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5 from 2 votes

Baked Falafel Recipe with a Spicy Moroccan Sauce

Baked falafel balls, made in muffin tins, and served with a Moroccan spicy sauce of red peppers, tomatoes, dates, and spices.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Vegetarian Appetizer or Main
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Keyword: Baked falafel
Servings: 4
Calories: 155kcal
Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

Falafel

  • 1 cup dried chickpeas
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
  • ½ cup packed fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup packed fresh mint leaves
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • teaspoon ground black pepper

Spicy Moroccan Sauce

  • 1 medium red sweet pepper
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 pitted whole unsweetened dates
  • ¼ cup boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ras-el-hanout spice

Instructions

Falafel

  • Place the chickpeas in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, cover, and soak the beans overnight. Drain. At this point they should be soft enough to be easily chopped by a food processor.
  • Preheat the oven to 375˚ F, and brush a muffin pan with olive oil (or line with paper muffin cups).
  • Put the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade and pulse until coarsely ground. Add in the remaining Falafel ingredients and continue to pulse until the chickpeas are finely ground. You should be able to gather the mixture together into a ball. If you can't, continue to pulse until you can.
  • Roll 2 tablespoons of the falafel mix into a ball and place in a muffin cup. Continue with the remaining mix. You should end up with 12 balls. Brush each with a little olive oil, and top with a little Spicy Moroccan Sauce. Slide into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Scoop the falafel out of the muffin tin using a spoon, and ladle a little more sauce over them. Serve warm.

Spicy Moroccan Sauce

  • Preheat the oven to 450˚ F, and form 2 foil "trays" that will fit on a baking sheet. Place the red pepper on one foil tray, place the tomatoes on the other. Toss the tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove the tomatoes, and continue to roast the pepper until blackened, turning the pepper over every few minutes. Remove the pepper from the oven, and wrap in the foil until cool enough to be handled. Peel and seed.
  • Soak the dates in the boiling water for 5 minutes.
  • Place the roasted pepper, tomatoes, and remaining Spicy Moroccan Sauce ingredients into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Whirl like crazy until smooth.

Notes

Recipe makes 12 falafel balls (3 balls per serving).
Calories were calculated using the VeryWell Fit nutrition calculator for 4 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal