I love falafel. So very much. But I really hate frying things. The smell of oil, the mess, the flesh wounds. Just not a good situation. And the flesh wounds might not let you enjoy your yummy falafel. Baked falafel is obviously the answer.

And so I present to you: yummy baked falafel.

Step 1: What You'll Need:

15 to 20 oz can chickpeas, drained OR 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours and drained
1/2 onion
6 tablespoons of chopped parsley and/or cilantro (I'm doing about 2/3 parsley, 1/3 cilantro)
2-3 cloves garlic, depending on your taste
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of cayenne
couple tablespoons of olive oil - for the falafel and for the baking sheet!
salt and pepper to taste

You'll need a food processor too. (I use this one - it's awesome!)

It is important to note that I am using cooked chickpeas, which is fine - but if you'd like to get all traditional, simply soak a cup of dried chickpeas in fridge for 24 hours and use those. I'll be doing that next time to see the difference.

The falafel will be baked at 400 degrees F - 10 minutes for first side, 15 minutes for the second.

Step 2: Preheat and Prep!

Turn the oven on to 400 F.

Roughly chop the herbs, onions and garlic.

I know most people are like "LOL WHY?" but my food processor hates big pieces. I bet yours does too. So be nice to it.

Step 3: Process!

Throw EVERYTHING in the food processor.

You'll want to pulse it, scraping down the sides until everything is finely processed and combined, but not pureed. If you're having problems getting it to come together, add a tiny bit of olive oil to get it going.

The mixture should be slightly wet and hold together well.

Taste everything at this point and adjust seasonings as needed. :)

Step 4: Oil the Baking Sheet and Form Patties.

I got 10 patties out of the mixture. I started with balls about two inches wide and then flattened them. I like having them flat because they're easier to eat in a pita and they cook better in the oven. :)

You can do bigger or smaller, but you might want to adjust the cooking time. Just play around with it.

Step 5: Cooking!

After ten minutes, take them out and carefully flip them. They'll be starting to brown and should be pretty firm.

Put them back in for fifteen minutes.Once I took them out, I flipped them so you guys can see how lovely and brown they get.

The outsides should be crusty, and the insides should be nice and soft.

Step 6: Serve!

Great with yogurt or sour cream, hummus (my recipe can be found here!), tahini sauce, guacamole, or tzatziki. I always put cucumber and red onion in mine. A little mint & tomato is good too.

Hopefully I'll have a recipe up for tzatziki soon. :)