Behold, black bean falafel, my newest falafel creation! I kind of have a crazy love affair with homemade falafel. I make traditional falafel at least once a month around here, but lately I have been playing around with the recipe and creating new falafel creations like my Thanksgiving Stuffing Poppers and this black bean version. This falafel recipe ditches the garbanzo beans and uses black beans instead, which is my families' favorite legume.
How to serve black bean falafel
Todd and I ate our black bean falafel in grilled tortillas with avocado, homemade tomatillo salsa, heirloom tomatoes, pickled peppers, and cilantro while our kids chose to dip their falafel straight into a fresh batch of guacamole.
Of course, you don't have to eat these stuffed into taco shells or dipped in guacamole, you can opt for more traditional falafel fare. Anyway you serve these up they are pretty amazing and your family will thank you!
If you’ve made our Black Bean Falafel recipe I would be so grateful if you would rate the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments below! I just love hearing from you and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours.
PrintBlack Bean Falafel
Don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know what you think about this Black Bean Falafel recipe in the comments below, I just love hearing from you and your reviews/comments really help other people that visit This Mess is Ours!
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups black beans, soaked in water to cover by 3-inches for 24 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems roughly chopped
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Grapeseed oil for frying
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Alternate between the machine running constantly and pulsing, stopping to scrape the sides, until the mixture is all uniform in size. You want the consistency to be grainy not smooth.
- Use a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon measure to scoop up a small amount of the mixture. Roll it in between the palm of your hands to make a compact, round ball. Proceed with the rest of the batter, lining all of the falafel on a parchment paper lined baking sheet until there is no black bean mixture remaining in the food processor.
- Pour the oil into a high sided skillet or dutch oven to a depth of 3 inches and place it over medium high heat. Place a thermometer in the oil and heat the oil until it registers between 360°F and 375 °F.
- Meanwhile, line another baking sheet with paper towels or brown paper grocery bags to drain the cooked falafel after they have cooked.
- When the oil is to temperature, drop one popper at a time into the oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. The oil should sizzle and bubble around each falafel and the falafel should hold together perfectly. Cook until the falafel are golden brown, about 1½ – 2½ minutes; remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and place on the paper towel lined baking sheet to drain. Sprinkle the tops of the hot falafel with salt. Repeat the process with the remaining batter until all of them have been cooked.
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Christina Dosanjh says
Hi There can these be baked instead of fried?
meg@thismessisours says
Hi, great question! I have personally never had luck baking them - the outside doesn't get crunchy like it does when baking them.
Laurie Gerber says
Thanks. I’ll try some grated carrot and chopped mushroom next time. I think it will take the flavor profile outside of the conventional realm of felafel, but I’m sure it will work to hold moisture.
thismess says
Sounds great! Please, let me know how they turn out!
Laurie Gerber says
Dear “Mess-ers”,
Thanks for this recipe! I have been making felafel from whole dried chickpeas this way and I like it so much more than prepared mixes. Wanted to try other beans and your recipe was my first. It happens that my husband doesn’t like onions, so I left them out. But the resulting mix cooked up pretty dry. Have you had this happen? And have you tried including other vegetables for moisture in this or other felafel recipes.
About the previous inquiry - my husband tried making felafel from cooked chickpeas - there was just no way to get the mix to stick together when it cooked. So it was just a greasy hash.
thismess says
Hmm...I haven't tried substituting anything for the onions, but I would imagine that the mix would be incredibly dry without them. I wish I had a better answer for you, I'm so sorry! I also agree - you cannot make falafel from cooked chickpeas. It just doesn't work!
Audrey says
Can the black beans be cooked? I just finished cooking up some black beans this morning using the overnight method and want to use these up first.
Meg says
Audrey,
I have honestly never made them that way, but it would be worth a shot. Worst case scenario you batter may be a little wet in which case I would sprinkle a little gluten free all purpose flour into the mix. No more than a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Try to avoid the flour though if you can. Please come back and let me know how it turns out!!
Allyssa says
I was looking for falafel recipes on Pinterest and found this! YUM. Thank you for sharing! I can't wait to try it out. It's earned a spot in my bookmarks!
Meg says
Thanks Allyssa! I hope you really enjoy it.:)
Rachael Patten says
Oops! I accidentally left the wrong Pinterest name- it's rcpatten!
Kristin says
Love falafel! Nice to see some new foodie blogs I wasn't aware of! YEAH!
Have a great w/e!
Pinned!
K-
Meg says
Thank Kristin! I hope you have a great weekend too:)
Holly Ellerton says
I am so excited to try this recipe! I love falafel!
Thank you for a great give away.
Meg says
You are so welcome Holly!! I hope you enjoy the falafel.
Min says
Yum! This looks amazing! I adore falafel but have never made it myself. Once the school semester ends, I will def be making this ;). Thank you so much for the recipe, Meg. And I'm so glad to be hosting this giveaway with you!
Meg says
Thank you! I am so happy to be a part of the giveaway with you as well.:)
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
I love this and am so inspired. Frankly when it comes to falafel, one of the only foods I actually fry, ever, I just make it from the boxed mix. Now I am soo going to try this. What a great idea, and I love the accompaniments. Thanks so much for being a part of this giveaway!
Meg says
Katie, I promise that you will NEVER go back to the boxed mix after you try this method. I am so excited to be a part of the giveaway, thanks for letting me join in the fun!
Kathi says
So, the beans don't need to be cooked first? I'm a little confused because the directions seem to be that of your Thanksgiving stuffing poppers--thinking the procedure is probably about the same, but wondering whether we've missed a step...
Meg says
You are correct, the beans do not require cooking first. I apologized for the confusion, I had meant to go back and edit the directions and due to lack of coffee I guess it slipped my mind.:) The procedure for making my Authentic Golden Falafel, Thanksgiving Stuffing Poppers, and this recipe are all the same only the ingredients change.