recipe/falafel-fritters-bowl-with-cucumbers-and-yogurt-sauce/amp I highly recommend

Bridget M. December 13, 2017

Well I can't paste the link, but it is the falafel fritters bowl from bon appetit.

Katheryn's K. January 21, 2018

Thanks for this Bridget, I prefer not to fry and it’s much easier with the canned chickpeas. This falafel fritter bowl turned out great.

FAQs

Why can't you use cooked chickpeas for falafel? ›

Turns out that dried chickpeas are essential to good falafel. See, canned chickpeas have already been cooked. Starch molecules within them have already burst and released their sticky contents, much of which get washed away in the cooking liquid, leaving the remaining chickpeas with very little clinging power.

Discover More Details ›

What are the 2 types of falafel? ›

There are three types of falafel--Traditional falafel, baked falafel and lemon falafel. “Where the traditional falafel is the basic fried falafel comprising a mix of chickpeas, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, baked falafels are made using fresh herbs in the chickpea mixture,” says Chef Sati from Ophelia.

Learn More ›

Why is my falafel not fluffy? ›

They have to have enough fresh herbs and onion. Too much onion and your falafel will have a bad after taste. Too little and they won't be as moist and fluffy as they should be. It's all about balance.

What does baking soda do in falafel? ›

Baking soda — It may seem odd to add baking soda to a savory recipe, but it helps keeps the interior texture of the falafels fluffy.

Why is my falafel wet inside? ›

Its the deep frying in oil that should cook the beans. The moisture in the pre cooked beans make the falafels soggy and fall apart whereas frying the uncooked chickpeas makes them crispier.

See Details ›

Why did my falafel disintegrate? ›

Using clean, hot oil for each batch of falafel will result in a more consistent and appetizing outcome. Insufficient oil can contribute to the issue of falafel falling apart during frying as the balls may succumb to the pressure of bubbles forming, causing the mixture to break apart as it cooks.

Show Me More ›

Do you have to use dried chickpeas for falafel? ›

Really, canned chickpeas will NOT work! They'll throw off the ratios in this recipe, and they'll make the patties too wet and mushy. In order to achieve the light texture of traditional falafel, you MUST use dried chickpeas here. Soak them overnight (but don't cook them!) before making the recipe.

Read On ›

What if I forgot to soak my chickpeas overnight for falafel? ›

Alternatively, if you're short on time, you can use the quick-soak method: place the beans in a pot and cover with water by about three inches; bring to a rolling boil and boil for five minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and let stand for one hour. Drain the chickpeas.

Why is my falafel mixture falling apart? ›

If the mixture is too wet, the falafel has a tendency to fall apart when being fried so please pat dry the ingredients before using them.

Learn More Now ›

What is the difference between canned chickpeas and cooked chickpeas? ›

Before consumption, you have to soak them in water for a couple of hours, and then cook them for at least 45 minutes (to reduce cooking time, use an instant pot). You can then add them to different recipes and preparations. On the other hand, canned chickpeas are already pre-cooked and, most of the time, pre-seasoned.

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