Colorful, Simple, and vegan, this homemade Beetroot Falafel is an ideal lunch or dinner for the whole family. They are easy to make, nutritious, and delicious!
You can fry, air-fry, or bake these! In this post, I share tips and tricks to help you achieve the best results and make falafels like a pro.
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Beetroot is referred to as a superfood. This root vegetable contains antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Beetroot is low in fat too.
If you have yet to try it, you must make beetroots part of your diet, whether boiled, juiced, baked or raw! Try our Beetroot pulao or our Beetroot Sandwich.
Today I am sharing a recipe made with beetroot - Beetroot Falafel.
If you’ve ever wondered what to do with beetroot, you must give these a go!
What is Falafel?
Falafels are fried balls or patties made of soaked chickpeas or fava (broad) beans, herbs, and spices.
They are also often served as part of a sandwich in a pita or on their own with a salad and dipping sauce.
A perfect falafel has a crispy exterior and a soft interior.
I tweaked the regular Falafel recipe and added Beetroot.
Yes, Beetroot.
You're probably wondering Why beetroot?
Well, beetroot makes the Falafel juicer and prettier. Beetroot Falafel is a very exotic dish.
The color of this beetroot falafel will blow your mind.
We keep the recipe simple by adding all the ingredients into a food processor. This makes it super easy to prepare, and if you have a big enough food processor, you can make a big batch and freeze some falafels for another day.
These Beetroot Falafels are naturally vegan and gluten-free, and this recipe is a fantastic way to use fresh beetroots.
Why Do you try this recipe?
- It’s a family-friendly recipe.
- Looks very fancy.
- A good recipe for batch cooking or prep meals
- It is high in protein.
- They’re easy! The food processor is a lifesaver here.
- They freeze well; quickly defrost and enjoy!
- It can be eaten with pita bread, sandwiches, wraps in bowls, etc.
Ingredients required
- Beetroot – Our main ingredient for this recipe. Make sure to get a fresh beetroot. We like to chop the beetroot before adding it to the food processor, making mixing easier.
- Dried Chickpeas: You will need dried chickpeas to make falafels, as canned chickpeas will not work. Canned or cooked chickpeas are too moist, and when you try to fry your falafels, they will fall apart. Also, your dried chickpeas must be soaked in water overnight, so plan!
- Fresh herbs: We use parsley to make our beetroot falafels. You can use cilantro instead of parsley.
- Spices: Roasted Cumin seeds and salt; these are all you need for tasty falafels.
- Garlic and onion: Remember to add garlic and onion to create flavorful falafels.
- Baking soda: With baking soda, the raw, soaked chickpeas can cook through such a short deep fry. Baking soda will help chickpeas cook perfectly.
Step-by-step process
- Wash the chickpeas with water. Then take it into a big bowl. Add 4 cups of water and cover the bowl. Let the chickpeas soak for 8 hours or overnight. This step is crucial. Please DO NOT USE CANNED/COOKED CHICKPEAS.
- Once the chickpeas are soaked, drain all the water.
- Combine all the ingredients (soaked chickpeas, beetroot, onion, parsley, roasted cumin seeds, salt, and baking soda) in a food processor.
- Pulse until well combined but not pureed. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. It doesn’t have to be mushy as the balls will be too dense, but it needs to be blended enough for the mixture not to fall apart when frying them.
- Then take the beetroot falafel mixture into a bowl.
- Form the mixture into 25 thick patties. Make sure the size is not too small or too big. (image 10)
- Note: If they’re not holding together, give the mixture more pulses in the food processor. Or add a couple of tbsps of all-purpose flour if it’s too wet.
Frying in oil (Image 11 and 12)
- Heat the oil for deep frying and set the heat to medium. Three to four at a time, fry the falafels until brown and crispy on the outside over medium heat.
- Note – Fry the falafels in batches on medium heat until golden brown and crispy from the outside. DO NOT crowd the pan!
- Take out and place on a wire rack to avoid getting soggy.
In the air-fryer (Image 13 to 15)
- Alternatively to frying, you can air-fry the falafels. Preheat the air-fryer. Then place the falafel discs, a few at a time, in an air-fryer basket. Spray some oil on beetroot falafels, and Air fry them at 375 degrees F. for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
In the oven
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F(200 degrees C.). Lay the falafels on a baking tray, brush them with oil, and bake for 12-15 minutes on each side. They should be golden brown when taking them out.
Beetroot Falafels are ready to enjoy!
How to serve Homemade Falafel?
- Hummus and flatbread – serve this falafel on top of smooth hummus, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of sumac, some toasted nuts, and a warm pita for a great light lunch or appetizer.
- Falafel pita sandwich- toast and heat a pita, open it up, spread it with hummus or your favorite condiment, and add cucumber, tomato, lettuce, beetroot falafel, some sriracha sauce, olives, and crumbled feta; the perfect kind of street food.
- Mezze style – create a lovely mezze platter with beetroot falafel to serve as an appetizer for a gathering. Get your hummus, tzatziki, baba ganoush, flatbreads, olives, vegetables, and feta cheese.
