My keto falafel are so tasty. You won't believe this low carb version is made with cauliflower instead of chickpeas! They are crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and packed with flavor from spices and fresh parsley. Includes a step by step recipe video.
Jump to:
Falafel is one of the fast foods I have been missing since I've started eating a keto diet.
Before I went low carb, I ordered it often from a Middle Eastern food truck close to my place. The falafel were super crispy and served in a pita bread with salad and lots of tahini dressing.
But, they were not keto at all. Why?
Because traditional falafel is made from chickpeas or fava beans, which makes it naturally high in carbs. In fact, a single falafel ball can contain 5-6g net carbs.
How I made falafel keto friendly
My keto version swaps the chickpeas with cauliflower. Cauliflower is naturally low in carbs. By making this simple substitution, a serving of 3 crispy cauliflower falafel is only 4.8g net carbs!
This keto falafel recipe got the thumbs up from my whole family. It is on a par with my spinach balls!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Authentic flavor and superbly crunchy. I'm going to show you how to make crispy keto falafel that have a light and fluffy texture without EVER falling apart.
- Naturally gluten-free
- Nutritious and packed with veggie goodness
- Only 15 minutes prep
- Works as a lunch or dinner with a salad. Or, serve as a keto appetizer with the tahini dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower - The fresher, the better!
- Onion - finely chopped.
- Egg - I used large eggs.
- Almond flour and sesame seeds - I'm using ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour. Super-fine almond flour will also work.
- Parsley and coriander - both flat leaf or curly parsley are fine. Don't substitute this with dried.
- Garlic and spices - Fresh garlic will lend better flavour than garlic powder. But if powder is all you've got, don't sweat it! Also essential are cumin, pepper and oregano.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
It's surprisingly easy to make keto falafel. Here are the basic steps with step by step images.
For detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card. Also, watch the recipe video to see exactly how the falafel mixture should look and how to cook it.
Step 1: Place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse to a rice consistency. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and microwave until soft.
Step 2: Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a muslin cloth, fine tea towel or strong kitchen roll. Squeeze out as much water as possible.
Step 3: Heat olive oil in a non stick frying pan. Fry the onion on a medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant.
Step 4: Add the cauliflower and onion mix to mixing bowl along with all the spices, seasoning, lemon juice, eggs and olive oil. Mix to combine.
Step 5: Roll / press into balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with a good covering of olive oil.
Step 6: Bake until golden on the outside and soft in the middle and to your liking. They will firm up as they cool.
Tahini Sauce
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with a hand balloon whisk. This will stop the tahini splitting.
Katrin's Top Tips
Squeeze all liquid out of the cauliflower. This means - squeeze, squeeze, and when you think you're finished, squeeze once more! This is important to make the falafel more robust.
Check your dough. If it is too wet to work with, add 1-2 tablespoons more almond flour. This could happen if you squeezed less water out of the cauliflower than I did.
Be generous with the olive oil. Make sure you drizzle over plenty of olive oil before baking. This will keep them moist and makes them super tasty.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Pan-frying makes the falafel nice and brown all over, but they are a little more fragile than the ones made in the oven. Also, you'll need a generous amount of oil for the pan. To make the batter sturdier for pan-frying, increase the amount of almond flour to ⅔ cup / 70g.
Cauliflower falafel would be perfect for air frying. Put them on parchment paper just like in the oven so they don't stick. This should take a little less time than in the oven.
The most common cause is that you did not squeeze enough water out of the cauliflower.
Use the same amount of sesame flour or 3 tablespoons coconut flour.
Store keto falafel in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Or, freeze the falafel for up to 3 months.
Yes. Re-heat them in the oven or gently pan-fry.
Serving Suggestions
I served my low carb falafel on a bed of cauliflower keto tabbouleh for lunch. This Middle Eastern salad is light and fragrant and takes only 15 minutes to prepare.
The combo was delicious!
You could also go for a simple green salad or even a Greek salad with olives and feta cheese. Not quite authentic, but the flavours mingle well.
Or go for the Berlin Food truck option and put them in a keto pitta bread with salad and sauce!
They would also be delicious with my tahini bread.
Related Recipes
Here are more keto cauliflower recipes to try:
- Cauliflower Tortillas30 Minutes
- Cauliflower Rice Sushi (Keto)40 Minutes
- Keto Risotto21 Minutes
- Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice12 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Recipe
Keto Falafel
Video
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower 350g florets / 3 cups cauliflower rice
- ¼ cup of each / 15g each fresh parsley and fresh coriander chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small onion ¼ cup / 40g, finely chopped
- ½ cup / 50g almond flour
- ½ tbsp each ground coriander and sesame seeds (cilantro)
- ½ tsp each cumin, dried oregano, pepper
- ⅓ teaspoon cayenne or turmeric
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs large
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + 2- 3 tablespoon for drizzling before baking
Tahini sauce
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- 1 garlic clove small
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon ice cold water
- Pinch of flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F / 200C.
- Place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until a rice consistency.
- Transfer to a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a muslin cloth, fine tea towel or strong kitchen roll and squeeze out as much water as possible. This is important to help the falafel stay tougher.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick frying pan. Fry the onion for 2 - 3 mins on a medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and fry for 1 more minute until fragrant.
- Add the cauliflower and onion mix to the mixing bowl along with all the spices, seasoning, lemon, eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix to combine. Roll / press into balls and place on a greaseproof lined baking tray. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle or brush over a good covering of olive oil.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden on the outside and soft in the middle and to your liking. (Start checking from about 15 minutes as depends how big you make your falafel as to how long they take.) They will also firm up as they cool.
Tahini Sauce
- Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with a hand balloon whisk. This will stop the tahini splitting. Drizzle tahini over the falafel before serving or serve on the side.
P Prakash
Dear Katrin, so tasty. And easy to make. Thank you for the recipe
Linda
I have a tip for getting the most water from cauliflower with less mess and easier clean-up. Use a ricer with small holes. 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Bruce, chickpeas are very high in carbs. That's why I use cauliflower as an alternative.