Finally, I can write a recipe that truly deserves it: these beet and chickpea falafel are really delicious! They are very simple to make in just a few minutes and are vegan and light, only 1 Weight Watchers point each!
The ingredients are all healthy and nutritious: the beetroot has so many good properties I won’t even list them all, and the chickpeas provide the necessary proteins to make these falafel an excellent main course. If you have an air fryer for cooking, it will be really quick, otherwise, you can use a traditional oven.
However, I cannot take credit for this recipe; in fact, I translated it from English and found it on a blog by a girl living in Wales who not only publishes many good little recipes but is also very active in catering for vegan groups, preparing many good things for the guests. Unfortunately, they are often not too light, but oh well, this one is! The original recipe is here: Roast beetroot falafel. Let’s see how to prepare these beetroot falafel!
You can find other vegan ball recipes here
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economic
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2 with 4 falafel each
- Cooking methods: Air frying
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 beetroots (large)
- 200 g canned chickpeas (approximately 2 oz dry)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- Total points = 7 WW points
- Points per falafel = about 1 WW point
- Points for 4 falafel = 3.5 WW points
Tools
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Blender
- Air fryer
- Air fryer paper
Steps
As always, prepare and measure all the ingredients, mind you.
Wash the beets well and dice them with the skin on. To roast them, you can simply spread them on the oven tray and bake at 390°F for 15-20 minutes (make sure they don’t burn, it depends on your oven). Or, more simply, put them in the air fryer basket and cook at 340°F for 10-15 minutes, shaking the basket occasionally. They should char a bit, but not too much!
Once cooled down, put the roasted beet cubes in your blender jar, add the rinsed and drained chickpeas, two sliced garlic cloves, cumin, coriander, oil, and half a teaspoon of salt.
Blend everything together, pulsing, and if you really have difficulty with the blender, you can add a teaspoon of water. The mixture should be compact: if you put some in your hand, you should be able to squash it without it falling apart. Easier done than explained!
With the help of an ice cream scoop, shape all the falafel and place them in the air fryer basket on parchment paper. I made 8 falafel, but you can also make them smaller.
Cook them in the air fryer at 320°F for 5 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes. At this point, remove the parchment paper and let them cook at 355°F for the last 5 minutes. If you cook them in the oven, you will still need to place them on parchment paper but bake at 355°F-390°F for about twenty minutes, turning them halfway through cooking.
Now our beet and chickpea falafel are ready to enjoy! Or you can let them cool down; they are good both hot and cold!
They are really tasty! Approved even by the Dutch who prefers when the balls have a certain texture instead of other types that have a softer interior. Of course, with so much fiber, they can be chewed with pleasure since they are tasty! Let me know if you liked them by leaving a comment below or in my Facebook Club.
Enjoy!
By Giovanna Buono
Tips
If you don’t want to have red hands, use gloves when cutting the beets and forming the patties.
If you want, you can also roast the beets in advance, up to two days before.
A tasty way to serve them is with a nice big salad, some croutons, and maybe a bit of chickpea hummus. My recipe is here: light chickpea hummus, and to make it vegan, you only need to use soy yogurt and avoid adding extra water.
Cooked falafel can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days and can be frozen if you make a large quantity.