- Falafel bowl: Or you can create a falafel bowl. Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of hummus on one side using shallow dinner bowls. Next, add the salad(cucumber, tomato, lettuce, and reddish) and 3 to 4 falafel patties. Fill the empty spots in your bowls with the olive and sliced feta cheese. Finish the bowl with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a dash of sumac to season. So delicious.
Tips, notes, and quick FAQs
- You can add shredded carrot or sweet potato too into the mixture.
- If you like spicy food, add some Sambal or sriracha sauce to your falafel mixture.
- You can make falafel with fava beans or from a mixture of chickpeas and beans. The beans should be raw, dried, and not pre-cooked.
- Ensure the falafel mixture is more like a fine and crumbly mixture than a puree.
- Make sure to fry the falafel on medium heat.
- Falafels are best served immediately after cooking while still warm and crispy.
- If the mixture seems too wet when making the falafel balls, add a couple of tablespoon of all-purpose flour or until the mixture sticks together better.
- The recipe can easily be doubled.
No. I don’t recommend it. The moisture in the pre-cooked beans makes the falafels soggy and fall apart, whereas frying the uncooked chickpeas makes them crispier.
Falafel making is easy but tedious, so I like making a big batch at once. Fry them all, allow them to cool, place them in an air-tight container or zip-loc bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Then, immediately pop them in the oven without defrosting and bake until crispy.
Green lentils and soya beans make great substitutes for chickpeas in falafel.
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Beetroot Falafel
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dried Chickpea/garbanzo beans
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 125 grams Beetroot (1 medium)
- ¾ cup Onion chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste
- ¼ cup Parsley
- 2 teaspoon Roasted Cumin seeds you can use roasted cumin powder too.
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ cup Oil for frying
Method
- Wash the chickpeas with water. Then take it into a big bowl. Add 4 cups of water and cover the bowl. Let the chickpeas soak for 8 hours or overnight. This step is crucial. Please DO NOT USE CANNED/COOKED CHICKPEAS.
- Once the chickpeas are soaked, drain all the water.
- Combine all the ingredients (soaked chickpeas, beetroot, onion, parsley, roasted cumin seeds, salt, and baking soda) in a food processor.
- Pulse until well combined but not pureed. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. It doesn't have to be mushy as the balls will be too dense, but it needs to be blended enough for the mixture not to fall apart when frying them.
- Then take the beetroot falafel mixture into a bowl.
- Form the mixture into 25 thick patties. Make sure the size is not too small or too big. (image 10)
- Note: If they're not holding together, give the mixture more pulses in the food processor. Or add a couple of tbsps of all-purpose flour if it's too wet.
- Heat the oil for deep frying and set the heat to medium. Three to four at a time, fry the falafels until brown and crispy on the outside over medium heat.
- Note - Fry the falafels in batches on medium heat until golden brown and crispy from the outside. DO NOT crowd the pan!
- Take out and place on a wire rack to avoid getting soggy.
- Alternatively to frying, you can air-fry the falafels. Preheat the air-fryer. Then place the falafel discs, a few at a time, in an air-fryer basket. Spray some oil on beetroot falafels, and Air fry them at 375 degrees F. for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F(200 degrees C.). Lay the falafels on a baking tray, brush them with oil, and bake for 12-15 minutes on each side. They should be golden brown when taking them out.
- Beetroot Falafels are ready to enjoy!
- Hummus and flatbread - serve this falafel on top of smooth hummus, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of sumac, some toasted nuts, and a warm pita for a great light lunch or appetizer.
- Falafel pita sandwich– toast or heat a pita, open it up, spread it with hummus or your favorite condiment, and add cucumber, tomato, lettuce, beetroot falafel, some sriracha sauce, olives, and crumbled feta; the perfect kind of street food.
- Mezze style - create a lovely mezze platter with beetroot falafel to serve as an appetizer for a gathering. Get your hummus, tzatziki, baba ganoush, flatbreads, olives, vegetables, and feta cheese.
- Falafel bowl: Or you can create a falafel bowl. Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of hummus on one side using shallow dinner bowls. Next, add the salad(cucumber, tomato, lettuce, reddish), pita bread, and 3 to 4 falafel patties. Fill the empty spots in your bowls with the olive and sliced feta cheese. Finish the bowl with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a dash of sumac to season. So delicious.
Nutrition
Notes
- You can add shredded carrot or sweet potato too into the mixture.
- If you like spicy food, add some Sambal or sriracha sauce to your falafel mixture.
- You can make falafel with fava beans or from a mixture of chickpeas and beans. The beans should be raw, dried, and not pre-cooked.
- Ensure the falafel mixture is more like a fine and crumbly mixture than a puree.
- Make sure to fry the falafel on medium heat.
- Falafels are best served immediately after cooking while still warm and crispy.
- If the mixture seems too wet when making the falafel balls, add a couple of tablespoons of all-purpose flour or until the mixture sticks together better.
- The recipe can easily be doubled.
- This post is updated with new pics and content, originally published in Feb. 2017.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave your comments, ratings, and any ideas or changes you think could help us make our recipes even better. Thank you for your feedback!Warm regards,
Dhwani.
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