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These were herbaceous bites of falafel heaven. Loved them baked. No grease or mess. Lentils were a nice twist. I added a pinch of cumin. Delicious!
Julie Mullin
Okay, guys.
I’m so super excited even though the picture suggests that I have lost my food mind. Here I am, after being gone for a few days (why does it take me like five years to recover from the workshop?!) and THIS is what I hit you with. That’s right – THIS.
This simple baked falafel that only requires five basic ingredients to throw together (featuring my one and only LENTILS) is really the only thing I could bring to you today – it’s all I’ve been thinking about in the food realm lately. ♡ It’s ultra-textured, just the right amount of spicy, and baked to soft perfection for all your lifelong falafel wants and needs. This baked falafel is my new favorite way to build a meal.
I mean…
Maybe it’s a little yellow-green. Maybe it looks like alien food I DON’T KNOW.
But it definitely, absolutely, for sure tastes very bomb.
If you’ve never had falafel before, first of all, 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱!
Secondly, okay. Breathe. Steady. Calm. We can be calm about this. Right now at this very second, google “best falafel in (name of your area)” and get out into the world and find yourself some good falafel. I’m serious. Leave this blog now and go get the job done. Also: call me, because I want to come with.
Once you’ve been introduced to the wonders of falafel, if there should come a day when I don’t want to go with you because I love wearing sweatpants and XL hoodies more than I love going out for falafel (I mean, weird, I don’t know, just throwing it out there) or even more shocking: YOU yourself don’t want to go out into the world for falafel (!!) but you still want to eat all its flavor-jolting plant-based goodness for weeks on end in rockin salads, over-the-top sandwiches, and… all the other stuff that people eat falafel in, then this recipe was made just for you and me and all the other simple recipe lovers of the world.
This baked falafel recipe = a handful of regular things.
lentils / cilantro + parsley / garlic / jalapeño / lemon juice / salt / olive oil all up in the food processor.
HOW TO MAKE OUR BAKED FALAFEL:
Speaking of food processor, do you have one? YOU NEED ONE. I love mine so much that I wrote a full post showing off 12 magical ways that I use my food processor. Must must must. Go now.
We’re going to get a little bit of flour in there to hold it all together, too, so technically we’re at more than 5 ingredients if you must get tech-ni-cal, but I always feel like things that 98% of my readers already have in their kitchen cabinets don’t need to count as full blown ingredients.
Just… quit.
Go locate some lentils and cilantro and jalapeños and get started.
Guys, girls, readers, frenz. I need you to know that have some really good, colorful, healthy and extremely satisfying things to come next week for which you will want your little falafels at the ready. And while you’re at it this weekend getting these all set for your fridge for weekly meal planning, go ahead and double the recipe – they freeze nicely and there is absolutely more than one recipe ft. these little weirdos on the food blog horizon.
And then also while you’re at it, go ahead and DEVOUR THEM. With tahini or hummus or magic green sauce. Somehow I even managed to find a way to eat a few of them with my leftover Thai massaman curry and pad see eiw and white rice combo. Awesome Thing #49 About Falafel: plays nice with other foods.
I feel a good, falafel-filled weekend coming on for you! 👋
It wouldn’t be weird to bring falafel to Friendsgiving, right?
**I really wish I would have thought to get a picture of the inside texture of these little guys, but somehow I missed that… for now, you’ll have to trust me that the insides stay deliciously moist without getting heavy or overly mushy. I’ll work on getting a picture in the next day or two and uploading it in the post for reference.**
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Simple 5 Ingredient Baked Falafel
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9–12 falafel patties 1x
Description
Easy baked falafel at home in 30 minutes WITHOUT deep frying! Features lentils, herbs, garlic, lemon juice. Use in salads, sandwiches, healthy recipes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked lentils
- 1 huge handful (a cup or so) fresh cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 huge handful (a cup or so) fresh parsley leaves and stems
- half a jalapeño (if you like spicy – leave ribs and seeds!)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1–2 cloves garlic
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1–2 tablespoons all purpose flour (sub a gluten free flour if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse all ingredients except flour in a food processor until combined. The mixture should form semi-dry crumbles that stick together when you press them.
