How to Make Crispy Falafel at Home
In this episode, test cook Elle Simone and host Julia reveal the secrets to making foolproof Falafel at home.
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I like America's test but unfortunately ya'll don't know nothing about Falafel, I never seen or heard about adding flour to Falafel in addition to other mistakes like not adding Sodium Carbonate to Falafel paste a few minutes before frying also the Falafel was very dry and coarse.
Hi. Can u bake this recipe instead of frying?
I really love how you explain stuff of when the oil is too hot or not hot enough and all the science in your videos. Makes it very curious like I'm gaining some hidden knowledge. Thank you :). Falafel looked amazing
Looks delicious!
ATK is foolproof. I made this to the T after trying several flafel recipes on the net. And this one is amazing. restaurant quality.
Damn these look fantastic.
Great job Elle! I love falafel and I got to splurge on falafel and other Lebanese specialties during my Erasmus year at the American University of Beirut. I just love Lebanese food. The flavors are equal to none. Greetings from Norway !
Ate falafel in the 50s in Israel. Wonderful food.
I wonder…could you use chickpea flour instead of AP flour to make the paste?
This is way too chunky.
Sounds great!
Not too be dramatic, but this literally gives me hope for humanity.
Why chickpeas instead of fava beans?
I have found rocks in dried legumes. Why not tell people to sort through the peas before they are soaked?
This sauce is delicious on frozen falafel I can't wait to try it on their falafel recipe
Wow so yummy Elle great job 💯🥰💋👍
To control the particle size on the chickpeas, I use a meat grinder with a 3/16" die instead of a food processor. I don't even use the food processor for the herbs and veg–I just rough chop all that and run it through the grinder with the chickpeas. It produces a MUCH more consistent particle size, which makes it cook more evenly. Plus, the grinder both crushes and cuts the herbs, which releases a lot more of the flavor than simply cutting like a food processor does. And because it also crushes the chickpeas, it releases a lot of free starch, which acts as a binder, so you don't need to add any extra flour or baking powder or any of that nonsense that makes the falafel gummy and dulls the flavor.
To form the falafel, definitely good call on the portion scoop. Much faster and more consistent than hand-forming. Gotta disagree on the round vs puck shaped falafel, though. A slightly flattened disk cooks through faster than a sphere of the same volume. I just dish mine out onto a sheet tray with the portion scoop, then cover them with some plastic wrap and use another sheet pan to press them all down to about 3/4" thick. They still take about 5-ish minutes at about 325°F, but the inside gets more tender and fluffy, and they are easier to pack into a pita because they are thinner.
And if you're looking for a real time-saver, just press out a full sheet pan of falafel grind 3/4" thick, then cut it into little squares and fry them up. They cook and taste just the same, but they're square-shaped, which only bothers purists. And purists bother me, so I guess that's just payback.
lost me at flour.
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I live 20 min from Albany in Scotia NY.I can’t wait to make this recipe today for dinner.
We want more Elle.
I just made a "falafel kit with dried chickpeas" and it was outrageously good for a mix you just add to water. Ziyad brand.
You have to be careful to grind the beans finely enough. Not mush but indeed very finely indeed. You shouldn’t see any graininess.
Baking soda. Lemon juice. There’s your moisture and levening
I actually made my own falafel recipe this morning. A pound of dried chickpeas makes 40. The only problem I have with frying savory foods, is that the home I rent has no kitchen fan, and I can't open windows in the winter to ventilate the smell of fried food. I hate the smell, and I don't want to spray chemicals and synthetic fragrances around. I've heard that vinegar would help, its acid cancels out alkaline odors, but I've got parrots, and birds have extremely sensitive lungs and air sacs, it would be dangerous. The falafels were delicious, worth the price… wish I knew some safe way to get rid of the odor though.
Never put flour in Falafel.
Yum yum gimme some!!!!
I like to add a lot of garlic to my tahini sauce.
There was a place in Boston when I lived there that I used to love to get falafel from! Falafel also freezes beautifully and reheats beautifully and crispy in the air fryer! 🙂
I was in Beirut and this looks really authentic. Going to make this and may use chickpea flour if I can get it. Love your recipes.
I made this recipe and it was a little bland so, I added a little chilli powder, garlic powder, and onion powder along with the coriander, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. It was Delicious! Thank you Elle!
Can’t get the recipe. Byee. No one needs you. 😑
Can we bake it?
I thought🤔 i heard🗣️ 👩🏿🎤💃🏿Megan 🎶Thee Stallion🐎 cookin in tha kitchen, i look up and it's the 🔬test📋 kitchen🙃🍳👩🏾🍳 💃🏾🍳
Thank you for this! I tried cooking it via airfyer and they turned out great too. 185 C for 10 mins 🙂
Both you ladies are soooo beautiful. I’m gonna make this for my boyfriend. His birthday is Friday. He loves falafel. He’s gonna love this. And I ordered a food processor too. Gonna pick up today. I can’t wait!😁
More Elle, please! She’s the best!
So thankful for this recipe!
How would you do this gluten free?
Thank you Elle!! I love your demonstrations! You make it look fun!!
She added a literal microgram of salt.
Those were beauties!
I made these last week and they were delicious! Truthfully they were even better the next day, microwaved cooked falafels were even fluffier!
I tried it and loved it
Has anyone baked these? Looks incredible!
Never made falafel but this looks like a must try. Great recipe, thanks