Air Fryer Falafel – so crispy!

Crispy and nutritious, air fryer falafel are delicious on warm pita bread, a salad, or just eaten by themselves. Don’t wait to enjoy these savory chickpea fritters!

Have you tried falafel? My husband and I enjoy Middle Eastern food frequently and love these tasty deep-fried fritters. In the Middle East, they are commonly served in pita bread, and slathered with tahini, hummus, or hot sauce. 

Comprised of ground up chickpeas or fava beans, falafel is seasoned with onion, fresh herbs, and dried spices. The ingredients are all good for you but usually falafel is deep fried, adding lots of extra unhealthy fats. That got me to thinking about how to prepare falafel in a healthier fashion without sacrificing texture or taste.

Bingo! Use an air fryer, of course! I’ve used my air fryer to make all sorts of crispy goodies, without any added oil. I love air fryer French fries, chicken nuggets, egg rolls and mozzarella sticks. It works great to make crispy tofu. Now I know it’s perfect for falafel, too. 

About this Recipe

Falafel are surprisingly easy to make. You will need a food processor as well as an air fryer.

I’ll run through the recipe here but look for the printable recipe card located near the bottom of the post. It has complete instructions and nutrition information.

What You’ll Need

• Canned Garbanzo Beans: Garbanzo beans are the Spanish name; English named chickpeas are the same exact thing. Confusing, huh? Canned fava beans are a good substitute, as well. Or, if you prefer, you can cook dry beans.
• Onion and Garlic: These two alliums add flavor, nutrition, and moisture to the falafel. Any type of onion will work. Use as much or as little garlic as you like.
• Cilantro and Parsley: Plenty of chopped herbs give the falafel its signature green tint, and add a good dose of flavor and nutrition
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour, or gluten-free or chickpea flour if you prefer.
• Baking Soda: Adds a bit of leavening so the falafel isn’t heavy and compact.
• Seasoning: Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Coriander, Cayenne.

Need an air fryer?

We love this air fryer! We’ve tried a few and this is a winner. It has a large basket and is easy to clean.

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How To Make Falafel

Put the drained beans in the bowl of a food processor, along with the coarsely chopped onion, garlic, parsley, and cilantro.

Don’t worry about picking off  leaves from the herbs. Small stems are fine since everything gets chopped up in the food processor. The stems have so much flavor, particularly the cilantro. Avoid the larger stems of parsley because they can be bitter.

Add the flour, baking powder, and seasoning. Pulse this mixture until it’s coarse and mealy. You don’t want to over-process it into a gummy green paste. It needs to have a bit of texture, with visible bits of herbs.

Using your hands, form the mixture into 12 balls. If it seems too sticky, stir in a bit more flour, a little at a time. Really, you can make the falafel any size you like as long as you adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Place in an air fryer, sides not touching. Spritz with olive oil spray, and “fry” for 12-14 minutes, turning once using tongs. How can you tell they’re done? They’ll be brown and crispy on the outside, and warm all the way through.

Falafel is traditionally served with hummus, tahini, or hot sauce. We love falafel with tzatziki, a refreshing yogurt cucumber sauce.

Try air fryer falafel inside a pita bread sandwich with sauce and chopped tomatoes, or on a salad. I love to serve crispy falafel as an appetizer, with one of the above dipping sauces.

FAQs

Make It Your Own

• Instead of balls, shape the falafel into small patties. 
• Use breadcrumbs instead of flour. 
• Falafel is perfect for vegetarians and vegans just the way it is! It’s a great source of plant protein.
• Make falafel gluten-free by using all-purpose gluten-free flour, chickpea or oat flour.
• Use dry chickpeas. Soak 3/4 cup dry beans in water 24 hours. Add a 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the soaking water. Rinse and drain soaked beans and proceed with recipe as directed.
• If you like, fry falafel using 1/2 inch cooking oil until crispy. A cast iron skillet works great for this.
• Make your falafel spicier by adding more garlic, more cayenne, or red pepper flakes.

Make-Ahead Ideas

The falafel dough can be made up to a few hours in advance and stored tightly covered in the fridge until you’re ready to cook the falafel.

Or make the dough into falafel patties or balls, place on a baking sheet, sides not touching, uncooked, and freeze. Once frozen, place falafel into freezer bags. No need to thaw before baking or frying, although you may need to add a minute or two to the cooking time.

Storage & Reheating Tips

Leftover falafel can be tightly wrapped and stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, or longer in the freezer. To reheat, place in air fryer or toaster oven.

More vegetarian sandwiches

Looking for more delicious meatless sandwiches? I have lots of ideas for you:

• Bean sandwich with rosemary, Parmesan, and apple
• Southwestern guacamole toast
• Wild rice patties
• Quinoa hummus wrap
• Vegetarian wrap with provolone and roasted red pepper hummus
• Egg salad sandwich
• Cauliflower tacos with chickpeas
• Tacos with delicata squash and black beans
• Roasted vegetable wrap with feta and pesto

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Falafel

4.69 from 16 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 14 minutes mins

Total Time: 29 minutes mins

4 servings

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Crispy and nutritious, air fryer falafel are delicious on warm pita bread, a salad, or just eaten by themselves. Don't wait to enjoy these savory chickpea fritters!

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 can (15-oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• ▢ 1/2 cup roughly chopped yellow onion (1 small yellow onion)
• ▢ 1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• ▢ 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or all-purpose gluten-free flour, or chickpea flour)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder

Instructions

• In a food processor, combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, cumin, coriander, cayenne, flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Pulse until mixture is coarse and mealy. Don’t overblend it! 
• Spray bottom of air fryer basket with olive oil spray. Form bean mixture into 12 balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place in air fryer so they aren’t touching, and spray with olive oil spray.
• Air fry at 350ºF for 12-14 minutes, turning once, until golden.

Notes

• Use equal amounts of all-purpose gluten-free flour, chickpea or oat flour to make falafel gluten-free.
• To use dry chickpeas, soak 3/4 cup dry beans in water 24 hours. Add a 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the soaking water. Rinse and drain soaked beans and proceed with recipe as directed.
• Fry falafel using 1/2 inch cooking oil until crispy. A cast iron skillet works great for this.
• Make your falafel spicier by adding more garlic, more cayenne, or red pepper flakes.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 3falafel, Calories: 137kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 895mg, Potassium: 271mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 817IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 67mg, Iron: 3mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk