Falafel Chicken

Like most American’s, I love a good fried chicken. My mother would occasionally make what we called “chicken bucket,” which was chicken fried in a pressure cooker. That contraption always scared me and she would tell me to stay away. Thank God now for the incredibly user friendly Instant Pot. Now I am totally sidetracking…anyways…fried chicken is delicious, but time consuming and messy to make. Not to mention that it’s not the healthiest. That’s why I love this spin on fried chicken – Falafel Chicken.

A falafel is a Middle Eastern staple. It’s a mixture of chickpeas, spices, and herbs formed into a ball and then deep fried. They are delicious. Serve it to me on a warm pita with some tzatziki and I will be satisfied. The flavors of a falafel are amazing, so when I came across the idea to coat chicken in falafel mix and bake, I instantly wanted to try it.

You can buy instant falafel mixes at your grocery store. Mine are located on the Kosher or Middle Eastern sections.

Simply prepare your dredging stations like you would for fried chicken – flour, egg, and falafel mix. The mix I buy comes with two 3oz packets. I can cover 2 chicken breasts with 1 packet. I use chicken breasts cut into strips or chicken tenders. Just run each strip through the flour, egg, and then the falafel mix.

Then place on a cookie cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You want the falafel mix to have some crunch and the chicken to be cooked, but not overcooked which is easy to do.

I usually serve mine with a side of hummus for dipping. We’ve also placed them in pita bread and topped with tzatziki. However you choose to serve, falafel chicken is guaranteed to get you out of any boring meal slump you’ve been experiencing.

Enjoy!