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Baked Falafel With Color-Coded Tahini

Learn how to make your own baked falafel balls with three different colorful tahini dips!

holding a falafel ball with colorful tahini on the background

This week I asked my Instagram community to decide which recipe will be posted on the blog next. It was a close fight between homemade ravioli and baked falafel; turns out that you guys are craving some healthy Mediterranean dishes.

falafel ingredients
sprouted chichpeas
Sproruted chickpeas

Don't you just LOVE falafel? Baked, fried, in pita bread, with tahini or just with a fresh salad; it's all good! Not only that, it's a great source of plant-based protein.

processed chickpeas
Processed chickpeas
processed chickpeas
Falafel mix

There is however one very common problem when consuming chickpeas or other legumes - it could easily upset your stomach.

rolling the falafel ball in sesame seeds
rolled falafel balls

This recipe was carefully developed and tested many times, and I learned that -

  • The quality of the chickpeas (not canned or old);
  • The long soaking period;
  • More frequent rinsing and draining; and-
  • The sprouting of the beans.

ALL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Pink Tahini Dip
Pink Tahini Dip
Green Tahini Dip
Green Tahini Dip
YellowTahini Dip
YellowTahini Dip

We are talking about the full package deal - Falafel balls that taste like the real (fried) thing; a feast for the eyes (especially when combined with the colorful tahini dips) and even leave you with a happy gut! Just make sure you don't eat them all before they get to the table...

holding a eaten falafel ball

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recipe

Think Ahead
24 hours
Prep Time
55 minutes
Difficulty
Servings:
30
falafel balls

Ingredients

Falafel Balls

  • 7 oz dried chickpeas
  • 1 onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 0.5 green jalapeño
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 0.75 tbsp ground cumin
  • 0.25 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp Himalayan salt
  • 3 tbsp tahini I like this brand
  • olive oil
  • 0.5 cup whole sesame seeds

Pink Tahini Dip

  • 1 small red beet
  • 0.25 cup tahini
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice

Green Tahini Dip

  • 1 bunch of parsley/cilantro or a combination of both
  • 0.25 cup tahini
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice

Yellow Tahini Dip

  • 1 tsp freshly ground turmeric or a double amount of freshly grated turmeric root
  • 0.25 cup tahini
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice
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Instructions

Soaking and Sprouting the Chickpeas

  1. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, cover with plenty of water and leave for 12 hours. During the soaking time, rinse and replace the water at least twice.

  2. Rinse the soaked chickpeas and pick out any stones, split beans, or beans that look bad or rotten.

  3. Place the rinsed beans in a large strainer and cover with a clean kitchen towel for an additional 12 hours, allowing the beginning of the sprouting process. Rinse every 4 hours or so.

  4. Rinse and strain.

Note: In places with a colder climate, 12 hours will not be sufficient for a full sprouting process, but that's fine. Even the pre-sprouting allows the chickpeas' protein to become more accessible for our body and help us to digest it better. If you wish, it is always possible to keep sprouting the chickpeas for an additional 12 hours, making sure to rinse them every 4 hours or so.

For those of you that decide to use our servings calculator and make a larger amount of falafel balls, it is recommended to divide the chickpeas between two strainers during the sprouting process.

Preparing the Falafel Mix

  1. Place the sprouted chickpeas in a food processor and process until a mixture of very small grains is created. Transfer the processed chickpeas to a bowl and place aside.

  2. Place the onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño and spices in the food processor bowl and process to a green paste. Add the tahini and processed chickpeas and pulse together, scraping down sides as needed until thoroughly combined (see Falafel Mix photo).

  3. Refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes.

Shaping the Falafel Balls

  1. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Oil a parchment-lined baking sheet.

  2. Pour the sesame seeds to a large plate.

  3. Scoop up one tbsp of falafel mixture at a time, shape into a ball and roll in sesame seeds to cover.

  4. Place the falafel balls on the oiled parchment sheet and drizzle some more olive oil on top.

  5. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip them over and bake for additional 3-5 minutes; careful not to overcook or dry them.

  6. Serve immediately with color-coded tahini dips.

Pink Tahini Dip

  1. Cook the beet in a small pot over medium heat. Once softened, drain, rinse and set aside to cool and only then peel its skin.

  2. Transfer the peeled beet to a food processor or a high-speed blender with the remaining ingredients and blitz together until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed.

Green Tahini Dip

  1. Rinse the parsley and/or cilantro and chop-off the stems.

  2. Place all ingredients in a food processor or a high-speed blender and blitz together until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed.

Yellow Tahini Dip

Place all ingredients in a food processor or a high-speed blender and blitz together until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed.

Note: For a thicker tahini dip add more tahini or make sure to use whole sesame tahini like this one.

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