So it’s two for one day over here at IBIH! Why are you getting a bonus post today? Because I just couldn’t sit on it for another day, that’s why!
Recently I posted this low carb hummus recipe, and in the post I mentioned having an idea for a cauliflower-based falafel. Well I had so much cauliflower in my fridge that I finally decided to start testing it out this afternoon.
I wasn’t really sure how I was going to go about it, just had a few theories on what might work and what wouldn’t. I figured I’d at least start today, but never dreamed that it would turn out as well as it did on the first try!
This cauliflower-based low carb falafel recipe is so good that it was all I could do not to burst into song like a Disney princess when I took the first taste of it.
I wanted the crunchy texture of a chickpea-based falafel so I started with raw cauliflower, first roughly chopped, and then ground in the food processor. I was worried that it would be too mushy when it cooked, so to keep the chickpea-like texture, I thought maybe ground almonds might do the trick.
I used the slivered almonds you can buy in the baking section of most grocery stores and ground them to a still slightly chunky texture in my magic bullet. To that I added the classic flavorings of falafel, a little heavier on the cumin to hide any cauliflower flavor.
To help bind it I used coconut flour and eggs.
When I formed them they held together well, but I never dredged them and I worried that they wouldn’t brown. As you can see by the picture they DID and perfectly!
Super crunchy like falafel should be! And the interior texture was so good – the slight crunch of the nuts mimicked the chickpeas unbelievably well! The real test though, was whether or not I could get them by my husband and four year old son. Hungry Jr. pronounced them “delicious” and Mr. Hungry never even tasted the cauliflower!
This is a major win for me because he HATES cauliflower and can sniff out even a hint of it like a cadaver dog in a cemetery. So when he got home from work I’d already cleaned up the evidence and had him taste one. He thought they were great except for the slight crunch of the nuts which is a weird thing he has.
Never caught the cauliflower though and was surprised when I told him. YYESSSS! In your FACE!!! (LOL, just kidding! I didn’t really say that but I did think it and do a mental victory dance!) They really are THAT good!
I can’t wait for you guys to try them and tell me what you think! If you like falafel, I think you’ll really enjoy them. If you’ve never tried falafel, then you’ll really REALLY enjoy them! Heck if you have a mouth, you are going to enjoy them!
Low Carb Falafel with Tahini Sauce (Gluten Free)
- Yield: (8) 3" patties
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Falafel
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cauliflower, pureed
- 1/2 cup ground slivered almonds
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp coconut flour
- Tahini sauce:
- 2 Tbsp tahini paste
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, more to taste if desired
Instructions
- For the cauliflower you should end up with a cup of the puree. It takes about 1 medium head (florets only) to get that much. First chop it up with a knife, then add it to a food processor or magic bullet and pulse until it’s blended but still has a grainy texture.
- You can grind the almonds in a similar manner – just don’t over grind them, you want the texture.
- Combine the ground cauliflower and ground almonds in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well blended.
- Heat a half and half mix of olive and grapeseed (or any other light oil) oil until sizzling. While it’s heating, form the mix into 8 three-inch patties that are about the thickness of a hockey puck.
- Fry them four at a time until browned on one side and then flip and cook the other side. Resist the urge to flip too soon – you should see the edges turning brown before you attempt it – maybe 4 minutes or so per side. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
- Serve with tahini sauce and a tomato & parsley garnish if desired.
- Tahini sauce: Blend all ingredients in a bowl. Thin with more water if you like a lighter consistency.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 patties
- Calories: 281
- Fat: 24g
- Carbohydrates: 5g net
- Protein: 8g
I am a professional recipe developer. I’ve also been keto for two years. I’ve spent so much time & money looking for good keto recipes. Many have been disappointing — especially baking recipes. I love falafel but miss not being able to have it. I thought I’d try to find a keto version and boy did I luck out with this recipe. I just tested this and it’s delicious! An excellent keto version of falafel that doesn’t taste like fried cauliflower. I love it and will be making this for myself tonight along with an Israeli salad. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Maureen, that’s really high praise and means a lot! I hope you enjoy the rest of my recipes just as much!
I doubled the recipe. I baked half at 350 for 20 minutes and fried the other half. The fried falafel turned out moist and delicious but the baked falafel were too dry for my taste. I definitely recommend trying them to retain moisture. Great Recipe! Thanks!
★★★★★
Hoe many grams is one cup of cauliflower rice? I bought a bag of pre-grinded cauliflower rice of 400 grams but can’t find a converter from cups to grams for cauliflower rice
I made the cauliflower hummus on Thursday and my non Keto husband tasted and then kept wondering why he didn’t get any of it :) Tried these today – they are great – instead of frying – i did spritzed them with a little coconut oil and cooked them in my air fryer. Next time i will add a bit of tahini to the mix first – they don’t have enough fat when they aren’t fried in oil – my fault tho no fault of the recipe. I got exactly 8 patties – used a medium ice cream scoop and then shaped them – they held together great. Thanks Melissa.
