Baked Falafel with Spicy Feta Yogurt Dip.
I am giddy over today.
Guess what?
It might be Monday but it’s one more day closer to March and therefore one more day closer to spring. And that’s just one day closer to summer and once day closer to a beach and one day closer to sun and mojitos and swimsuits and, perhaps most importantly, NEON.
Yes. Neon everything. Well, neon everything except for my food.
I’m holding back everything in my soul to keep from buying an obviously hot pink or yellow handbag.
(talk me into, I mean out of, it.)
So. Besides eating my weight in banana bread, this weekend was stupidly uneventful. It was super nice to be able to step outside without my nose freezing off though. I will say that. I pretty much did nothing besides make some killer burgers and a double batch of this falafel last night to have for snacking purposes. To feed my brain. Oh and speaking of brains I also spent a large chunk of time prepping myself to watch the Walking Dead, since it’s real life and all. I’m convinced that show is on TV just to destroy the human heart.
Anyhoo —> falafel.
Let’s talk about it!
I straight up adore what you see here. Beans, feta, herbs, the works. Some of my favorite things and maybe next time I should make some bacon falafel? Because then my life may be complete.
The damage I did on this tray was unreal. It’s one of my easiest recipes to make – especially at the beginning of the week – and the versatility for meals is endless. I’ll make a batch and throughout the next few days end up eating it on salads, in warm pitas, as a snack with some feta dip or even as a side to eggs with breakfast.
I’ll even eat it cold and for me, that is huge. I eat nothing cold. I don’t even like my yogurt to be cold. I don’t even eat pizza cold. If there was a way for ice cream to not be cold… well, you get the drift. No can do.
Also, I’d like to cannonball into this dip. Have a nice little cheesy swim.
In a shocking twist, I will tell you that I’m not totally in love with fried falafel. Surprise. It’s a very unusual preference of mine but… it is what it is. Baked is where it’s at, but if you’d like, you can definitely throw these in a hot skillet with some olive oil and go to town. Do you!
And I’ll do me… which involves ridiculous amounts of feta dip and a spoon.
Baked Falafel with Spicy Feta Dip
Ingredients
- 2 (14 oz cans) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1 large egg
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
spicy feta dip
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 8 ounces feta, crumbled
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- fresh parsley + crushed red pepper for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, garlic, onions, egg, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, oil, salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Pulse a few times until crumbly but not pureed. Add in half of the flour and baking powder and pulse a few more times until combine. Repeat with remaining flour and baking powder.
- Once the mixture is combined, scoop out about 2 tablespoons worth and form it into a small patty or ball. Place the falafel on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until slightly crisp on top and cooked through.
spicy feta dip
- In the same food processor (I just wipe/wash mine out while the falafel are baking), add the yogurt, feta, olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne. Pulse and blend until combined, scraping down the sides if needed. I don’t blend the feta completely because I like a bit of texture, but you can do so if you’d like. Scoop the feta into a bowl and give it an extra drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with the parsley and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.
- As a note, if you prefer your falafel fried, you can easily pan fry these in a bit of olive oil.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
because I like a little falafel with my dip.
181 Comments on “Baked Falafel with Spicy Feta Yogurt Dip.”
As a fellow neon lover, BUY BUY BUY the yellow and pink!!
I am weird about cold food, cold pasta salad is a no go for me! Can’t even think about it!
The falafel looks lovely though!
Major sucker for neon pink! Totally bought two bags of sprinkles because they were neon.
As for falafel – I could eat a giant plate of them with tzatziki every day of my life and never get sick of them.
This was really good, it’s so hard to get easy lunch recipes! I think the dip would be better with a modified version of your crazy feta (I need a little more zip). So next time I’m doing that.
i have another version of the crazy feta coming in my cookbook too! it is also my fave. :)
Yum! I want to swim in this dip too. I’ve REALLY been trying to get my make-ahead lunch game right and these definitely fall into that category.
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I agree, a swim in this would be awesome! So good!
Love these! I wouldn’t mind a swim in spicy feta dip myself ;)
Wow! The dip looks fantastic! I have only made baked falafel once, but I have a huge bag of chickpeas, and I want to use them :)
Love me some falafel — can’t wait to try your dip. And congrats on your BHG nomination!!!!!
About how many did falafel patties did this make? It looks AMAZE!
i got 12 with the size above – you can easily make them smaller or larger though!
Your optimism about summer approaching is making me very happy! you are so right – not that much longer! And in the meantime, I would like to join you for a swim in this dip. It looks amazing!! And so do these falafel – yum!!! I must admit, when I first saw the pic, I thought they were some kind of odd looking cookies :)
Exactly what I wanted and needed today.