- Stir in the flour – just one tablespoon at a time, until it’s just dry enough to handle. Form into 9 patties and bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and use in salads, sandwiches, bowls, etc. Refrigerate for a few days or freeze.
Notes
Traditional falafel is made with chickpeas. I used lentils here because I’m more likely to have lentils on hand at any given time. Also: because I LOVE lentils. I have not tried this recipe with chickpeas.
For the lentils, lean towards just barely cooked. That will give you a better texture than overly wet, heavy, and mushy lentils.
If you don’t have a jalapeño, use red pepper flakes for heat.
Nutrition information is for one falafel patty.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Keywords: falafel recipe, lentil falafel, baked falafel, lentil recipe
Frequently Asked Questions For This Baked Falafel
Yes, chickpeas would be a more traditional ingredient to use here and should work great!
Yes, the falafel would be delicious fried! You may want to make them a bit small or press the falafel balls into a flatter shape so they cook more evenly.
Omitting it or adding more parsley would be your best bet!
As long as they are thoroughly drained, canned should work.
Any other lentil besides red lentils should work.
Any type of dry thickening or binding agent should work! Start with the 1-2 tablespoons as written. If you feel it is too wet and needs more body, add another tablespoon until you’ve reached a consistency that feels good.
Yes, these should freeze great! They should keep for up to 6 months.
In a sandwich, in a bowl, swapped in for chicken for these pitas, or dipped right into some hummus or Magic Green Sauce!
PS. Thanks for all your feedback via Snapchat and the Facebook VIP team on the studio paint situation yesterday! I’ve enlisted the help of some trusty (read: fashionable) friends who are going to come and help me make sense of myself in this new, super cool but currently directionless studio space situation we’ve got going on. Good things ahead! XO
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our delicious lentil recipes page. Check it out!
Can I use a hand held immersion blender?
I tried this baked falafel recipe, and it was a hit! Super easy to make with just five ingredients, and they turned out crispy and flavorful. Perfect for meal prep or a quick dinner. Thank you for sharing!
I tried this baked falafel recipe, and it was amazing! So easy to make with just a few ingredients, and the flavor was spot on. I paired it with tahini sauce and a fresh salad, and it was a hit! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
So, usually you just soak the chickpeas and don’t cook them. Can I do the same with lentils?
These are fantastic! I served them with your wonderful kale chimicchuri (sp?) sauce, a farro tabouleh, and some warm pitas. Delicious! Thanks for your great recipes and beautiful photography.
I tried this baked falafel recipe, and it was amazing! So easy to make with just five ingredients, and they turned out deliciously crispy. Can’t wait to pair them with a tahini sauce for my next meal. Thanks for sharing!
I just made this baked falafel recipe, and it was amazing! So easy to put together with just five ingredients, and the flavor was incredible! Definitely adding this to my regular meal rotation. Thank you for sharing!
So happy I stumbled upon your recipes! This one was one of the easiest things I have ever made and it is so tasty! No chopping, wonderful fresh herby flavor and all I did was add a squeeze of lemon when serving. No sauces needed. I have had falafel in the past that was so dry. Thankfully that wasn’t the case here. This one is great, simple to make and would be great with a variety of dishes. I pared it with a veggie bowl.
Hi there! I was thinking about trying this recipe but swapping out the lentils for chickpeas, would that be an equal ratio- still 1 cup?
Yes, should still be a 1:1 ratio!
Found this when searching for lentil falafel recipe. It looked like you had dialed this in so gave it a try today. I really liked the overall flavor of these. Like other oven-baked falafel recipes I’ve tried they don’t have the same crispy exterior as when pan-fried but that is to be expected. I am going to try warming up the leftovers in my air fryer with some olive oil and see if that gives them a bit of crisp.