★★★★★
Definitely need to try these in the air fryer, thanks Julie!
This was amazing! The proportions were on point. My family loved it. Do you know a good substitute for the eggs so that it could be vegan friendly?
Can i use cauliflower rice and blitz it a bit in the food processor?
I did this last night, worked perfectly. I forgot to defrost the rice though…not sure if that plays into why they worked so well ?♀️
★★★★★
Has anybody done these chaffle style?
I’m new to keto (hence the late comment), but I had to tell you how excellent this recipe is! I served them to my Lebanese hubby tonight and he and I both LOVED THEM! The only change I will make the next time I make them (tomorrow?) is to use 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 coconut flour. My hubby didn’t mind the sweetness from the coconut flour, but since going off sugar, everything tastes very extra sweet. I only used about a 1/4 head of cauliflower and it came out to a cup, and I made 5 patties. Have you ever frozen them? That’s what I’m going to try tomorrow – great go-to dinner! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
I freeze these….they defrost fine!
While I enjoyed the combination of ingredients and the flavor, I simply couldn’t get the individual “hockey pucks” to stay together while they browned in the oil. I added an extra egg but that didn’t help. My medium head of cauliflower delivered more than one cup of pureed cauliflower. Perhaps the proportions were off.
★★★
The recipe calls for the 1 cup of cauliflower – if you had more than that from your head of cauliflower you should have reserved it for another recipe, not used it all. That would have definitely thrown off the proportions – sorry if the instructions weren’t clear.
You nailed it. These are outstanding! I made a tazikki sauce to go with them. Yum!!! Thank you.
★★★★★
Seriously I could not believe how fantastic these were! The only change I made was instead of using tahini sauce I put a healthy sized tablespoon of tahini right in the mix. Really fantastic. Thank you for the recipe. I am off to buy more cauliflower now :)
Plant based vegetarian. I was looking for something without beans or flour…The cauliflower dried out wonderfully..The spices..spot on..color… and texture…yup a falafel…yup excellent
★★★★★
Oh my goodness! I love falafel and now I love you! Thank you so much for this recipe. I purchased your cookbook “Keto for Life” and have loved every recipe. This one is my absolute favorite! You’re brilliant! Thank you so very much!
I’m seriously amazed by this recipe! Hubby even liked these and he HATES cauliflower! And he’s a falafel junkie! Delicious!
Do you think I could use almond meal instead of coconut flour. We have a coconut allergy to consider. Does anyone know the substitution ratio? I know that I would need more almond meal than coconut.
These were amazing! Better than the real thing.
★★★★★
I followed all recipe except I had whole almonds on hand so I just chopped them up a bit AND I used flax “eggs” (since I avoid chicken eggs).–so, yes, you can make this vegan! This recipe was amazing. My husband was delighted as falafels are one of his favorite international foods and we are reducing carbs. Thank you! I do want to mention that due to my work schedule, I had to mix up the falafel ingredients in advance and refrigerate before frying. It worked wonderfully. I am a bit confused on how much oil to put in the skillet. Did I miss that in the instructions?
★★★★★
I was just wondering if using a flaxseed egg would work. THanks for the tip:)>
Sounds awesome! Can I sub almond meal or while almonds and pulse more? Don’t have any slivers on hand lol
Loved this and I don’t even like falafel! I must have Donne something wrong though becuse I see no other comments regarding the issues I had. I weighed my batch in order to make sure each piece was the correct size but mine were far from hockey puck size and Moreno along the size of a golf ball. They were still very filling and I can’t imagine what I did becuse I followed the instructions to a tee. Also, does Thani come in different thickness? I had to toss the first batch of sauce becuse when the water was added it was nothing more than thani tinted water. I used far less water in AE cold batch and it was wonderful just curious why I seem to be the only one with these issues. My cauliflower husband could not believe it didn’t include chickpeas. I’ll definitely make again,
Sorry for the typos the entry on my iPad wasn’t was a bit choppy?
I’m not sure how weighing them would make sure they are the right size – I didn’t mention weight anywhere in the post that I could see when I reread this. If you didn’t stir your tahini well then there is probably a solid lump at the bottom of your jar – once you stir it in then your tahini will be thicker and so will your resulting sauce. Glad you liked the flavors though!
I think she weighed the mix to get eight equal portions and those didn’t come up to hockey puck size. That’s how I understood it at any rate.
The taste of these was DELICIOUS, but I had the same issue. Definitely impossible to make eight 3” diameter, hockey puck thickness (which is about 1”) patties. It did make 4 perfectly though, so I just doubled the recipe. Again, great flavor though!
★★★★