Falafel is a fantastic vegan-friendly meal that is packed full of protein and goodness. On top of that, it tastes great too! Baked or fried and mixed with your favourite veggies this is a meal you can serve with pride at a dinner party or just to your family in the evenings.
This meal could only be improved if you could freeze it! So, can you freeze falafel?
Falafel can be frozen for up to 6 months. It can be frozen both cooked and uncooked. It’s vital that they are stored airtight to prevent them from drying out.
Do Does Falafel freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Falafel? No
How To Freeze Falafel
You have a couple of ways to freeze falafel and both ways are easy to do. So it all depends on whether you are freezing leftovers that have already been cooked or are trying to get ahead and prepare freezer meals that you can thaw out and cook at a later date.
Both of these methods allow you to freeze the falafel individually so that when it comes to using it you can grab out just the amount you need. Perfect for batch cooking and reducing your food waste.
How to Freeze Uncooked Falafel
If you haven’t got to cook the falafel then this is the best way to freeze them:
- Make Falafel
Make your falafel in the way you normally would using your favourite recipe and ingredients. Make sure you don’t throw away the water from the chickpeas, also called aquafaba because you can freeze aquafaba and them make meringues or mousses with it. - Shape
Shape your falafel and get it ready for cooking, just donāt cook it. - Prepare Tray
Grab yourself a baking sheet and put some parchment paper on the top. - Freeze
Place the falafel on the baking sheet making sure that you leave a gap between each falafel. You want to freeze each one individually so that they donāt stick together and become difficult to use later. Place the baking sheet and falafel into the freezer and freeze for a couple of hours. - Transfer to a Bag
Once the falafel is frozen solid, you can take it out of the freezer and pop it into a freezer bag. - Label
Label the freezer bag with the date and name of the contents. Make sure you write that itās uncooked too so that you donāt get a surprise when itās time to eat it! - Freeze
Seal the bag and pop it back into the freezer.
How to Freeze Cooked Falafel
If you have already cooked your falafel and have leftovers, then use this approach instead:
- Cool
Allow the falafel to cool completely. - Prepare Tray
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. - Add Falafel
Add the falafel to the baking sheet keeping each one separate so they donāt stick together. - Freeze
Put the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze for a few hours. - Prepare Bag
Prepare a freezer bag by labelling it with the date and contents. - Transfer Falafel
Take the baking sheet out of the freezer and transfer the falafel into the freezer bag. - Freeze
Pop the bag back into the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing Falafel
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing falafel to have the best results:
Opt for Uncooked
By freezing them uncooked, you can cook them fresh which can hide some of the inevitable textural changes which occur when you freeze anything.
Keep Them Airtight
The last thing you want is for the air to get to the falafel which can lead to them drying out. They’ll also lose some of their flavour.
Try Cooking from Frozen
If you’re pushed for time then you can actually defrost and reheat falafel in the oven directly from the freezer. Place the falafel on a baking tray and into the oven until hot through.
How Long Can You Freeze Falafel?
How long you can freeze your falafel will depend on which method you chose to freeze it. Uncooked falafel will keep frozen for up to about six months, as long as you have frozen it well and the bag is sealed tightly to protect it from freezer burn.
Cooked falafel has a shorter freezer life and should be used within three months. This is because cooked falafel has already changed the ingredients and they can start to degrade a little more quickly.
You Can Freeze Falafel for Around 6 Months
How Do You Defrost Falafel?
The best way to use your frozen falafel is to allow it to defrost in the fridge slowly. Just take out the amount of falafel you need and pop them into a bowl in the fridge and let them defrost overnight.
You can speed up the process a little if you need by popping a bowl of falafel into the microwave and using a defrost setting until the falafel has thawed out.
If you really need to speed up the process then you can cook the falafel from frozen! All you need to do is put the falafel in the oven and bake as you normally would. You may need to adjust the temperature and time a little because the falafel may take a little longer to cook than normal.
Can You Refreeze Falafel?
We wouldnāt recommend that you thaw out falafel and then refreeze it. This process does deteriorate food a little each time and you are at risk of spoiling the food too much to enjoy it.
Does Falafel Freeze Well?
Falafel does freeze fairly well and makes for an enjoyable meal. However, you might notice a slight change in the falafel texture with the falafel being a little softer than normal.
You can always crisp them up in a pan or toast a little to combat this. Either way, itās a delicious meal!
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing falafel or falafel in general, then these may help:
We are going into small business selling frozen Falafel non cooked to the retail outlets and restaurants and outside catering, we do recommend to fry from frozen at 180 c, but the Falafel not getting cooked inside at the same temperature when it is fried fresh, we reduce the temperature but still not as good.
Do you have any recommendation on this subject please.