I love making falafel!! Yours look perfect! Now I’m in the mood for some… Your spicy feta dip sounds delicious! I need to try it next time I make falafel. Thanks for sharing! Glad my comment went through this time! haha
oh glad they are coming through! :)
This looks amazing! I make a feta and pepperoncini dip to go with my falafel. And I’m totally with you on The Walking Dead. I’m so convinced it’s real that I’ve developed my own zombie survival plan.
I can hardly control my excitement for spring. This snow needs to get the heck out of here. I’m all for bright colors, and I’m ready to bust out my teal skinny crops. I have never made a falafel, but I sure to love to eat them. Love that cute little falafel sammie. Yum!
I must admit that I never knew what a falafel was. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Seems like something even I could make. Maybe. :)
Thanks for the falafel recipe. I do prefer baked falafel over fried to stay away from consuming too much oil.
This looks really good, Definitely on my ‘to do’ list. I like the idea of adding the feta to greek yogurt. Thanks :)
These look completely awesome but I don’t have a food processor :( Do you think a blender would work for this instead? Maybe a dumb question but I’m desperate to make these!! Thanks.
I can’t wait until March either. Daaaaang! And this is such a fabulous dinner – loving that yogurt dip!
My days definitely need more pink purses, and falafel. Love this!
I love your posts. Fun, random and sometimes a bit crazy. Always brings a smile to my face after a hard day.
I am a huge falafel fan.
I love baking things that are usually fried. But I have never, ever, thought about baking falafel. I can’t wait to try this recipe out. Thank you!
At first I thought these were cookies, but I understand now. Love the fact that they are baked. Just pinned.
Wow! It looks sooo delicious!
I’ve been searching for a baked falafel recipe for ages- definitely trying the recipe soon! Also, the feta dip sounds divine! Thanks for sharing :)
This recipe looks great!
I have a very similar recipe where I swap out the flour + baking powder for some bread crumbs, and use just a little bit (maybe 2 Tbs) of olive oil, and cook away in the crockpot for a few hours on high!
This sounds ridiculously amazing. I never knew what falafel was but now i think i’m going to love it.
Do you think that it might be good to roast the chickpeas first like you have shown before and then throw them into the mix? I LOVE the roasted chickpeas, eat them by the handful for sure.
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Hi…I soaked and cooked my own chickpeas…so if I wanted to use mine instead how many cups of chickpeas is that?
Thanks
about 3 cups!
Oh thank you so much! I’m making these on Friday!
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Made it. Loved it. I put sriracha in the yogurt dip. Yes.
Oh my goodness I could use one of these baked falafel and all things spring including neon everything! Bring on warm summer days, cold mojitos and good food!
Yum! I love falafel and that dip sounds perfect!
I made these last night and at the 25 minute mark the falafel tasted doughy and were not cooked. I left them in longer closer to 40 minutes and while the bottom and tops were brown and toasted – the middle tasted uncooked. This was a definite recipe fail for me. I threw them all away :( Any suggestions?
Similar thing happened to me actually. i think that the dough was too moist because my lemon was super juicy. I think it turned out ok, and the flavor was great, but wish the insides were more firm like I expected. Didn’t throw away, but would tweak the recipe next time with less lemon juice
This seems to be currently happening to me… I’m going on 40 minutes too. I had a big lemon too : /
Love the idea of a feta dip with yogurt! Feta is such an assertive salty flavor it would be great with cool creamy yogurt.
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My friends and I LOVE Middle Eastern food and it was only a matter of time before I tried to make it myself. This falafel recipe was a great way to start! The consistensy in the middle was perfect. The feta dip was excellent. Great for dinner and even better as a falafel sandwich the next day. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes! I read everyday and cannot wait for your cookbook!
These look incredible. I’ve been looking for a good baked falafel recipe and this just might be it! Can’t wait to try it, and the dip. YUM!
Side note – I’ve JUST gotten into The Walking Dead. I spent about 2 weeks where I hid from everyone and binge watched all 3.5 seasons. I’m now quite certain I’ll be prepared in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
Am drooling and this looks fantastic. thank you for the recipe
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I am so making these very soon and scarfing them all down because my husband will hate them. Looks so easy – I didn’t realize it would be.
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These falafels are so delicious. I just made them for dinner and everyone loved them. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
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I made these over the weekend and brought them for lunch today, and they actually held together for the whole bus ride/walk into work. This is the first baked falafel recipe I’ve tried that didn’t yield a crumbly (if tasty) mess. Thanks so much!
I read your blog all the time but rarely comment. But this falafel recipe deserves a comment, for sure! :) I made these last night and they were a HIT with our little family- even my 5 year-old son loved it! I’ve made versions of baked falafel before, but they always just end up misshapen and too “wet.” I love that the addition of a little flour and baking powder helps them hold their shape and firm up well. Thanks for this recipe! It will definitely be frequently used in our house!
I always enjoy falafel, but I’ve never tried making it myself. This looks delicious, and easy. Thanks.