Keto Falafel
My crispy keto falafel are made with cauliflower instead of chickpeas. They have an authentic flavor with a fraction of the carbs. Bake or pan-fry these herby falafel balls for an easy vegetarian appetizer of dinner. Watch the step-by step video to see how to get them super crispy.
Servings: 5
Calories: 256kcal
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.
Video
Notes
Net carbs: 4.8g per serving without tahini sauce. Makes 15 falafel.
I calculated 3 falafel per person = 5 servings in total.
Including the tahini sauce: 5.9g net carbs per portion.
Storage: Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Don't cut corners when squeezing the cauliflower rice! Squeeze, squeeze, and when you think you're finished, squeeze once more! This is important to make the falafel more robust.
Note - if you find that the dough is too wet to work with, add 1-2 tablespoon more almond flour. This could happen if you squeezed less water out of the cauliflower than I did.
Tip: Make sure you brush on olive oil before you bake them. This will keep them nice and moist and makes them super tasty.
Note: I tested 2 cooking methods - pan-frying and oven baking. The oven method yielded firmer falafel. If you want to pan-fry, I recommend that you increase the almond flour to ⅔ cup / 70g to make the falafel sturdier.
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcal | Total Carbohydrates: 9.8g | Protein: 7.8g | Fat: 22.3g | Saturated Fat: 3.2g | Fiber: 3.8g | Sugar: 2.6g
