Baked Falafel Bites with Creamy Tahini Dressing - (Free Recipe below)

Baked Falafel Bites – Gluten-free + Vegan Makes 20-25 balls, serves 2-4

1 25-ounce can of organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed* 1 small red onion, chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled (feel free to add more garlic if you like your falafel super garlicky) 1/4 cup fresh parsley 1/4 cup fresh oregano Juice from 1/2 lemon 1 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour, gram flour or besan) – you could also use a gluten-free all-purpose flour

Add everything but the chickpea flour and baking powder to the food processor and pulse until everything is well combined. You want the chickpeas coarsely chopped and all of the ingredients combine, but don’t puree it, you do not want it smooth and pastey.

Add the baking powder and chickpea flour and pulse to bring it all together into a dough. Add more flour if need the dough is too wet and not holding together well. Form the dough into a large ball and cover, refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch – 2 inches balls (you can also make patties if you prefer). Place the balls (or patties) onto the baking sheet, they don’t need much room between them since they don’t change size or expand.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning them over about halfway through, bake until nicely browned.

Serve the falafel on top of a beautiful green salad with all of your favorite things and drizzle with creamy tahini dressing (recipe below), you could also serve them inside of a pita pocket or over rice.

*note – I love chickpeas and I eat them very often, so I always buy the larger can that is 25 ounces, if you buy a standard sized can that is 15 ounces, just use a bit less chickpea flour and baking power, more like 1/4 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder and you will just end up with a few less falafel balls or patties.