One of my all-time most memorable meals happened in a back alley in Amman – the capital of Jordan.
The ‘restaurant’ (I use the term loosely) didn’t have a menu or even a name. But there was a gigantic wok-like pot on a burner out the front. And an old man frying batch after batch of crispy falafels.
We ate them with hummus tucked into pita. With pickled vegetables on the side for a kick of freshness. Yum.
It was the memory of those perfect falafels which inspired this recipe. I wanted something less carby and fresher. And baked not fried because lets face it, large pots of hot oil are scary.
My first attempts using almond meal were good but not quite right – lacking the nubbliness of a good falafel.
And then I had the stroke of genius to use seeds. Partially pulverized in the food processor they are a total winner. Luckily we don’t need to travel to the other side of the world to enjoy them.
Zucchini Falafels
Ingredients
- 300 g zucchini (courgette) 1 medium
- 150 g sunflower seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or both
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 egg
- 200 g hummus
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 250C (480F).
- Grate the zucchini and place in a medium bowl. Pulse the seeds in the food processor until about half dust / half little chunks. Add to the zucchini with the salt, cumin and egg. Stir to mix well.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with baking paper and drizzle generously with oil. Using a soup spoon, scoop the falafels into balls about golf ball size. Place them on the tray as you go. Drizzle each one with more oil.
- Pop the falafels in the oven and set your timer for 12 minutes.
- When the timer goes check that the falafels are deep golden and sizzling. If not give them another few minutes.
- Serve your hot falafels on a bed of hummus with the parsley on the side. They're also good at room temp if you want to take them for a picnic like we did.
Nutrition
Variations & Substitutions
Keto / ultra low carb / paleo – use my Almond Hummus, Broccoli Hummus or Quick Cauliflower Hummus.
egg-free – you could try a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax seeds + 2 tablespoons water) but they may not bind as well.
more substantial (carb lovers) – warm pita bread or tortillas.
more substantial (low carb) – serve with boiled, poached or fried eggs. OR with zucchini tortillas or a handful of roast almonds or walnuts.
different vegetables – anything you can grate will work like carrots, beets, kohlrabi, celeriac and you could use broccoli or cauliflower ‘rice’. I’m also thinking drained and squeezed dry frozen spinach would be good.
different seeds / nuts – you could use hemp seeds or almond meal instead of pulverising the seeds. Or try nuts like walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, macadamias or almonds.
different sauce – also good with babaganoush, Beet ‘Caviar’, Almond Hummus, Broccoli Hummus or Quick Cauliflower Hummus, Pesto, Tomato Almond Pesto or Amazing Avo Sauce.
more fancy / for entertaining – serve with ‘Best Ever’ Tabbouleh, Reliable Cabbage Salad or this Lime & Tahini Kale Salad. Or try them sprinkled with this Magic Sprinkle.
carnivore – serve with salami or proscuitto or with these Kofta kebabs.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
zucchini – will keep for 2 weeks or longer in a plastic bag in the fridge. To keep it even longer, cook sliced zucchini in a little butter until just soft then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
sunflower seeds / pepitas (pumpkin seeds) / salt / cumin – keep them in the pantry.
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
hummus – will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Can be frozen.
flat leaf parsley – tends to be the most long lasting of the leafy herbs. Should keep for a few weeks in the fridge if wrapped in a plastic bag. For longer periods pop it in the freezer – it will wilt but will still be useable in this dish.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more salt! A squeeze of lemon can help. OR some hot sauce.
too dry – overcooked falafels. Next time get them out earlier. For now eating with the hummus will help.
no oven – shallow fry in a little oil being sure to let them cook thoroughly on the first side before turning. Be very careful as they are fragile.
no food processor – finely chop the seeds by hand – they’ll be chunky but that’s fine.
sticking to the tray – next time make sure you use baking paper (not foil) to line your tray and be generous with the oil.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the parsley and hummus separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or can be frozen. Serve at room temp or pop them in the oven for a few minutes to warm through.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Delicious! And super easy. Nom nom nom 🤤
I need to make these soon Ciara!
