Description
These easy oven-baked rice and spinach falafels are perfect to enjoy for lunch with a side of greens, as a mid-day snack or to share for a healthy and tasty apetizer. They are oil-free and gluten-free.
Ingredients
Scale
Green Falafels
- 1 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup brown rice, cooked
- 1/2 white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 cup fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 wedge of preserved lemon (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Tahini dressing
- 1/4 cup plant yogurt (coconut, almond, soy)
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with baking foil.
- Drain and dry the chickpeas. Place in a food processor with the cooked brown rice and pulse to break them into small grains.
- Peel and mince the onion and garlic cloves. Add them to a pan with a teaspoon of vegetable oil (or with a splash of water for an oil-free version), and sauté for about 2 minutes on medium-high heat until translucent.
- Add the sautéed onion and garlic to the food processor together with all the remaining falafels ingredients. Mix or pulse to combine, until a thick and grainy dough forms. Don’t over-mix to keep a little texture. The dough should be sticky enough to be shaped.
- Separate the dough in 12 equal parts and use your hands to form golf ball-sized balls. Arrange the falafels on the foil-lined baking sheet and gently push on top with your hand to flatten them.
- Bake for a total 25 minutes, flipping the falafels once at the halfway point for an even cooking. Remove from oven and allow to cool down.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tahini dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve the falafels on their own dipped in the tahini dressing, or wrapped in a pita bread with chopped veggies.
Notes
- The baked falafels can be stored in fridge, layered with parchment paper in an airtight container, for several days. To keep them even longer, you can freeze the falafels: place the baked falafels into a freezer safe container and freese up to 1 month.
- For golden and crispy falafels, drizzle some olive oil on top before baking and cook for 5 minutes more.