World's Easiest Falafel and Tzatziki

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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

I've had this recipe saved for some time and finally made them tonight! They really were so delicious, quick and easy to make, that I immediately made another batch with the rest of my soaked chickpeas. The crust is super nice and while the interior is light yet hearty. I didn't have any cilantro on hand, so I subbed in ground coriander seed.

I don't add the egg and just find I have to be patient as it processes to a smooth paste that makes a beautiful ball to bake or fry,

This came out terrible. Just came back from Greece and I was very disappointed. Followed the recipe to a T and I ended up having to add tablespoons of corn starch to get them to stick together in the hot oil, and then they came out like little latke pancakes. They look nothing like the photos. I can't imagine why 2.7k people "favorited" this recipe.

The falafel were nice, if somewhat tasteless. Only two pinches of salt? The tzatziki was a watery mess!

Oh man, wish I had read more comments before I read this. I let the chickpeas soak, tasted one, and thought that wasn't right, they must want you to soak for even longer, but since I don't have time, I will cook them... Yup, mush... Tried to salvage by throwing in the oven, but still mushy. Tastes great, but more of a thick dip consistency.

And very very runny tzaziki.

Leave out the egg, I do....voila it is vegan. I am sure you can come up with another sauce or dressing. I have made this falafel many times, love it!

This is not vegan. It came up as the third recipe when I searched for "vegan."

Well...this was a fantastic failure. Given the rave reviews I'm sure it was something I did, but all I got was a mushy mess. Oh well, good thing pizza is on backup.

This is one of those recipes that you have to follow without deviating from the directions. If you follow it, it is wonderful! I am about to make it for a second time tonight!

Wonderful recipe. A shame so many people had negative comments about the tzatziki, I would have thought that a forum like this is about reinventing recipes and bringing in your own creativity. All of it was great for us and our toddler, thank you!

Yes....400 degrees and turn them when they start to brown.

Has anyone tried baking these instead of frying?

I used blended rolled oats (with resulting texture of breadcrumbs) instead of bread and they held together great. Also used chard, kale and green onion since that's what I had on hand. Tasty!

No eggs; this is crazy! Try the egyptian falafel récipe. It.'s the civilized one!

The real falafel are made with "foul akhdar" NOT chick peas! (Green beans)......

Any chance this will work with canned chickpeas? I know it's not the same but it's hard to plan ahead sometimes.

I just made these and they turned out great. I needed to add about 1/2 cup water to the food processor to get to the "thick paste" consistency. I'm glad the recipe mentions the danger of falling apart, as mine surely would have if I would not have added some water. Perhaps I didn't soak the chickpeas enough? After soaking the 2 cups of dry chickpeas, I had 3 1/2 cups of soaked chickpeas. How many cups *should* there be of soaked chick peas? Or maybe my lemons were not juicy enough? Would about 2T of lemon juice in the mix be about right? Thanks for this great recipe. And I'm a cilantro lover!! ;-)

OOOOPS. Somehow I missed that the beans weren't cooked. (I cooked, then drained them for the recommended amount of time)-are traditional falafels made with soaked, uncooked beans? Hmmmmm......

I made these, following the recipe exactly, except for increasing the recipe by 1/2. Since it called for one egg, I decided rather than try to add 1/2 a raw egg, I'd just use them both. The 'batter' turned out runny-would just that 1/2 egg make that much difference? The flavors were awesome-and I added more bread, & more beans s=to stiffen it up, but it was still a bit too liquify toffy well without disintegrating. Any ideas or tips?

I made these with students, and unfortunately they were a fail. We followed the "no chunks" directive, but they fell apart regardless. Tzatziki without dill? Really?

Making this recipe tonight!!!!

Just made these for dinner... so tasty!!! :-) Thanks for the recipe!

Delicious and easy! I halved the recipe and froze the leftovers for lunches!

Any thoughts as to how many cans of chickpeas this equates to? Would love to do these on the fly tonight...

This turned out very well, thanks a ton for sharing!

I did make falafel at home but used a premixed product and added my own variation to it. But it is not really easy finding a good falafel joint. In Manhattan, there is a truck that serves falafel which is very good and then very recently I had falafel at Central Park west, Manhattan, NY. That trumped the one that I had on the truck. Most other places serve falafel balls that are too big and undercooked.
http://thesnootyvegetarian.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/good-food-good-friends-and-good-karma/

I just made this with my immersion blender and it totally worked!

no offense but when i read "easy" a small handy list of ingredients comes to mind lol

No offense but your Tzatziki recipe is way off. I've ready your other comments saying you hate dill and use mint as a sub but that is wrong. You've also omitted olive oil which is essential to the recipe instead of lemon juice. It would be the equivalent of saying you are giving somebody marinara sauce and serving up ketchup. You should really change the name of the recipe and use a different name for your sauce because this is horribly misleading.

I tried making this using gluten-free bread, didn't work very well. Any suggestions?

I ended up adding rice and tapioca flour, but still was not good hefty falafel texture. Loved the tzatziki, much better than the gooey prefab kind in gyros shops.

