This insanely tasty falafel burger is easy and bursting with Mediterranean flavor! Smother in sauce for an epic vegetarian or vegan dinner.
Oh hello. Meet our favorite vegetarian and vegan dinner recipe: the Falafel Burger! We don’t always have the energy to fry up a batch of authentic falafel. So eating it in burger form is the next best thing! These are easy to make with canned chickpeas. The combination of a cumin and coriander-scented chickpea patty with cool cucumber sauce and all the fixin’s is pretty darn epic. It’s a healthy vegetarian and vegan dinner recipe that everyone loves.
Why make falafel burgers?
These falafel burgers are much easier to whip up than our classic falafel sandwich. That sandwich is full of beautiful, authentic flavor: but it does require some thinking ahead. This one is a little easier! Here’s why to make falafel in burger form:
- You can use canned chickpeas! No need to soak dried chickpeas overnight. This means you can make it with little to no advanced planning (a big plus in our book).
- Easy to shape. The patties are much easier to shape than the balls with traditional falafel: and you only have to make four!
- No messy frying! Authentic falafel requires frying, which can be a little tricky. These falafel burgers need just a quick and easy fry with a drizzle of oil, then they’re finished in the oven.
Ingredients in falafel burgers
This falafel burger is a great healthy dinner idea when you’re cooking for many diets! It’s vegetarian and vegan, and you can make it gluten-free by using gluten-free flour. Here’s what you need to make a killer falafel burger:
- Canned chickpeas: you can also use cooked chickpeas (try our stovetop or Instant Pot methods)
- Carrot
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Cilantro or parsley, if you have a cilantro aversion!
- Flour (or gluten-free flour)
- Spices: Cumin, coriander, salt and pepper
- Neutral oil
Use a food processor or make them by hand
The main idea behind these falafel burgers: puree the ingredients to make a “dough”, form into patties, lightly pan fry them, then bake. There are two options for making the dough:
- Food processor: This is our preferred method because it’s quick and easy. We have a large-sized food processor, which works great for a single or double batch (more about doubling it below).
- By hand: You can also make the falafel burgers by hand if you don’t have a food processor. It takes a little longer, but you’ll mash the chickpeas with a fork, then grate all the vegetables.
Falafel sauce: 3 options!
There are several falafel sauce options that are authentic for serving with falafel. There are options for both vegetarian and vegan diets! Here’s a little breakdown:
- Yogurt sauce: This yogurt-based Cucumber Sauce or Dill Sauce are quick and easy to whip up, and traditionally served on a falafel sandwich.
- Tahini sauce: This Lemon Tahini Sauce is vegan and plant-based, and also traditional for serving with falafel. You could also add some chopped fresh dill for an herby punch.
- Cilantro sauce: A green Cilantro Sauce is also traditional! This one is made with cashews and is another vegan option. Zhoug is another green sauce made with olive oil and herbs that’s served with falafel in Israel.
Make a double batch: they refrigerate and freeze well!
The great thing about these falafel burgers is that they store very well! Consider making a double batch and saving them for easy meals. Since they take about 45 minutes start to finish, we like to double it so we have leftovers. Here’s storage info for falafel burgers:
- Refrigerate for up to 1 week. You can reheat in a 350 degree oven if you’d like, or eat them cold or room temperature.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. The freeze well! Just thaw in the refrigerator or reheat in a 350 degree oven.
What to serve with falafel burgers?
Making a meal to impress a crowd and need some sides for these falafel burgers? Here’s what we’d recommend:
- Greek Salad This authentic Greek salad is packed with fresh tomatoes, crisp cucumber, salty feta cheese, and briny olives.
- Quinoa Tabbouleh This spin on the classic Mediterranean salad is an easy healthy side dish.
- Simple Carrot Salad Fresh and healthy, with a tangy vinaigrette dressing!
- Creamy Cucumber Salad The silky sauce with dill and shallots brings an irresistible flavor.
- Baked Fries, Homemade Fries or Perfect Seasoned Fries A classic combo!
- Greek Fries Even better, top your fries with feta and herbs.
- Easy Arugula Salad The simplest salad you’ll make.
- Celery Salad with Apples A uniquely refreshing salad with celery, apple and Parmesan.
