These crispy oven-baked falafel are so easy to make from scratch using dried chickpeas! They taste just as good as fried falafel but are so much healthier! Serve them in pita sandwiches paired with my light yogurt mint cucumber sauce and fresh veggies.
Add all the falafel ingredients to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until it reaches a thick paste consistency, scraping the edge of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Using your hands, roll mixture into 1.5-inch (4 cm) balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet. You should get about 16 balls. With the palm of your hand, flatten each ball slightly.
Spray with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, or until lightly golden. Falafel balls should be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
While falafels are baking, prep the veggies (lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, onion).
Prepare the sauce. In a medium bowl, mix yogurt with lemon, salt and pepper. Add cucumber and mint, and mix again.
Assemble sandwich (once ready to eat). Cut each pita pocket in half with a knife or scissors. In each half, add in that order: ¼ cup lettuce, ¼ cup red cabbage, 4 cherry tomato halves, 2 falafels and a few onion slices. Top with 1 ½ tablespoons yogurt sauce and serve immediately.
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: serve as a salad bowl, without the pita pockets!
Baked Falafel Pita Sandwich https://www.notenoughcinnamon.com/baked-falafel-pita-sandwich/