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This is one of the most acclaimed and undoubtedly the most loved Middle-eastern street food in the world. Thanks to all the Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants that popularized it in the west. If you happen to be among the people who love this recipe, and are on a Keto diet, and you just never thought that you could ever be eating falafel while doing your low-carb thing. Well you can relax because Keto Falafel are home, baby.

Do you know what the word falafel means? Neither do I … BUT! I looked it up.

Let’s refer to Wikipedia:

The word Falāfil (Arabic: فلافل‎) is the plural of Filfil (فلفل), meaning “pepper”.

A Coptic Egyptian origin has recently been proposed via the unattested phrase *pha la phel (Φα Λα Φελ), meaning “of many beans”.

I don’t know about you, but I am more inclined to accept the second definition. Why? Let me refer to Wikipedia again:

Fava beans (Arabic: فول‎ fūlpronounced [fuːl]) are a common staple food in the Egyptian diet, eaten by rich and poor alike.

The delicious Egyptian diet is indeed rich in legumes, and falafel are the place where they shine the most. Interestingly enough, the world famous fried ball is made with chickpeas and not fava beans. Which is contradictory to the name of the dish itself.

Trust me when I tell you this, if you ever want to make the real deal, fava beans are the way to go. They’re much creamier and have a much better consistency.

Keto Falafel Recipe:

Name: Keto Falafel
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients: 1 medium sized cauliflower head.; 1/4 Cup coconut flour; 1/2 Cup almond flour; 1 egg; 1/2 Cup grated mozzarella; 1/2 Tsp salt; 3 minced green onion.; 1 crushed clove of garlic.; 1/2 Tsp cumin; 1/2 Tsp baking soda; 1 Tbsp lemon juice; 1 egg yolk; 1 tsp sour cream; 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 tsp salt; 3/4 cup grape seed oil; 1 tsp erythritol; 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Thank you for allowing me to get my geek on. Now let’s move on to more serious things: low-carb keto falafel. To get a good consistency and to respect my carb limit of the day, I had to rely once more on the mighty cauliflower.

If you are wondering what is the consistency we are looking for in a falafel. It’s something like this: crispy outside perfect balance between fluffiness and richness inside.

That been said, to make the perfect Keto Falafel, I had to call upon another mighty keto staple: Coconut flour.

Coconut flour is the best moisture absorber.

As for the cooking method, it goes without saying that baking these falafel is the best way to go. Why? I’ll give you 2 reasons:

Deep frying is a big no no if you are on a keto diet.
Not everyone has an air fryer and I wanted to make this recipe accessible to everyone. If you would like to air fry your falafel, you can go right ahead, they will be just as awesome!

NOTE

I used the mayo in this recipe to top on the falafel and also to dress my side dish: a simple salad of shredded cabbage and carrots with green onions on top.

This mayo will keep in the fridge, so it’s totally up to you if you want to use it in one go like we did or keep it for another day.

Just note that if you don’t make a salad (makes enough for 4 people) then you will have mayo left over 🙂

Keto Falafel

These low-carb falafel are served with a simple coleslaw topped with a sour & sweet mayonnaise.

Course Dinner/Lunch

Cuisine Keto / Low Carb

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Resting time 5 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Author Idriss

Ingredients

1 medium sized cauliflower head.
1/4 Cup coconut flour
1/2 Cup almond flour
1 egg
1/2 Cup grated mozzarella
1/2 Tsp salt
3 minced green onion.
1 crushed clove of garlic.
1/2 Tsp cumin
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Sour & Sweet Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk
1 tsp sour cream
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup grape seed oil
1 tsp erythritol
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

In a food processor add: Roughly cut cauliflower and blend for 2 minutes until very fine. You're not looking to make cauliflower rice here so you should process it more than that.
Add your egg, mozzarella, coconut flour, almond flour, garlic and all the rest of your ingredients. Blend again until you get a homogenous texture.
Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
Using your hands, form your mixture into balls and place on your baking sheet. Repeat until you have no mixture left.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Take out of the oven and let them cool down for 5 minutes before serving.

To make the mayo

In a bowl, combine egg yolk, sour cream and Worcestershire sauce. Now, the important part, add very very slowly your oil while whisking. Do NOT stop whisking. If you do you're taking the risk of your yolk splitting from the oil.As soon as the mix becomes more consistent you can pick up the speed and add your oil faster.
Once you reach a thick consistency (If you are able to lift the mayo with your whisk, then you've done a good job !) add your vinegar, erythritol and salt.
Serve on top of your falafel & Enjoy!