Spicy Beet Falafel
This crunchy, spicy homemade beet falafel recipe is packed with whole-food ingredients and simple to make. Note: Nutrition calculations listed are an estimate, and do not include the oil used for frying.
Ingredients
- 3 cups soaked raw chickpeas, drained (approx. 1 ½ cups dry chickpeas, soaked overnight)
- 1 cup raw beet, washed, peeled, & shredded
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley, or mix of parsley, dill, cilantro, arugula, or baby mixed greens
- ¼ cup chopped raw onion
- 6 cloves fresh peeled garlic
- 1 large jalapeno or Serrano pepper about 2 tbsp, seeded & chopped
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion or garlic powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
add just before shaping & frying
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- 1-2 tbsp chickpea flour, all purpose flour, or other starch (add only if finished falafel mixture feels very wet, or if a test falafel doesn't stick together well when frying)
Instructions
soak chickpeas:
- Rinse and then soak the dried chickpeas overnight in plenty of water (they will absorb and expand to approx 2x their initial volume, so make sure to leave room in the container).
- Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas, and let them air dry while you prep the remaining ingredients.
prep other ingredients:
- Wash, peel, and grate or shred the raw beet. I use a food processor disc attachment to quickly shred the beet before changing to the chopping blade to minimize mess, but you can also shred or finely chop the beet by hand.
- Wash and pat dry the fresh herbs or greens, remove the stems, and roughly chop.
- Peel and chop the onion.
- Peel and crush or roughly chop the garlic.
- Wash and roughly chop the jalapeno or other pepper, removing seeds if you would like to reduce the heat.
make the falafel mix:
- Add the drained soaked chickpeas to the shredded beet in the food processor bowl, fitted with a chopping blade.
- Add in all other ingredients except for the baking powder, flour/starch, and oil.
- Pulse the food processor until the mixture is uniform and resembles coarse meal or wet sand. The mixture should hold together when squeezed, but should not be a fine paste or puree. You want a finely ground mixture that retains some texture but that will hold together. See photo four above for an illustration of what it should look like when it's ready.
chill & let rest:
- Transfer the falafel mixture to a covered bowl or air-tight container and chill for at least one hour. This will let the mixture come together, lets the flavors blend, and helps keep your falafel from falling apart when they're frying.
mix again & shape:
- Sift the baking powder into the falafel mixture and mix very well to distribute.
- If the mixture feels overly wet, or doesn't stick together well, you may want to add a bit of chickpea or regular flour, or other starch (cornstarch or potato starch, or arrowroot) to the mixture as a binder. If you aren't sure, you can fry a test falafel to check the consistency until you are sure what it should feel like.
- Using a large cookie or portion scoop, 1/4-1/3 c. dry measuring cup, or your hands, portion and shape roughly into golf-ball sized balls, then flatten them slightly so they cook more evenly.
fry the beet falafel:
- In a deep fryer, dutch oven, or deep-sided skillet, heat 1-3" of neutrally-flavored, high-smoke point oil (like peanut, canola, or grapeseed oil) to about 375 F.
- To test the oil, use the handle of a wooden spoon. When the oil is hot, dip the spoon handle in the oil and look for tiny bubbles coming from the wood. You can also test it with a small ball of falafel mixture.
- Fry the falafel in batches, flipping them gently once they brown if you are using a shallower amount of oil and they are not completely submerged.
- Because of the beets, they will have a deeper brown color than regular falafel before they are done.
drain & keep warm:
- Continue cooking the falafel in batches, keeping them warm until serving on a tray in the oven, lined with a metal rack or paper towels so they aren't sitting in oil.
Nutrition
Calories: 63kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 250mgPotassium: 164mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 366IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 2mg
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