I'm vegan now and will be making this tonight. I'll leave out the egg and skip the sauce. What I DO plan on making are little relish-y sides, kind of like how a nearby falafel truck serves it. Wish me luck! :-)

Made these last week with homemade naan bread and again tonight with the same! Only change was I made these without cilantro, I'm a hater! ;) Loved them so much though, even converted my hubby to actually eating a meal without meat! (That is very impressive, getting him to eat a meal without meat is like trying to bathe 3 cats at once.)

Hi - Just made the mixture - everyone is excited and thrilled to try them! If we have too much - better to save mixture uncooked or best to cook up each falafel and reheat later?? Thanks - mouth is watering!

I did these last night for the first time and thought overall it was a great recipe but I will add more salt and cumin next time to the mix. Also, unlike some others who critiqued the tzatziki, fine - it isn't exactly that, but it was still a very delicious variation. I enjoyed this!! Served it with a tuscan kale salad with avocado dressing and a Kitchen Sink white. Yum. I never knew falafel was made with uncooked soaked chick peas.

really enjoy this recipe. hearty, flavorful and delicious! Not to mention - healthy! Thanks. What a great vegetarian lunch!

p.s. The tsatsiki seems just right for this since it's more of a sauce like what you usually put on falafel.

Easy and useful recipe, but make sure to make a small patty to try before making a bunch: i (who like bold flavors) found that the mixture needed a fair amount of salt, more spices (I added more cumin and ground coriander) and more minced garlic.

Can't wait to try these Marisa!!

I make a very similar recipe only mine includes a small amount of baking soda. So as to avoid frying, I spray oil on a cookie sheet and bake. I have to turn them over half way through so they get browned on both sides. Although I must admit, of course, frying is better! I have tried using canned chick peas several times and it never works - they just fall apart. The only way to do this is to think ahead and soak the chick peas and use them uncooked. Yum!

my husband is from Egypt and they use leeks and scallions instead of yellow onion. you can also use canned chick peas to cut out the bean soaking steps. (i use canned chick peas when making hummus too)
they use tahini to make the 'white sauce' for the falafel. white sauce is tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and water to thin out the mixture. note: a small amount of tahini can make a lot of the sauce.

I have to say that your tzatziki recipe is a bit off. It should have dill in it, not mint and cilantro and a little bit of olive oil. There is typically too much water in the cucumbers (thins out the tzatziki), so once the cucumbers are chopped, they should be drained of extra liquid prior to adding the yogurt. Just my two cents on making a more authentic tzatziki. A few people posted they bought store made tzatziki - be ware that they usually use sour cream instead of yogurt, so it will have a completely different taste.

I have to say that your tzatziki recipe is a bit off. It should have dill in it, not mint and cilantro and a little bit of olive oil. There is typically too much water in the cucumbers (thins out the tzatziki), so once the cucumbers are chopped, they should be drained of extra liquid prior to adding the yogurt. Just my two cents on making a more authentic tzatziki. A few people posted they bought store made tzatziki - be ware that they usually use sour cream instead of yogurt, so it will have a completely different taste.

I mixed up the falafel for lunch and they were wonderful - I haven't had any this good since leaving NYC!

Made them. Loved them. More importantly, children loved them. Husband asked for the leftovers in his lunch today. Saved recipe. Wonderful!

I don't know what went wrong, but these weren't what we were hoping for. They were . . . lacking. Lacking flavor. Lacking texture. Lacking the crispiness I expect in a falafel. I followed the recipe to the letter -- anyone have any advice as to what may have gone wrong? Are these supposed to be so bland?

Finally!!! A VERY successful falafel recipe. I have had horrible attempts in the past with other recipes. Food 52 has never done me wrong though, so I decided it was worth a try! Thank you so much...so easy and really tasty!

just read rules. i guess this one had to go out with the bathwater in the last contest. can't find delete submission button ladies, sorry:(

Yay!

This was a fun one and will definitely stay in our rotation. Thanks! A few changes that worked better for our small family (just us adults). Keep the patties fairly thin, somewhere between .5 or .75 inch thick.
Cut the yogurt in half, use 1/3 cuke and just a tbl of lemon. We were overwhelmed by too much tzatziki. Felt kinda wasteful for us.

very easy to prepare - and very tasty too. I think the felafel needed a little bit more salt.

Thank you for the falafel love everyone. An expensive winter tart is more apropos for Dirt Cheap in June it would seem but I'm looking forward to recycling this recipe till I win too. Cheers!

I made these at the suggestion of a Facebook friend (is that you, pimimond?), and they were fantastic! I used a deep fryer and sprouted chickpeas - otherwise, everything by the book, and I LOVE them. My 11-year-old doesn't like cilantro or mint too much, so I have the whole batch to re-heat and eat for myself over the next few days ... NOT a problem. :) Thanks y'all.

YES! these are great! I had some sprouted split green peas on hand so used those instead of chicks. Worked perfectly, everybody happy at the dinner table. GREAT recipe.

congrats on being a finalist. My daughter and I made this for lunch today. I found the mix to be wetter than i expected and had to pulse the chickpeas in batches--and then I looked at the picture slide show...so I think we were on track--it threw me off that the 2 c. of dried chickpeas swelled as much as they did!