More veggie burger recipes
Veggie burgers are so satisfying! Here are a few more veggie burger recipes to try:
- Portobello Mushroom Burger Grilled or roasted! Savory and meaty, it’s irresistible with cheese and special sauce.
- Best Veggie Burger Slathered with barbecue sauce, it doesn’t fall apart on the grill!
- Best Chickpea Burgers A hugely satisfying vegan dinner! Topped with vegan bacon and spicy mayo.
- Black Bean Burger Supremely tasty, with savory spices and walnuts for texture. So good!
This falafel burger recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and serve without a bun or with a GF bun.
Print
Epic Falafel Burger
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This insanely tasty falafel burger is easy and bursting with Mediterranean flavor! Smother in sauce for an epic vegetarian or vegan dinner.
Ingredients
For the falafel burgers (double to make leftovers*)
- 15-ounce can chickpeas (1 ½ cups cooked)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 large carrot
- ½ red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, loosely packed (or parsley)
- 6 tablespoons flour (or gluten-free flour)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil (for frying)
For serving
- 4 buns
- Tomato
- Cucumber slices
- Red onion slices
- Lettuce
- Quick Cucumber Sauce, Dill Sauce, Tahini Sauce (vegan) or Cilantro Sauce (vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dab the chickpeas with a paper towel to remove extra moisture, then place them in the bowl of a food processor. Add the sesame seeds, then process until a paste-like consistency is formed. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a potato masher or fork to mash them in a bowl until they’re mostly mashed.) Scrape the mixture into a bowl.
- Add the carrot, red onion, garlic, and cilantro to the bowl of the food processor; pulse until finely ground. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a large size grater to grate the onion and carrot, then finely grate the garlic and finely chop the cilantro.) Scrape the vegetables into the bowl with the chickpeas.
- Stir in the flour, cumin, coriander, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix with a spoon until combined, then form 4 round patties and place them on a baking sheet.
- In a medium frying pan, heat ¼ cup oil over medium heat. Carefully add the patties to the pan. If you have one, top with a splatter screen. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown on one side. Flip and fry for another 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown, turning down the heat as necessary.
- Transfer the patties to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and baked through. Remove the patties from the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes to firm up.
- Meanwhile, make the falafel sauce. To serve, place on a bun with tomato, cucumber, red onion, and lettuce, and top with sauce. The burgers save well in the refrigerator for 1 week, so they’re great to make ahead and eat throughout the week. They also freeze well!
Notes
*It’s easy to make 8 and freeze the rest for eating later: they also save well refrigerated for up to 1 week. Just double everything!
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Keywords: Falafel burger
These were amazing! I doubled the recipe and must have made them smaller since I got 12 decent sized patties. They were a great texture, have a great flavor, and didn’t fall apart as I was making them. My 11 month old loved them too :) Your recipes consistently just work so well for me, and are usually simple and use ingredients that I already have in my house. Thank you!
Fantastic! I love the crispy texture. I didn’t have sesame seeds, so I threw in some walnuts. Mine were a little crumbly– my fault since I don’t always properly measure out ingredients–so I added some Greek yogurt as a binder, and it turned out great! This is a keeper! Thank you!
These were excellent. Followed the recipe exactly but used whole wheat flour and toasted sesame seeds. A lot healthier than the deep fried falafel at restaurants and just as tasty.
Thanks for all the great recipes you’ll have provided over time. They’re very helpful and healthy keep up the great work. Thanks
★★★★★
You’re welcome!
Hub
Trying these out.
Is it plain flour?
Also if I were to freeze, shall I do the oils frying part, cool them then freeze?
If we cook from frozen, do we omit the oil frying part?
Many thanks!
Jas
★★★★★
Hi!
Yes, just all-purpose flour.
For freezing, I would make the full recipe and then just thaw in the refrigerator or reheat in a 350 degree oven.
Can this be adapted to just be baked in the oven without the frying in oil? An Air Fryer would probably work but we don’t have one. Thx.
★★★★★
Great question! We tested it that way but the texture wasn’t as satisfying. However, you may want to try our Baked Falafel instead! It doesn’t require pan frying. Here’s the recipe: https://www.acouplecooks.com/baked-falafel-recipe/
These look so good! Can I use tahini instead of sesame seeds? How much do you think would work?
Thanks!
a straight 2 T substitution should work.
Very good
★★★★★