These delectable falafel tacos are made with budget-friendly staple foods in 40 minutes and so crowd-pleasing! Protein and flavor-packed, they are an easy-to-make family-friendly dinner option.
If there are two cuisines that we’re positive most people love, it’s Mexican and Mediterranean. Both manage to achieve top tier comfort food with easy-to-make recipes!
Our easy baked falafel tacos meet somewhere in the middle by celebrating both of these cuisines.
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They are an easy-to-please family-friendly meatless lunch or dinner option that honestly doesn’t require much work in the kitchen.
Loaded with textures and flavors, these homemade falafel tacos are soon to become one of your go-to meals!
If you’ve never tried falafel before, you’re in for a treat — they are just as scrumptious as our buffalo cauliflower tacos and stuffed kidney bean burgers.
Find more vegan tacos and protein-packed meals like these easy bean burritos on our blog!
Images by Logan Ink
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Made with cheap staple foods
- Kid-friendly and suitable for meat-lovers
- Healthy and delicious sans the deep-frying
- Scrumptious & versatile
- Lower in fat & calories
- Protein-packed and nurtitious
Falafel tacos may look kind of fancy, but it’s actually a great beginner recipe for anyone curious about making their own plant-based meals at home.
Ingredients needed
- Chickpeas — some claim that canned chickpeas make for bad falafel, but we couldn’t disagree more!
- Aromatics — really important for good falafel; use plenty of onion, garlic and fresh parsley for the authentic Middle-Eastern experience!
- Seasonings –—cumin, coriander, salt and pepper are needed.
- Corn tortillas — use your favorite shells!
- Tomatoes — adding some freshness to the tacos.
- Leafy greens — crunchy, healthy, colorful!
- Avocado — we love this creamy component in our tacos a lot
- Sour cream — great combination with falafel and veggies!
Falafel are the perfect easy and budget-friendly accompaniment to any flavorful lunch or dinner!
To make this recipe, you need a food processor, parchment paper-lined baking sheet, measuring equipment, a sharp knife and a cutting board.
How to make falafel tacos
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all falafel ingredients to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Make sure not to overprocess the mixture!
- Adjust with more flour or water and scrape down the sides as needed. To see if you’ve achieved the right consistency, try to make a ball out of the batter using your hands – if the mixture is too wet and sticky, add a pinch of flour and process again.
- Form 12 small balls using your clean, wet hands (around 1-1.5 inch or 3-4 cm diameter) and arrange them next to each other on your prepared baking sheet. Flatten them out if you like!
- Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the falafel and bake for another 10 minutes until golden on both sides.
- Assemble your tacos by distributing all components between them! Enjoy warm.
Storage & serving
Oven-baked falafel are great for batch cooking! They can be refrigerated for 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container.
Any leftovers for the tacos are best stored separately in the fridge. Pop back in the oven to reheat at your convenience!
Serve these tacos for Taco Tuesday, during Game Day or as party food alongside tortilla chips, crispy roasted chickpeas and green goddess hummus.
They also pair well with this 7-layer Mexican taco dip and our roasted sweet potato salad!
Tips & FAQs
Is falafel vegan?
Falafel is often “accidentally” vegan. They are made with chickpeas, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, all of which are plant-based.
Moreover, falafel is often served with bread, salad, pickled vegetables and a tahini sauce, making them a go-to choice for vegans. Just make sure to ask that there is no yogurt added to your falafel dish!
How to make falafel wraps
One of the most common ways to enjoy these little chickpea patties are in the form of falafel wraps! Warm and soft lavash bread, crunchy fresh veggies, some hummus plus our oil-free baked falafel – pure heaven.
Falafel wraps are pretty similar to falafel tacos, so they are made in very much the same way (except for the wrapping at the end).
Can you freeze falafel?
If you want to freeze them for up to 3 months, let the baked falafel cool completely before placing them in a ziplock bag.
Once you are ready to eat them, let the frozen falafel thaw before reheating them at medium temperature in the oven for around 10 minutes.
Forming falafel
Here’s a little tip: you can also form the falafel using a medium-sized cookie or ice cream scoop instead of your hands!
Just dip it into the batter and fill it with your delicious chickpea mixture. Remove any excess batter, then release the little falafel ball onto a lined baking sheet.
Adjustments & swaps
You can use store-bought vegan sour cream or hummus for this recipe. Adding some fresh tomato salsa, pickled or grilled vegetables is also delicious!
Other tasty condiments include garlic yogurt sauce, tahini, ranch and aioli.
You can swap falafel for black bean meatballs or cauliflower wings for hearty add-ins. Try some sweet potato fries in your tacos, too!
More delicious dinners
Try these easy and nutrient-packed plant-based recipes next!
Did you make our falafel tacos and like them? Share with us in the comments below, rate the recipe or Pin it for later!
Delicious Vegan Falafel Tacos
These delectable falafel tacos are made with budget-friendly staple foods in 40 minutes and so crowd-pleasing! Protein and flavor-packed, they are an easy-to-make family-friendly dinner option.
Ingredients
- 5 corn tortillas (6-inch)
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes, finely chopped
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 2 cups leafy greens, chopped (60 g)
- 5 tbsp cashew sour cream
For the Falafel
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas (240 g), drained & rinsed
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ cup flour (60 g)
- Pinch of black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Make the Falafel
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Put all ingredients for the falafel in a food processor (or blend with an immersion blender) and pulse until finely ground without any large pieces remaining. Make sure not to overprocess and stop to scrape down sides if needed!
- If the batter is too thin, add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until you can form the batter into balls.
- With your clean hands, form 12 small balls (around 1-1.5 inches or 3-4 cm in diameter) and gently flatten them into falafel shapes if you like. Then, put them on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet so that they are not touching each other.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the falafel balls over and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown on both sides.
Make the Tacos
- Prepare the corn tacos by following the instructions on the package. Usually, you can either toast them lightly in the oven for a few minutes on each side or heat them up in a nonstick skillet until they become hot but still soft.
- Fill the tacos with the falafel, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and sour cream, evenly distributing the ingredients among all tortillas. Enjoy warm!
Notes
- For a lower calorie version, simply use romaine lettuce leaves instead of the corn tortillas
- Feel free to use more add-ins such as pickled or grilled vegetables for more colorful tacos!
- The falafel taste best fresh from the oven but can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days and even frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 tacoAmount Per Serving: Calories: 376Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 810mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 12gSugar: 8gProtein: 14g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated automatically, their accuracy is not guaranteed. Just focus on whole plant-based foods and eat until satiety!
Alena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.
Hi! I made these fantastic falafel balls which turned out great, although they were a bit dry. What can I do to make them less dry? I thought maybe applesauce, but I figured you guys (who created the recipe) might know more than me. Thanks so much!!
Hi Zoe,
have you added some water when processing the chickpeas along with the rest of the ingredients? I haven’t tried making them with applesauce, how about 1 tbsp of tahini to hold the moisture? Let me know what you end up doing, I’d be so curious to know :)
Best wishes,
Alena