Anyway, a delightful recipe.

Congratulations on being chosen as a finalist, marisab67! I love falafel, but I must confess that I usually make falafel from a mix (lazy, I know!). But I am definitely going to try your recipe. I love the fact that this is made from mostly pantry ingredients and that it can be whipped up in a jiffy in the food processor. I also like your addition of tzatziki sauce -- yum! Thanks for sharing.

Making everything this week. Watching out for the disintegrating balls . . .

Just made. All the flavors were spot on, but the falafel itself lacked that crunch I was looking for. Do you suggest deep frying?

This looks great, and I look forward to making it. I was, however, somewhat disconcerted by the final sentence of Step 2.

thank you so much for posting this recipe--i never thought I could make falafels at home. somehow this recipe has managed to combine nearly every ingredient my son doesn't like and turn it into one of his new favorite dishes. and it was quick and easy. i do have a question about the dry chickpeas. i soaked 2 cups, drained and let dry and wound up with nearly 4 cups of chickpeas. was i supposed to use all these chickpeas? i wound up using 3 cups and it turned out really good.

I lived in the Middle East for 10 years, so I am looking forward to try this recipe....

Falafal is one of my favorite foods! Ive thought of making them but now there is no excuse not to, your recipe seems so easy!

I've never made falafel and now I'm intrigued and excited to give it a try. I tend to shy away from recipes with mint but I'm going to be bold and accept the challenge. Great recipe, and congrats!

Baba ganoush is good too. Not so crazy about most middle eastern food- "Hummus? Didn't I dump you years ago for that hot Tahini dude?" but falafel, tabbouli, and the baba are the bomba.

I ALWAYS order extra tahini!

Oh! Plus, forgot to say that felafel was a hard-core pregnancy craving for me as well. The movie "Party Girl" (with Parker Posey) came out 16 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter, and there was a heat wave. I loved the movie, I saw it 3 times, and in the movie, Parker Posey is a hard-partying New Yorker who falls in love with the Dewey Decimal System and a felafel cart vendor. After every screening, I had to have felafel.

I HAD to make this. It's crazy good. Even my mint-hating husband ("I'm sorry. It just reminds me of chewing gum") LOVED it. Usually I order my felafel with extra tahini sauce, but the tzatziki was a lovely change, and Tabasco should be mandatory, because then you got the hot, you got the cool, you got the crunchy, you're ready!

Congrats on being a finalist! This looks phenomenal! I used to survive on bi-weekly falafel from a box, but this looks waaaay better, and cheaper!

I had to chuckle when I read your note with the recipe. My husband tomorrow is accepting a job that will be half our current income! We spent the day going over budgeting, ect. so it was neat to see this as the first recipe I pulled on my page. Thanks!

This looks like a great recipe! I've been getting my dried chickpeas from Rancho Gordo's for a couple of years now and the difference between theirs and store bought dried chickpeas is amazing. I was wondering if you have ever tried frying these in Olive oil. When I lived in Italy I just fell in love with the way they fried nearly everything in it. The results were fantastic. Can't wait to make these this weekend.

yay! so important (and convenient) to use uncooked, soaked chickpeas. thanks for posting this!

Strangely, I've never made falafel from a mix or box. But it always tends to be quite an ordeal. I think it's because of all the fillings I make for it though:
I make a chopped salad of tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and bell peppers (I prefer red) with a dash salt, lemon, and just a hint of vinegar. Then I shred some cabbage and add a bit of oil and vinegar to that as well. I then make a tahini yogurt blend with sesame tahini, greek yogurt, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper.
So with all those sides, even the easiest falafel can be a bit of a crazy task. Have I ever cared that it takes a lot of prep? NEVER. It is my favorite food and if I want it, I HAVE to make it, since I live in a part of the country where you cannot find a restaurant or food cart that serves it.
Thanks marisa67 for an interesting take. I've never added mint but love the simplicity of your recipe!

you don't cook the chickpeas?

Looks wonderful. And what an endorsement that they don't fall apart in the pan: that's what's happened with every falafel I've ever attempted.

Love it and can't wait to try!

Love this! Congratulations!

I've been wanting to make falafel from scratch for ages, and this looks like a perfect (and easy!) recipe - congrats on being a finalist!

Could I use bread crumbs rather than the slice of bread? If so, about how much would you suggest?

Have been planning to make falafel when mom and sisters are here and now I have a great recipe! Thanks!

I've never made falafel either, but it looks like it's time to start. Beautiful, can almost taste it now.

Congratulations, I love falafel.

you got my vote with the optional egg! Love falafel!

Congrats!

i have been wanting to know how to make both of these! yum and thank you for great summer dirt cheap recipes!

This sounds incredibly delicious. Saved. Thank you for the recipe!

This looks great and I loved your story... thanks for sharing!!

the best ever and it is such a great way to get kids to eat chickpeas and greens! Mine loves it because he has no idea how good it is for him!

Yay falafel! This is totally my favorite preggo (or anytime) food too. Who knew that fried legumes could be so inspirational?