Healthy Homemade Baby Baked Falafel

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Following on from my Spiced Vegetable Croquettes recipe, I continue my quest to come up with healthy, adventurous foods the Twins can feed themselves. They are 11 months old now and really aren’t interested in being fed by Mom, yet I’m trying to continue the balanced diet they used to get from homemade purees. These baby baked falafel are delicious and I’m so pleased my boys are enjoying them.

Beans are the perfect source of protein, especially because as a household we are trying to cut down on meat consumption. I am also keen on introducing them to herbs and spices, and what better to do it than this Middle-Eastern classic – Falafel.

Baby Baked Falafel Pin

Why I’ve Broken the Falafel Rules

I may be upsetting many an Israeli falafel lover here because traditionally they should be made with dried chickpeas. They should also be fried in oil to give that crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle texture. I apologize in advance because I’ve gone rogue… It can be difficult to find dried chickpeas in your local grocery store, and they also have to be soaked overnight before you can use them. So if you’re prepared and organized, go with dried, but if you have three children and a time management problem, buy canned.

Baby Baked Falafel Twins



Cooking Baby Baked Falafel

Making homemade falafel is really simple, and like most things, I make extra and then heat them up for the following couple of days.  I tried frying them but because they are smaller than traditional falafel they soaked up a lot of oil and were too greasy. I tasted both the fried and the oven baked and I genuinely favor the baked, hence the recipe below. I’m happier offering baked goods over fried to the babies anyway; the Twins really enjoy making a mess while dipping into yogurt!

Baked Baby Falafel
2016-10-13 17:58:44
Yields 30
A Middle-Eastern classic made a little easier and healthier for moms and babies alike.
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
40 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 (15oz) cans of chickpeas
  2. 1/2 an onion
  3. 6 cloves of garlic
  4. 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  5. 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
  6. 1 tsp ground coriander
  7. 1 tsp ground cumin
  8. 4 tbs flour
  9. 1 tsp baking powder
  10. 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
  11. 1 tbs olive oil (optional)
  12. Plain Greek yogurt & cucumber to serve
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Finely chop the onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro.
  2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place into a food processor with the chopped veg, flour, baking powder, herbs and spices. Add a little salt if you wish.
  3. Pulse the ingredients in the food processor. You're aiming to break the chickpeas up, without turning them into a paste.
  4. Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls of around 1-1.5 inches in diameter.
  5. To give just a little crisp to the outside and stop them drying out, roll the falafel in a tbs of olive oil on a plate. Alternatively you could lightly spray with oil or just leave them bare - they will still be delicious!
  6. Place the falafel onto a lined tray and bake for 40mins, turning at half time.
  7. Serve on top of Greek yogurt with a side of cucumber.
Notes
  1. Instead of plain yogurt and sliced cucumber, you could go all out and make Tzatziki, yum. What can I say... I'm a busy woman and it just didn't happen this time! Enjoy snacking on your baby's food 😉
By Katherine Betts
TwinPickle https://twinpickle.com/



 
Baby Baked Falafel and Yogurt
The only trouble with baby/toddler finger food is… the bite-sized nature means you can always eat just one more!

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About the author

Katherine is an electrochemist, hiking enthusiast, and family lifestyle blogger. As a mom of three, including twins, she enjoys DIY, travel, and eating good food. British born, Katherine moved to the US in 2014, and now called Las Vegas home.

4 thoughts on “Healthy Homemade Baby Baked Falafel”

  1. A brilliant, yummy idea. We did baby-led weaning when my son was small and had so much fun coming up with ideas like this. Thanks for sharing xx #foodiefriday

    Reply
    • My boys demolished them, although Arthur decided he didn’t like the feel of the yogurt on his hands so he had yogurt for desert instead! ? Thanks for tweeting out 🙂

      Reply
  2. This was a wonderful recipe. I found that replacing flour with bread crumbs took care of the pasty texture that comes with grinding canned chickpeas!

    Reply

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