Easy Air Fryer Falafel
Crispy and tender air fryer falafel made with delicious, nutritious ingredients. Naturally gluten-free and vegan.
Why You Will Love This Tasty Falafel Recipe
- It’s a super easy falafel recipe!
- Air-fried falafel makes excellent leftovers or a nutritious meal prep idea.
- Packed with flavor and protein.
- This is very much a traditional falafel recipe – just made in the air fryer!
- The outside is crispy golden and the inside is vibrant green and tender.
- Versatile and can be served in a large variety of ways.
- Naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, soy-free, nut-free, and flour-free.
Equipment Needed
Air fryer: Needless to say, when you are making an air fryer falafel recipe, you need an air fryer! These days, I like to use this air fryer.
Blender or food processor: A good quality blender or food processor is needed to process the ingredients and form the falafel batter.
Mixing bowl: A large mixing bowl is needed for combing the ingredients.
Ingredient Notes
Dried chickpeas: Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, make up the bulk of this recipe, so I do not recommend replacing them. Soaking dried chickpeas in water before pulsing in a blender or food processor produces the perfect falafel texture and flavor. I do not recommend using canned chickpeas in this recipe.
Parsley and cilantro: Parsley and cilantro are responsible for the vibrant green falafel dough and a lot of the flavor. If you are not a cilantro fan, you can replace it with more parsley or fresh mint if you prefer.
Onion and garlic: No good falafel would be without the flavor base that garlic and onion provide. You can use white, yellow, or red onions in this recipe.
Spices: A combination of cumin, coriander, dill, and cayenne provide a classic falafel flavor. If you are not a fan of one of these, you can replace it with more of another used in this recipe.
Baking powder: Baking powder helps the falafel mixture turn golden brown in the air fryer, as well as contributes to the fluffy tender insides of this falafel recipe.
Sugar: You wonder what sugar is doing in this recipe, but trust me, it simply helps bring out the flavor of the spices and chickpeas, much like salt does, just in a slightly different way. Having said that, if you would prefer not to use it, you can omit it for very similar results. I like to use coconut sugar.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil helps the dough stick together and provides flavor and crispiness to this recipe. You can replace it with any oil you prefer. Avocado oil and grapeseed oil also work well.
How to Cook Falafel in an Air Fryer
Serving Suggestions
- Serve on top of a mediterranean salad for a bit of extra protein and texture.
- Serve in warm pita bread with diced tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, hummus, and a good tahini sauce.
- Serve appetizer-style with a good dipping sauce such as tzatziki.
- Serve with this baked feta with fresh herbs and olives. It’s delish!
- Drizzle with a good hot sauce.
- Serve between toasted bread or buns with fresh veggies for a falafel sandwich.
- Serve over rice with a favorite condiment.
Storing and Reheating Falafel
You can store leftover falafels in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. You can also store air fryer falafel in the freezer in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. To reheat, pop the refrigerated or frozen falafel into an air fryer at 400°F for about 10 minutes or until warm throughout. Alternatively, you can pop the falafel patties on a baking sheet and reheat in a 350°F oven until warm.
More Delicious Air Fryer Recipes You Might Enjoy
Air Fryer Falafel
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas soaked in water for 12-24 hours, then drained
- 1 cup fresh parsley stems included
- 1 cup fresh cilantro stems included
- 1 onion red, yellow or white, halved
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper omit if you do not want subtle heat
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- The day before making the recipe, be certain to soak the dried chickpeas in water for at least 12 hours, then drain before moving on to the next step.
- In a blender or food processor, add the soaked chickpeas and blend until mostly smooth (it's okay if there are a few chunks of chickpeas throughout). Place the blended chickpeas into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- To the same blender or food processor, add the parsely, cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, baking powder, black pepper, dill, sugar, cayenne and olive oil.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add the green mixture to the chickpeas in the mixing bowl, then mix by hand until well combined.
- Spray the air fryer basket with oil.
- Using wet hands, grab golf ball-sized mixtures of falafel batter and shape into rounds. Place the falafel rounds in single layer of the sprayed air fryer basket, working in batches if necessary.
- Air fry at 370°F for 15 minutes, or until the falafel is crispy and golden brown. Repeat with any remaining batter.
- Enjoy!
Would appreciate ‘tips’ such as 1) Can canned garbanzo be substituted? 2) Can these be frozen?
Looking forward to trying this recipe.
Thank you!
Marielle ~~~
Hi, Marielle! You can find this information in the post under “Ingredients and Substitutes” and “Storing and Reheating”. I hope this helps!
The US Customary measure for parsley & cilantro is 1 cup each. However, the metric measure for these ingredients is 60 grams parsley and 16 grams cilantro. What is the correct weight? Thankyou.
Hi, Susan! Thank you for letting me know of this error. This information is calculated by the recipe card automatically. Both parsley and cilantro would be approximately 60 grams each!
We are new to the air fryer and this recipe was so easy to follow. We made this falafel with some greek meatballs last night and the whole family loved it.
These air fryer falafels were fantastic! They had a crispy outside and a perfectly cooked inside, and the recipe was simple to follow.
I am guilt-free with this air fryer falafel! Served it on top of my salad (as you suggested) and it was sooo good! A must keep recipe!
This falafel was so incredibly delicious! I loved the flavors and the texture.
All of the fresh herbs in this recipe were just delicious and the texture was crisp without being dry in the center (always the problem I have). I’m so impressed by this recipe – I’m going to make it again next week!
My husband loves falafel so I’m bookmarking this recipe for the future. Love the suggested seasoning and spices in this. Thank you for sharing!
I cannot wait to try this recipe it looks so good.
Outstanding recipe thanks so much! tasted so much good!
Can’t wait to try! This recipe looks perfect. I will plan accordingly to soak the chickpeas.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy. 🙂
Wow! Super, easy, and packed with lots of flavor.
So happy to hear that! Thank you!