Falafel sandwiches are a huge weakness of mine, especially the ones sold in New York City for as little as $2, yeah just TWO BUCKS!
To be more specific, I’m speaking of Mamoun’s Falafel in NYC’s Greenwich Village. It is a total hole in the wall, and yet serves up the most mouthwatering, authentic falafel sandwiches you will ever taste in your life. I swear! 
Unfortunately given that falafel is typically fried, and not baked, I don’t eat it as often as I’d like to, but I sure can recreate a baked version at home which can be quite healthy. 
I found a delicious falafel recipe on Allrecipes and made some tweaks along the way to suit my needs. Surprisingly, the preparation time for making the falafel batter is less than 10 minutes. Just add all the ingredients to your food processor and pulse away.
Then using a mini-scoop, scoop out the batter onto a baking tray and straight into the oven. It’s crazy to think how intimidated I was to make falafel all these years.
Lastly, instead of topping the sandwich with tahini sauce (didn’t have any), I opted for hummus and tzatziki sauces and finished it off with Frank’s Original Hot Sauce, yup, I’ll put that on just about anything.
Immediately after I was done, I packed up all the ingredients and stopped over at my dad’s to make him some falafel sandwiches. Of course, he loved them! Please let me know your thoughts if you make these.
NUTRITION: Chickpeas are a great source of Protein, Fiber, Iron, and Folic Acid. Parsley is an excellent source of Vitamins A, C, and K, and a good source of Folic Acid and Iron. Cilantro is a good source of Vitamin C and contains small amounts of Vitamin E. Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamin A and C.
INGREDIENTS:
for the falafel (mostly adapted from Allrecipes – made some tweaks; makes 18 falafel balls – enough for 4 sandwiches):
- Chickpeas – 1-15 ounce can
- Onion – 1 (small)
- Parsley – 1 large fresh handful
- Cilantro – 1 small fresh handful
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Egg – 1
- Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
- Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
- Red Chili Powder – 1/4 tsp (or you can use paprika)
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Lemon Juice – 1 tsp
- Baking Powder – 1 tsp
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
- White Flour – 1/4 cup (will try whole wheat flour next time)
for the sandwich:
- Pocket Pita Bread – preferably use whole wheat that opens up – I wasn’t able to find any though.
- Mixed Greens – handful
- Red Onion – 1 (sliced)
- Tomato – 1 (chopped)
- Hummus – enough to spread inside the pita (store bought or you can make your own)
- Tzatziki Sauce – small dollops (store bought or you can make your own)
- Frank’s Original Hot Sauce – add a little on top
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Start by adding all the ingredients to a food processor.
3. Eventually this is what you’ll have.
4. Now pulse several times until the batter is all combined. 
5. This is what you should have. Taste it and see what’s missing. I added a bit more parsley. Pulse again.
6. Now using a mini-scoop, form little balls and place them on a baking tray. I used parchment paper since I was out of foil paper. 
7. This is what you should have. Into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
8. The recipe suggests baking the falafel for 20 minutes, however I wasn’t completely satisfied at that point since it tasted a bit undone. I baked these for an additional 5 minutes. These are slightly crispy on the outside, and moist and gooey on the inside – that’s the best I can explain it. And filled with tons of flavor.
9. Now slice a red onion, chop a tomato, and wash the mixed greens.
ASSEMBLE
10. Start by cutting the top 1/3 of the pita off. I snacked on this part and tzatziki sauce while I made the sandwich.
11. Microwave the pita for about 20 seconds. Carefully open the pocket without breaking it.
12. Spread the hummus inside the pita. Add the mixed greens, 2 pieces of falafel, and red onions.
13. Now top with tomatoes. 
14. Finish it off with 2 more pieces of falafel, some mixed greens, and tomatoes. Add the tzatziki sauce and top with Frank’s Original Hot Sauce. 
15. So so so good and healthy for you, too. 
TELL ME: Do you love Middle Eastern food? If so, what are some of your favorite items to order when dining at a Middle Eastern restaurant?
ww………..baked filafel sandwich…………superb
Can you stop by place and cook me falafels- this looks delicious! I LOVE Middle Eastern food, probably because Lebanese food was so freely available in Nigeria! Did you ever go to Al Basha? Best restaurant ever!
I'm sold. Making these for dinner tonight 🙂 I love Mamoun's too! There's one in New Haven (another hole in the wall) that I used to go to a lot when I lived there for a year.
PS- we have the same oven 🙂
These sound great! I am so going to make these this week… Quick questions though, is there any other vegetables that I could put in the falafel to make them lower in calories? AND Is there any ingredients that could make them higher in protein? Either way- They sound amazing!
Oooo yummy! I've never ventured into making falafel and I would like to try them out some day. My family's a big meat-eating one, so you're more likely to get kebabs in their tummies. But, this is a great alternative for a sandwich. I love that it is baked and not fried!
@Khushboo – haha! It'd be cool if you lived around me so we could share recipes. Regarding Nigeria, we actually never ate out, and I left when I was 9. I'll have to look up Al Basha. 🙂
@Gina – wow, Mamoun's is awesome! If you make this, do let me know how it turned out. Oh, I have a GE oven, it's pretty good.
@Peanut Butter Lover – Hmm..other vegetables to make them lower in calories? I thought 'chickpeas' were high in protein and lower in calories. I would also look into edamame or green peas or perhaps even frozen spinach (with the water completely drained). What do you think? Let me know. 🙂
@BeetleBuggy – I love kebabs too, but typically don't cook meat at home. However, when dining at a MIddle Eastern restaurant, I will totally order chicken kebabs.
looks yummy cant wait to try it.
@Honey – Thanks. I don't have all of those vegetables available and I was curious as to what else would taste good because I am not familiar with Middle Eastern food.
This recipe piqued my interest however, so I scoured the internet for more Middle Eastern inspired dishes. I found two that look amazing:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/upside-down/detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Shawarma/Detail.aspx
@Honey – Haha. Another comment from me! I made a variation of this tonight. It was great: http://peanut-butter-lover.blogspot.com/2011/12/easy-middle-eastern-recipe.html
Those baked falafels are looking good!
@Kevin – glad you visited and approve. I love your originality and recipes. 🙂
i made these falafel but they were too thin and the recipe isnt as good as mama's traditional lebanese ones
@Anonymous – Sorry to hear that. I wouldn't be able to compete with your mama's traditional Lebanese falafel anyway 🙂 These are baked as well.
do you think this would work with just an egg white instead of the whole egg?
@Anonymous – I'm pretty sure it would.. start with 1 egg white, and add another egg white if need be.
Just wanted to thank you for sharing this recipe. I tried it out last night and I am loving it – easy, healthy, AND I like it better than the fried falafel I've had in the past which can tend to be very dry. Plus, cooking my own chickpeas and using my own ingredients is a much better way to control what goes into my body as well as cuts down on costs. This was a lovely recipe that I will be making over and over so once again, thank you for sharing it. 🙂
@Teeni – you're welcome. It's fun cooking these kinda foods at home because you know exactly what's going in your body, and at least it isn't fried. So happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
Falafel sandwich is a popular recipe from Middle East, consists of chickpeas that are shaped into patties.
Falafel sandwich
This looks AMAZING. I love Middle Eastern food and could seriously eat Falafel every day of my life. Going to be making this recipe this week!!
@Marysa – it was really good, let me know how it goes after you make it. 🙂
I just tried this last night and it turned out pretty good! my only thing is that I felt like mine were a little more gooey on the inside then i would have liked. Could that be because I pulsed it too much in the food processor? Or just that i need more baking time? I had put it in the oven for 30 mins already and i was afraid if I did it longer then maybe it would burn.
@Jeel – I wouldn't bake them in the oven much longer, perhaps you can try baking them at 375 degrees, or even 350 for a little longer. Mine were very slightly gooey as well, but I liked it that way since they aren't deep fried.
Yummy! Thanks for sharing!
If I make the batter the night before would that be okay. I want to make it tonight then bake them tomm night since I'm having friends over tomm night. Please let me know soon and great recipe by the way.
Kajal
@Kaju1982 – I am sure the batter will be okay if you make it the night before, but then again, I haven't tried it so I can't confirm. Give it a try. Let me know. Thanks.
I made the batter last night and tested it out. I made it a little to salty. How can I fix that?
@Kaju – To fix the salt issue, I would make another 1/2 batch of falafel and add it to your current mixture. See if that resolves the issue. Not sure how much salt you used, so you may need another 1/2 batch, 3/4 or another full batch.
Made these last night and they were absolutely delicious. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
These are so good! Been making them for a few years. Instead of using canned beans, what would you reccommend as cooking time and amount of dried beans?
I looooove falafel! This baked sandwich version sounds delicious!
Made these and they were delicious!!!! Thank you for sharing a great and easy recipe… can’t wait to try more ????
What can you replace the eggs with?! Also do you have a post anywhere for tzatiki sauce recipe 😀
Hi Purvi, i don’t have a recipe for tzatiki, however when i made it in the past – use 2% or higher Greek Yogurt. Grated cucumber with the water squeezed out, lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper, good quality olive oil, and fresh dill. Taste as you go along, and I’m sure it’ll be good. 🙂
What’s a egg replacement for this recipe?
Hi Purvi – I haven’t tested, but if you don’t want to use an egg, just omit. It should be okay.