Falafel originated in the Middle East and has since become a popular alternative to meat. These days, it makes a regular appearance in fast food trucks and health food outlets all over the western world. Today I am sharing a super easy falafel carrot burger version.
It is typically deep fried, although I’ve always opted to create a much healthier baked or grilled alternative.
When I developed my original baked falafel recipe I served it on a retreat and a beautiful lady from Israel came over to me me and that it was the best falafel she’d ever tasted. I was completely bowled over, because falafel is widely considered as the national dish of Israel.
Falafel carrot burgers are easy
I create everything on intuition and since then I’ve explored different versions.
In this particular recipe here, I decided to make a burger/patty shape to form the a perfect thickness for cooking under a grill (a grill in the UK = broiler in the US).
It is so easy!
Chickpeas (garbonzo beans) are one of the main ingredients in this recipe. They are a little treasure trove of nutritional goodness, with high levels of protein, plenty of phytonutrients, folates and an abundance of minerals such as manganese, iron, copper, phosphorous and zinc.
Carrots play an exciting role too, complementing the chickpeas, cumin, coriander and garlic whilst acting to moisten and help bind everything together. The humble carrot also has exceptional vitamin A and antioxidant content along with a refreshing sweetness; well and truly earning their place as the perfect addition to these tasty burgers.
It’s full of goodness.
To top it all off I’ve also posted my coriander tahini sauce recipe for a delicious accompaniment
Click here for : Easy Tahini Sauce for Falafels
Grilled 'Carrot Falafel Burger' recipe (glutenfree, vegan)
A delicious, grilled alternative to traditional falafel, using carrots, chickpeas, garlic, coriander and cumin. Serves a treat with tahini sauce.
Ingredients
- 350g carrots grated (3 medium sized carrots)
- 3 large cloves of garlic crushed
- 2 tins of drained chickpeas (or 480g drained weight)
- A few small sprigs of of parsley (or use dried)
- 5 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Grate the carrots.
- Peel and finely crush the garlic.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
- Finely chop the parsley.
- Blend all ingredients together with a food processor or a blender. You may need to stop the processor several times and scrape down the sides. Blend until the mixture sticks together. Some chunks are fine, as long as it all holds together when you press into a patty shape.
- Divide into about 10. Form into patty shapes about 1.5cm (half an inch) high.
- Grill (broil) under a medium temperature for approximately 10 minutes on each side. That should be enough to heat them through thoroughly and give each side a nice, toasty tan. Be careful when you turn them over, they are a little fragile until crisped off on both side...
- Enjoy with tahini sauce.
And to top it off nicely, here’s a tasty tahini sauce recipe that you can whip up in no time…
Easy Tahini Coriander Sauce Recipe
I know it’s not ideal,but would these freeze,so I could make a batch on my day off,I struggle to find something really quick,as its sometimes quite late when we get in from work,and when you are tired it’s so easy to grab something less healthy.If they don’t freeze maybe you could do something on things that will or things you can make ahead,just for these difficult times,to save us from eating something far less healthy.Thank you, I look forward to your emails and posts,they are all fantastic.
Hi Susan,
You know I was JUST wondering the same thing. I occasionally freeze other veggies burgers that I make using other types of beans. Bean burgers generally freeze well, so although I haven’t actually frozen any of these falafels yet, I imagine it would work well. Just be careful when you turn them over in the grill. Freezing might make them a little more fragile until crisped up on both sides.
It’s a great idea to create a batch ahead of time so that you can dip in when ever you like. A wonderful way to keep you on a healthy path 🙂
Do let me know how you get on.
Trinity
x
Thank you I will,I have a day off today so am planning to make these,May freeze some to see how they come out.
I love this recipe ! Thanks for sharing this. Do you know any Healthy juice for high blood pressure. ? 🙂
Hi Sandy,
You are very welcome.
Beetroot and celery are good for lowering blood pressure. Most of my juices have these in… feel free to scroll through my healthy drinks page. There are a few juices on there.
Hola Trinity!
Thank you for your wonderful work, all I have tried from you turned out great. I want to make this dish tomorrow, I have nice organic chickpeas which I put in water and will soak more than 24h, should i cook them first or if they are soft enough just blend them like that? Gracias
You are welcome Claudia.
I always cook chickpeas before using them.
These sound great & can’t wait to try them! Do you have to cook canned chickpeas or are they already cooked? If so how do you cook them & for how long? Sorry but I’ve never cooked with chickpeas & just learning. Thank you, Nancy 🙂
Hi Nancy,
No need to cook canned chickpeas, they are already cooked 🙂
Have fun.
x
I tried these last weekend for a big family get together & they were absolutely delicious, everyone enjoyed them, but they were a bit dry. I grated the carrots in my food processor, so they were very coarsely grated. Have you ever had this & what would you suggest I add to keep them moist. I’m sure if I’d grated the carrots by hand, they would be finer & more of the carrot juice would have been released, so the whole mixture would have contained more moisture. More pain, more gain! 😉
Glad to hear that you enjoyed them. Not quite sure why they were a bit dry. I don’t think that using the processor to grate would make that much difference. Perhaps a little if they were more chunky. Perhaps the chickpeas weren’t quite as moist as mine? Hmmmm… if it was dry for me, I would probably just add a little touch of water to moisten up.
Have you ever tried to make your own tahini? I made some for the first time this morning and am so impressed at how easy it was, and cheap compared to pre-prepared shop bought jars. Tahini sauce is also nice made with lemon juice instead if cider vinegar.
Hi Jane,
I do indeed make my own tahini at times. I can’t quite get it as delectable as the variety I buy though, so I must admit that for now, I am still usually buying it.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
x
Wow, this is sooo much simpler than I imagined 🙂 What a lovely recipe, Trinity. I’m definitely adding it to my to make list <3
Hi ! ( sorry I’m French..)
I just made this recipe. I added a sweet potato and I accompanied it with a honey sauce and rice.
Thank you so much for the recipe, I surely do it again !
Aaya – that’s wonderful to hear. I am glad you enjoyed.
Absolutely delicious and now a firm favourite, easy week day meal.
Thank you for the recipe!
That’s wonderful to hear.
Thanks for tuning in.
I make Falafels all the time. 2 methods for freezing.
1. Freeze the batter before cooking. Thaw out in fridge. Form/shape fry.
2. Cook and freeze.
Last at least one month. Reheat in microwave or oven.
I enjoyed the flavour of the carrot burgers but I could not get them to stay whole. They crumbled when I tried to get them from under the grill. Would adding more water help to bind them?
Ahhh yes a little more moisture would help in that case. The recipe does vary from batch to batch depending on moisture levels.