Also, I added 3 teaspoons of coriander powder, 1 tspn cumin and 1/4 tspn togarashi powder. Overall, this recipe is a winner and an easy way to use lentils that I have too many of at the present moment.
I made these today using my Vitamix, and the texture is definitely smoother than the pictures show. I also added about 4T of flour total to compensate for the smoother texture, but they were still quite sticky. They baked up nicely and taste delicious!
Can you fry these?
Hi! Not big fans of cilantro in our house I’m afraid, but my four year old, very picky eater LOVES mint.
Thoughts on swapping the cilantro for mint here? (Side note: I make a parmesean and herb [mint and parsley] turkey burger, which she really likes. That’s what has me wondering…)
We haven’t tried that before, but let us know if you give it a try!
Was worried about the lentils instead of traditional chick peas, but was pleasantly surprised. Used Trader Joe’s cooked lentils and it turned into an SOS recipe.
I really love the concept behind this, but it took quite a bit of experimenting to get it to work. 1. The mix was way too dry and I didn’t use any flour! Next time I’ll add oil a little at a time (or an egg) to get the right texture. 2. I added a lot more garlic, onion, and cumin to get the flavor of traditional falafel, and topped it with tzatziki sauce. 3. I only used 1/4 of the cilantro (sister doesn’t like it) but all the parsley. While the patties still fell apart when baked, they were very tasty with those additions. I will make these again, in hopes of finding the same success as other cooks have reported, so thanks for the recipe!
Can these be cooked in an air fryer?
Hi, Pat! We don’t use an air fryer to know or test, but we’d love to hear if you give it a try!
I used to make this recipe with the winter bowl for lunch every single day during the winters. One of my all time favorites.
Though, I feel like I never get the consistency right, and they never fully form into balls. Still love these in the winter bowl just curious what I’m doing wrong? Too many lentils? Overcooked lentils? I appreciate the help!
You’ll want your lentils to be just barely cooked. Otherwise, the lentils might get hard to work with and overly mushy.
Whoa, these are SO good! I could barely stop eating the batch before they were baked haha! Definitely adding these (and the Ultimate Winter Bliss Bowls) to my weekly lunch prep!
Lindsay, thank you for the delicious recipe! I must add that the falafel dish is presented very simply and fits into my diet plan nicely, and the presentation piqued my interest. Although I’d heard about the falafel platter, which had falafel, hummus, and tahini sauce, I recreated the experience at home, and it was definitely worth it.
Hi! I’ve made these a couple of times but they are sooo sticky to handle and they don’t cook all the way through. I’ve added (much) more flour and still no luck. Any suggestions?
Hi Libby! Sorry to hear that. It may help to drain the lentils really well after cooking to eliminate the excess moisture. You could even transfer them to a kitchen towel or paper towel and let them air dry for a bit.
I love falafel and this recipe is so simple and delicious!
Love it! I’ve never tried falafel at home because I thought it’s difficult. But this is so easy and delicious! I used breadcrumbs instead of flour – I found it easier to make the patties then.
Very easy to make and delicious. I even forgot to add the oil since we don’t usually cook with it and they turned out in spite of that. I reduced the salt by 1/4 but they are still a little too salty for our taste. I’ll reduce it by 1/2 next time. I recommend you give these a try. Any recipe that uses cilantro and parsley and you can just add the stems, too, makes prep simple.
Underwhelming. I did not find the texture enjoyable, and also not like falafel. Seems like lentils lack the binding and slightly creamy aspects of chickpeas. The herbs came through, but I missed the crispy crust of the fried version for sure.
Hello. This will be fun to try. My recipe for baked falafel uses chickpeas and chickpea flour…..so the use of lentils is going to be great. Thanks! I have a question….the recipe states to divide the mixture into 9 portions, but the nutritional information is for 12. Is the calorie count per piece based on 12 or 9 portions per recipe? Thank you. 💌
Hi Sandra! Thank you for pointing this out. The nutrition information is for 12 portions!