Turmeric Chickpea-Cauliflower Falafels to turn your Feel Good Sunday into a Falafel Good Sunday. Crispy round balls with all the flavor you fancy, dipped in a cool Tzatziki sauce. Feel Good for sure!
I’ve fala-fallen for this recipe!
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I’d been craving falafel for a while but didn’t want to out to get some because that’s all deep-fried jargon.
And to make things worse, I thought they were one of those fancy foods that need special skills only proper chefs had. And so for the longest time I never bothered looking up a recipe either.
Ingredients for healthy falafels with vegetables
Regular falafels use just chickpeas, cilantro and a couple spices, but I wanted more.
More flavor, more nutrition, and EVEN MORE falafel!
So here’s what I did:
- Added extra herbs and spices: Parsley, Cilantro, Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Cayenne
- Cauliflower:
The plain vegetable doesn’t really have much to it in terms of taste, so I added a handful of riced cauliflower along with the rest of the ingredients into the food processor.
It also added more bulk to these little balls.
How to make the Chickpea falafels with dried garbanzos
- Soak chickpeas overnight – don’t use the canned garbanzos. You need the dry raw chickpeas, or you’ll end up with crumbly falafels (unless you add some flour to bind them)
- Throw everything in a food processor
- Process
- Shape mixture into balls
- Cook
Yes, that’s it. Super simple!
Process 
Shape 
Cook
How to cook falafels in an air fryer:
I air-fried these instead of regular frying or even baking. Why? That killer crispy edge!
Total success story.
You can also go for the baked and they’d be real close.
How to serve?
Dipped the turmeric chickpea cauliflower falafel in a cool Tzatziki sauce. This homemade one with just yogurt, cucumbers, lemon, garlic powder and pepper is super easy!
To make it a full falafel and tzatziki sauce wrap, stuff them in some pitas. Try my Whole Wheat Pita recipe if you’re looking for a healthier option.
Even bigger success story!
More delicious crispy Falafel?
Mixed Vegetable Falafel with Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce
Turmeric Chickpea-Cauliflower Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
Falafel
- ½ cup Dried Chickpeas, 74g, Not canned
- ¾ cups Cauliflower, Finely Chopped, 80g
- 2½ Tbsp Onion, Diced, 25g
- 4 tsp Parsley, Chopped
- 4 tsp Cilantro, Chopped
- ⅔ tsp Garlic, Minced
- ⅔ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ⅔ tsp Cumin Powder
- ⅓ tsp Ground Coriander
- ⅓ tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- ⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
Tzatziki Sauce
- ¼ cup Greek Yogurt, 50g
- 2 Tbsp Cucumber, Finely Diced, 15g
- ½ tsp Lemon Juice
- ⅛ tsp Garlic Powder
- ⅛ tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Put chickpeas in a bowl and fill with water, about 3” over the top surface of the chickpeas. Soak for 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375°F and lightly grease a baking sheet, or use an air fryer.
- Place all ingredients – soaked chickpeas, cauliflower, onion, parsley, cilantro, minced garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper – in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Do not over-pulse – the mixture should be coarse/paste-y.
- Use your hands or a cookie scoop to shape falafel mixture into small balls or patties and place in air fryer basket or prepared baking sheet.
- Air fry at 350°F for about 15 minutes, or Bake for 25 minutes, flipping half way, until golden brown and crisp. See notes for frying.
- Combine all ingredients for sauce in a bowl.
- Serve falafel with the cool sauce and a warm pita!
Notes
- Chickpeas need to be soaked in water for 24 hours so they soften up, do not cook or they will crumble.
- To use canned or chickpeas, mix in about 2-3 Tbsp flour to the crumbled falafel mixture to so it binds and holds shape.
If you skip the flour, they will crumble after baking even if they seem to hold shape before. - To fry: Fry on a skillet in oil about 1” high heated to 350°F for 2-3 minutes.
- Prep the dough and freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw, stir the mixture, then shape into balls and cook.
- In the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Servings: 8 1½” falafels | Serving size: 4 falafel + 3 Tbsp sauce
- Calories: 175kcal
- Fat: 2.7g | Saturated fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 28.7g | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6.1g
- Protein: 11g
Hey! I'm Haylee
Google Software Engineer
I use my passion for baking (and eating) to create healthy, high-protein, good-for-you and diet-friendly desserts and sweet treats that are actually delicious.
Come join me in Hayl's Kitchen and let's eat high protein, sweet and guilt free!