Yummy! I tried a version with grated carrot because that is available seasonally/ regionally. I added a dollop of tahini because I was afraid it would fall apart. They turned out terrific. I love cumin!!
Served it with yogurt mixed with hot sauce.
Good call on the tahini Murphy!
and i love your idea of yoghurt and hot sauce together.
Tonight’s version with parsnip is good, too. Looking forward to some spring veg, though.
Good to know the parsnip was good Murphy!
I loved these As I had so many zucchini in my garden. I served with Tabouli, hummus and flat bread.
Yay Rachel!
I tried these last night, with a couple of ‘tweaks’:
After grating the zucchini, I poured it into a towel and squeezed out a lot of the moisture. I also reduced the amount of sunflower seeds to 100 grams. The result was a “dough” that I could shape with a spoon in my hands, and also fry in a good glug of oil in the frying pan (I’m ‘between’ ovens at the moment)
They tasted fabulous! I had four with some steak, and will have the remaing four tonight – with som kind of protein 🙂
Thanks a lot! This recipe is a keeper.
Yay Kari!
These were sooo good! I didn’t have pumpkin seeds, so used a mix of sunflower and pistachios instead (pistachios seemed to maybe fit to me) and the zucchini falafels came out beautifully! It tasted even better than regular falafels in my opinion as these are a little more moist. Will definitely do again. Thanks once again for such an easy and tasty recipe!
Good call on the pistachios Sonja!
I loved the texture and crunch of these falafel. Used a combo of pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Will be making again.
So glad you enjoyed Julie!
Made these for lunch today, and was somewhat disappointed. They tasted fine, but apart from the cumin did not resemble any falafel I’ve ever eaten. Maybe I’m a purist when it comes to falafel? I did notice that the zucchini was very juicy, so I want to offer a suggestion I came across in a zucchini pizza crust recipe: after shredding the zucchini, spread it on a lined baking sheet, sprinkle with a little salt, and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350ºF. Clearly some liquid is good, so I’d bake the zucchini for 10 minutes max. The point is to dry it out a little. I’m thinking that might help with these falafel. If I were to try these again, I would definitely do that.
I think you’re a purist 0 and that’s a good thing Susan! Maybe call them zucchini balls instead? You could dry out the zucchini but that’s too much hassle for me. 😉
Made for dinner today and thought they were amazing. I served with the Quick Cauliflower Hummus which is also a keeper. I grated the zucchini in the food processor after I’d ground the seeds. So simple, healthy and delicious! Thanks Jules!
Fantastic Kate!
I bought a hand-cranked grated recently, which made grating the zucchini much quicker, and my electric spice-grinder made short work of the sunflower seeds. I did however underestimate how much a “generous” drizzle of oil would be – these are thirsty little beggars in that respect. They could have done with more seasoning than I gave them, but were good and surprisingly filling.
So glad you enjoyed Mark!
I made the falafels last night! I made a double batch so I could freeze some and used half pumpkin seeds and half sunflower seeds. So good! Will make again!!
Fantastic Marjorie!
One of travel meal favorite memories are falafels with hummus in Malaysia of all places, made by some men from the Middle East, I forget which country, they were so delicious!! I bought zucchini today to try these out!
oh yum – the food in Malaysia is amazing! Enjoy Laura
I normally just use seeds in my falafel. Love the addition of zucchini. Will give this a go?.
Fantastic Patricia!
The zucchini keeps them lovely and moist.
YUM!! I LOVE falafels. The best ones I ever had were in Los Angeles. And I couldn’t find them in Jordan when we went to Petra. I’ve been hanging on to baked falafel recipes for years and have never tried them. However, that may change with this recipe. I like the idea of doing them with half almond meal and half hemp hearts, to save having to drag out (and clean up) my food processor, and yet retain the texture you would get with the seeds.
Isn’t Petra amazing Susan 🙂
The almond meal + hemp hearts will be a good addition. And be generous with the oil so you get good browning – most of it gets left behind.