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How To Make Air Fryer Falafel
This air fryer falafel recipe is crunchy on the outside yet deliciously soft in the center. Served in a warm pitta with one of our divine sauces which are Tahini sauce, cucumber yogurt sauce, and red bell pepper sauce. Add a bit of crisp salad for an amazingly quick and tasty meal!
Air fryer falafel is not only vegetarian and vegan. But if you use chickpea flour, can also be gluten-free! This makes it a wonderful dish that can be eaten by absolutely everyone!
Falafel is one the ultimate vegetarian cravings. There is however one downside, they are usually deep fried. This adds many calories and turns something that should be healthy into something that, frankly, is not.
But all is not lost! With the help of our trusty air fryer, we can keep all the crunch and wonderful flavor of this middle eastern classic, whilst still sticking to a healthy diet. Not too mention that using an air fryer instead of a deep fryer also greatly reduces the amount of clean up required at the end.
What Is Falafel?
Falafel is traditionally made by soaking dried chickpeas and mashing them with spices, garlic, and a few other simple ingredients. Shaped into balls or discs and deep fried, they are a great vegetarian option stuffed in a soft pita.
This recipe uses canned chickpeas simply for convenience. They are essentially already pre-soaked so this can save you the trouble of buying dried chickpeas and soaking them overnight yourself.
Ingredients
Falafel
- 2 x 15 ounce can chickpeas
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or chickpea flour for gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder / paste
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 large shallot
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Olive oil spray, just for cooking
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| Chopped Cilantro |
| Chopped Parsley |
| Sesame Seeds |
| Ground Cumin |
| Garlic Powder |
| Garlic Puree |
| Smoked Paprika |
Tahini Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Tahini paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 lemon, juice only
- ¼ cup warm water
- ½ teaspoon salt
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| Tahini Paste |
| Garlic Puree |
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup low fat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 green onion
- 1 cucumber
- ¼ lemon, juice and zest
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon oregano
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| Greek Yogurt |
| Garlic Puree |
| Oregano |
Red Bell Pepper Sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Available On Amazon
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| Olive Oil |
| Garlic Puree |
| Ginger Puree |
| Smoked Paprika |
Required Equipment
For this recipe we are obviously going to need an air fryer. There are many wonderful appliances on the market today as well as some not so good ones. Whether you do not have an air fryer yet, or are looking to upgrade your current machine, we highly suggest you check out our air fryer reviews section to find your ideal air fryer. Click here to find out more.
Another essential piece of equipment that we will need is a food processor. There are some great food processors available on the market today. Our 2 main considerations when shopping for one are, a pulse function and a large capacity. The food processor that we most recommend for having both of these functions as well as being expertly design with supreme built quality can be found on Amazon. Click here to find out more.
We are also going to need a small frying pan. Most of us will have something suitable in our cupboards. However, if you don’t or are interested in a new set of frying pans, have a look at our most recommended non-stick frying pan set (3-piece). Click here to find out more.
Instructions For The Falafel
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chickpeas, cilantro, parsley, flour, sesame seeds, cumin, garlic, paprika, chopped shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix well.
- Spoon the mixture into a food processor and blend. Only use the pulse function, the mixture should become a rough paste. You DO NOT want to over blend the mix. The mixture should still have texture. Think crunchy peanut butter not smooth as a guide.
- Shape the falafel mixture into balls, roughly 1-inch in diameter. This quantity should yield around 30 falafel balls.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (175°C).
- Lightly spray the falafel with olive oil to prevent them from sticking to the basket.
- Place the falafel into the air fryer. They must be in a single layer and not touching in order for them to cook properly and crisp up the outside. You will have to do multiple batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes ensuring that you give the basket a shake about halfway through.
- Serve whilst still warm and enjoy!
Instructions For The Tahini Sauce
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the Tahini paste and lemon juice. Beat until perfectly smooth.
- At this point the mixture will be pretty thick so we are going to loosen it up by adding the warm water. Again, beat until smooth.
- Lastly, we add the garlic paste. And again, you’ve guessed it, beat until perfectly smooth.
- If this mixture is still to thick for your liking, you can add more water slowly, little by little, until reaching the desired consistency.
This is a simple, straight-forward sauce. Although, it does require some elbow grease!
Instructions For The Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- Finely chop the green onion, the finer the better.
- Peel the cucumber and finely chop. Again, the finer the better.
- In a small bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, sour cream, onion, cucumber, garlic, lemon (juice and zest), and the oregano, until smooth.
- Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge until serving. For best results, make this the day before you plan to eat it.
Instructions For The Red Bell Pepper Sauce
- In a small frying pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and diced shallot to a medium high heat.
- After 2 minutes add the red bell pepper, ginger, garlic, and paprika.
- Fry this for around 8 minutes, making sure to give a quick stir every minute or so, to prevent any sticking.
- Pour the entire contents of the frying pan into a blender, or food processor, with the remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil and blend until smooth.
Serving Suggestion
We recommend serving these air fryer falafel balls in a warm pitta with some crunchy salad and lashings of any of our delicious sauces for the ultimate lunchtime snack!
Conclusion
This air fryer falafel recipe is an absolute hit. A tasty way to eat less meat or just to vary the monotony of ham sandwiches for lunch every day. Served with our selection of scrumptious sauces you really can’t go wrong here!
If you enjoyed this article, then why not check out some of our other favorite air fryer snacks, such as:-
