This easy Air Fryer Falafel recipe is a delicious and healthy alternative to deep fried. Made with soaked chickpeas, these homemade vegan falafels are ready in just 15 minutes. No Air Fryer? No problem - you can make oven baked falafels instead.
Falafel for scaredy cats!
You know what I love? Hot, crispy homemade falafels. Do you know what I do not love? Deep frying things. I'm afraid of burning myself (I am a klutz!), and I never know what to do with the oil when I'm done.
If you, like me, are deep-fryer phobic, I have got good news for you: Air Fryer Falafel is the bomb dot com! They're crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed full of flavor. Plus, they're incredibly easy to make. And no scary hot oil!
Air Fryer Falafel is the basis for so many delicious vegetarian meal ideas. Make a hearty falafel sandwich with pita bread, or try stuffing them into a baguette or even a burger bun. I also love adding falafels to bowls and salads of all kinds, or just snacking on them hot out of the air fryer. (I do this with these Air Fryer Tempeh Nuggets as well. Judge not!)
Let's make Air Fryer Falafel together!
Step 1: soak your chickpeas
Making homemade falafel is easy, but it does require a bit of planning - you will need to soak dried chickpeas for at least 8 hours (overnight), and up to 24 hours.
After soaking, drain and rise the chickpeas.
Step 2: Mix your mix
Put all of your ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, and then run the food processor until the ingredients are finely chopped. It should still have a bit of texture to it, roughly the size of couscous grains. Refrigerate for about an hour to let the flavor develop.
Step 3: form into balls
Scoop heaping tablespoons of the falafel mixture, and use your hands to form into balls. I err on the side of slightly smaller falafels to ensure they stay together well, but they're maybe 2 tablespoons each.
Place the falafels in a single layer, with a bit of space between them. Brush or spray the tops of the falafel balls with olive oil. Now air fry those bad boys until they're crisp and golden!
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Falafel
Making falafel in the Air Fryer is a simple and straightforward cooking method. But there are few things to do to ensure you end up with the best, crispiest falafel in the end!
Start with dried chickpeas. Canned or cooked chickpeas are way too soft and hold way too much moisture to make falafels. You'll end up having to add a bunch of flour to compensate, and your falafels will be wet and doughy.
Forgot to soak? If you didn't remember to soak your chickpeas overnight (hey, we've all been there!) you can use the quick hot soak method. Simply add the chickpeas with plenty of water to a pot and bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, let soak for one hour, and then drain your chickpeas.
For the crispiest falafel patties, make sure you don't crowd your air fryer basket. The falafels should not be touching, and you'll need enough space to turn them over. My air fryer is fairly small, so I need to work in batches to turn out crispy, delicious Air Fryer Falafel.
Make 'em small. When cooking falafel in the air fryer, you'll end up with the best results if you don't make them too big. I aim for about 2 Tablespoons per falafel, which means they'll hold together nicely and cook through in a good time.
Make 'em flat. Although I prefer to make my falafel into balls, many folks find that flattening them into an oval patty ensures they don't roll around in the Air Fryer basket.
Crispy Home Made Air Fryer Falafels
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas soaked overnight in plenty of water
- ½ small red onion chopped (about ½ cup chopped red onion)
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 red chili seeds removed and minced
- ¼ cup packed parsley
- ¼ cup packed cilantro
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Start by rinsing the chickpeas and then placing them into a large bowl with plenty of water to soak overnight, and up to 24 hours.1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
- Place the soaked and drained chickpeas, chopped red onion, crushed garlic, chili, parsley, cilantro, ground cumin, ground coriander, and salt into the bowl of a food processor.½ small red onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 red chili, ¼ cup packed parsley, ¼ cup packed cilantro, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- Pulse a few times, and then run the food processor until the ingredients are finely chopped. It should still have a bit of texture to it, roughly the size of couscous grains. You may need to stop and scrape the sides of the food processor a couple of times.
- Transfer the falafel mixture into a bowl, and refrigerate for about an hour.
- When you are ready to make your falafel, add the baking powder to the bowl and mix to combine well.½ teaspoon baking powder
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of the falafel mixture, and use your hands to form into balls. I err on the side of slightly smaller falafels to ensure they stay together well, but they're maybe 2 tablespoons each.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Heat your Air Fryer to 200°C / 400°F.
- Brush or spray the air fryer basket with a bit of oil, and then place the falafels in a single layer, with a bit of space between them. I had to cook mine in two batches. Brush or spray the tops of the falafel balls with olive oil (I use a silicone pastry brush).
- Place the falafels into the air fryer, and set a timer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, carefully turn the falafels over, and brush with olive oil again.
- Return to the air fryer for another 5 minutes.
Oven baking instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 200°C / 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray the parchment with olive oil.
- Arrange the falafel balls in a single layer on the parchment and spray or brush with olive oil.
- Bake the falafels for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven, carefully turn over, and spray with a bit more oil.
- Return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes, until falafels are brown and crispy.
To serve
- Serve with pita and vegetables, or on top of a salad.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only
- It's really important that you use dried chickpeas, soaked overnight. Do NOT use canned chickpeas - they will result in mushy falafels.
- Uncooked falafel balls can be frozen in a single layer on a tray, then transferred to a freezer bag for storage. You can air fry from frozen by adding a few minutes to the cooking time.
Ann Van Breemen says
Is the nutrition values per each Falafel ball? I haven't made them yet but plan to soon. I love the pre-made ones in the grocery store but don't like the amount of sodium in them.
Katie Trant says
Hi Ann. Yes, it's per ball, assuming that you make 18 balls. I should say, however, that the nutrition calculator built into the site can be wildly inaccurate at times. Don't take it too seriously; it's only an estimate.
Ann says
Understood. Thanks so much for your reply. They do look amazing.
Luisa G says
They came out great! Flavour and consistency was delicious.
Katie Trant says
So happy to hear that, Luisa!
Megan H says
These are wonderful; the easiest/best falafel I've ever made! I doubled the salt on them, and since any red peppers I run into here (Mexico) would blow me out of my socks, I used a small amount of bell pepper, because I was worried if I didn't put it in they might be dry. They actually ended up quite wet, and I was concerned they wouldn't shape and/or cook fully in the air fryer, but they were perfect. I think I will leave out the bell pepper next time. The only issue I had was that they stuck to the air fryer basket, even though I brushed it with oil, and brushed them with oil as well. I also froze half of the uncooked ones on a tray, and when I went to take them off the tray and put them in a container, they stuck to the tray. Have you run into this issue before?
Katie Trant says
Hey Megan! I would guess the bell peppers made your falafel mixture a bit wet, which may have contributed to the sticking. When I'm freezing falafel balls I always use a sheet of parchment paper to avoid them sticking to the try—give that a try next time!
Patricia Jaroslawski says
These are really delicious and have the texture I expect/like in a falafel! I like to bake and freeze for a quick, nutritious luch.
Katie Trant says
Yay! So glad to hear that you enjoyed them, Patricia!
Sarah Cook says
I love how versatile this recipe is! Eat them with hummus, or in a sandwich, or in a sandwich with hummus!
All the crispy goodness without the clean-up of frying. Love it.
Kiarra says
Can make yummy variations of these such as including broccholi, kale & beetroot
Rosie says
These falafels are delicious. I make a double batch each week. For variation I add minced kale, broccoli or roasted beetroot
Katie Trant says
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed these as much as we do, Rosie.
Christine says
How many servings does this make?
Katie Trant says
Depends on how many falafel balls you like to have in your wrap or bowls, and of course how big you make the balls. But with 18 balls I'd say this makes about 4 servings, give or take.
MK says
I’ve soaked my chickpeas for 24 hours but the chickpeas feel hard still. Is that normal?
Katie Trant says
Hi MK, yes, it's normal! You've re-hydrated them but they're not cooked so they don't have the soft texture of a cooked or canned chickpea. This is exactly what you want to use for your falafel!
Angie says
I enjoyed this recipe but I found the cook times too long. For my second batch I cooked them 6 mins on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side and I think I could've even cut that down by 1 minute. I was using a cookie scoop to portion them and I couldn't get them to hold together in a round shape, but packing them loosely in the cookie scoop worked okay.
Gloria says
So excited to try the oven version. Your video is great!
Diane says
Hi Katie. Want to try this. When do you add in the baking powder as the recipe fails to mention that?
Katie Trant says
Hi Diane, thanks for pointing that out. It goes into the food processor along with all of the other ingredients - have updated the recipe now!