Green Falafel with Herbs and Spinach

Perfectly fried falafel are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. This green falafel twist is made with the addition of fresh herbs and tender baby spinach, giving the homemade fried falafel an eye popping green hue. Serve herb falafel on top of hummus, your favorite salad or stuffed inside pita.

These green falafel are an adaptation of my classic homemade falafel recipe, with the addition of fresh herbs and baby spinach, giving the fried falafel a gorgeous green color.

Traditionally, you'll find falafel with herbs added into the mixture, which usually offers a slight green or yellow hue. With this twist, I upped the amount of fresh herbs and added tender baby spinach, giving the fried falafel a pop of freshness and a deeper green color.

Once you make homemade falafel, the variations are endless! Keep it classic and serve falafel stuffed inside homemade pita bread or in Mediterranean falafel bowls drizzled with the creamiest tahini sauce or simply serve on top of homemade hummus like we have here.

🌿 Ingredients

• Dried Garbanzo Beans: Dried chickpeas are essential in making a crispy falafel. Canned beans are way too soft for falafel and won't produce the same texture. Make sure to soak the dried chickpeas for at least 8 hours beforehand.
• Fresh Herbs: Cilantro, parsley and mint brighten the falafel with fresh flavors and also give the falafel a gorgeous green color.
• Fresh Spinach: Baby spinach is tender and blends up with the herbs easily. This also gives the green falafel and beautiful green color. You can use baby kale instead of spinach.
• Onion and Garlic: These are classic aromatics in most falafel recipes. I like using a yellow onion for falafel.
• Spices: Cumin and coriander are warm spices that give depth to the falafel.
• Flour: Use either all-purpose flour, chickpea flour or a gluten-free flour blend. A little flour is needed to help bind the mixture together.
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Both of these are used to keep the falafel light and crisp.
• High Heat Cooking Oil: Because falafel are shallow fried in batches, a high smoke point oil is important. Avocado oil is a a great high heat cooking oil but can be expensive. Other options are canola oil, grapeseed oil or vegetable oil.

🥙 How to Make Green Falafel

For a detailed step by step recipe with photos, check out my homemade falafel recipe.

1. Add the dried chickpeas to a large bowl and completely cover with cool water. Allow beans to sit overnight or for at least 8 hours and doubled in size.
2. Once done, drain the chickpeas and add them to a food processor and pulse a few times until texture looks crumbly and there are no large pieces left. Then transfer the processed beans to a large bowl.
3. In the same food processor, add the fresh herbs, fresh spinach, onion, garlic and spices. Pulse everything together until it almost looks like a paste and there are no large pieces of onion or herbs.
4. Add the herb mixture to the beans, along with the flour, baking soda and baking powder and use a large spatula to mix everything very well. Set the mixture aside and place in the refrigerator while the oil heats up.
5. Heat a large skillet with vegetable oil and bring oil up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a good time to use an infrared thermometer or you can test to see if the oil is hot by dropping a small piece of batter. If it sizzles, it's ready.
6. Use a large tablespoon and form batter into balls, about 2 tablespoons worth and use your palms to form the mixture into a ball, without compacting too much.
7. Carefully place the falafel in the hot oil. You can fit 4-5 in at once but don't overcrowd the pan. Fry on the first side until you can see it browning on the sides, about 4-5 minutes. Then flip over and fry other side.
8. Transfer the falafel to a wire rack that is fitted on top of baking sheet and sprinkle with salt while the falafel are still hot. Continue frying the falafel in batches.
9. To serve, place falafel on top of hummus and sprinkle toasted pine nuts, a pinch of cayenne and drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

What to Serve Falafel With

• Israeli Chopped Salad
• Homemade Pita Bread
• Chopped Kale and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
• Heirloom Tomato Fattoush Salad
• Quinoa Tabbouleh with Mint

More Falafel inspiration

Green Falafel with Herbs and Spinach

Samantha Ferraro

LittleFerraroKitchen.com

Green falafel are made with loads of fresh herbs and tender baby spinach, giving the homemade falafel a gorgeous green hue.

5 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Soaking 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 12 falafel

Calories 74 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  skillet
• ▢
  Infrared Thermometer
• ▢
  Fish Spatula

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
• ▢ 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• ▢ ½ cup fresh mint leaves
• ▢ ½ cup fresh parsley leaves
• ▢ ½ medium sized yellow onion roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon coriander
• ▢ Pinch of cayenne optional, for heat
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Kosher salt + more for garnish
• ▢ 3 tablespoons flour all-purpose or gluten free
• ▢ Canola or vegetable oil for frying

For Serving

• ▢ Hummus homemade or store bought
• ▢ Toasted pine nuts
• ▢ Fresh mint leaves for garnish
• ▢ Pinch of cayenne
• ▢ Olive oil for garnish

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Instructions

 

• Add the dried chickpeas to a large bowl and completely cover with cool water. Allow beans to sit overnight or for at least 8 hours and doubled in size.
• Once done, drain the chickpeas and add them to a food processor and pulse a few times until texture looks crumbly, and there are no large pieces left. Then transfer the processed beans to a large bowl.
• In the same food processor, add the fresh herbs, fresh spinach, onion, garlic and spices. Pulse everything together until it almost looks like a paste and there are no large pieces of onion or herbs.
• Add the herb mixture to the beans along with the flour, baking soda and baking powder and use a large spatula to mix everything very well. Set aside and place the mixture in the refrigerator while the oil heats up.
• Heat a large skillet with vegetable oil and bring oil up to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a good time to use an infrared thermometer or you can test to see if the oil is hot by dropping a small piece of batter. If it sizzles, it's ready.
• Use a large tablespoon and form batter into balls, about 2 tablespoons worth and use your palms to form the mixture into a ball, without compacting too much.
• Carefully place the falafel in the hot oil. You can fit 4-5 in at once but don't overcrowd the pan. Fry on the first side until you can see it browning around the sides, about 4-5 minutes. Then flip over and fry the other side.
• Transfer the falafel to a wire rack that is fitted on top of baking sheet and sprinkle with salt while the falafel are still hot. Continue frying the falafel in batches.
• To serve, place falafel on top of hummus and sprinkle toasted pine nuts, a pinch of cayenne and drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Notes

• 1 cup of dried beans yields about double or 2 cups of beans after soaking.
• If making the falafel mixture ahead of time, don't add the flour, baking soda or baking powder until right before frying. 
• Make falafel ahead of time and freeze. Fry, chill and place falafel in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 248mgPotassium: 215mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 539IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 2mg

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