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Air Fryer Falafel
The traditional fried falafel patties are getting a makeover today in the Air Fryer! These Air Fryer Falafels are made with good-for-you, nourishing ingredients, and are loaded with flavor. Serve them with some air fryer pita, a quick tzatziki sauce, and fresh veggies for a delicious, healthful vegetarian meal that is high in protein.
Servings 4 servings (if served with pita/veggies/sauce)
Calories 609kcal
Cost $9.12
Ingredients
- 1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas (also called Garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
- 4 cloves roughly chopped garlic Note 1
- 1/2 cup lightly packed roughly chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley (not curly parsley) Note 2
- 1/2 cup lightly packed roughly chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup lightly packed chopped green onions (~2)
- 1 teaspoon EACH: ground cumin, paprika, baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon EACH: fine sea salt, ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup white, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons EACH: fresh lemon juice and olive oil
- Extra olive oil and olive oil cooking spray
- Optional veggies: halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced English/Persian cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, feta cheese, lemon wedges, kalamata olives skip feta for vegan
Air Fried Pita (Optional)
- 6 pita breads
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Fine sea salt and pepper
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1/2 cup (unpeeled) grated Persian/English cucumber (unpeeled)
- 1/2 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt (we love Greek Gods) use non-dairy yogurt for vegan
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 large lemon (1/2 teaspoon zest and 1 tablespoon juice)
- 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Instructions
- FALAFEL: Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dry thoroughly with a paper towel, clean kitchen towel, or add to a salad spinner to dry. Coarsely chop the red onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and green onions. Add all these ingredients to a large food processor. Pulse or process until just blended and broken down (don't fully puree; about 45 seconds). Scrape down the sides and add the completely dried chickpeas. Process a few more times (we don't want to puree the chickpeas, just chop them down). Scrape down the sides again and add the remaining falafel ingredients. Pulse a few more times.
- FORM PATTIES: Use a 1-1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop to compress the mixture and form patties. Transfer formed patties to a parchment-paper-lined plate. Flour your hands/surface with a little more flour if needed; if the falafel mixture is too wet to work with, refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Continue scooping out and forming patties until all the mixture is used up; you should get about 15 falafels. Cover the plate of falafels with plastic wrap or a tea towel and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes (or until ready to air fry them). Meanwhile, work on the sauce and pita.
- TZATZIKI: Grate an unpeeled cucumber with the large holes of a cheese grater. Line a small bowl with a few paper towels (or a clean kitchen towel) and place the grated cucumber on top. Squeeze out as much extra moisture as you can from the cucumber (to keep the sauce from being watery). Once it's drained, add to a medium-sized bowl along with the rest of the sauce ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper). Stir and cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- AIR FRYER PITA: Cut pita bread into wedges (4-6 wedges per pita bread, depending on how large you'd like the wedges) and add to a large plastic zipper-top bag. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil and salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon of each). Shake to combine and coat the pita wedges. Add these pita wedges to the air fryer basket and cook them at 320 degrees F for 5-7 minutes, tossing the basket every 2 minutes or to desired crispiness. We don't want hard pita chips (we still want them to be pliable to hold falafels), but a bit crisp and warmed through, so cook to your crispness preference and keep in mind they continue to crisp up as they cool.
- AIR FRYER FALAFEL: Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F. Remove the falafels from the freezer and uncover. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and also generously spray with olive oil cooking spray. Flip and drizzle with another 1 tablespoon oil and again some more olive oil cooking spray. Place falafels in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook for 7 minutes and then use tongs to carefully flip the falafels and cook for another 7-8 minutes or until golden brown. While falafel is cooking, prep the veggies and toppings.
- ASSEMBLY: Set out warmed pita, air-fried falafel, and sauce (give it another quick stir before serving). Set out toppings: We love halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced English/Persian cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, feta cheese, lemon wedges, and Kalamata olives. Allow guests to layer up their plates with all these components and enjoy immediately with lots of fresh lemon drizzled over everything!
Notes
Note 1: We like lots of garlic in these falafels, so feel free to reduce the amount in this recipe if you don't share that love.
Note 2: If you aren't a fan of one of the herbs, use extra of another herb (keeping quantities consistent); try to use at least two different herbs in this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 609kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 864mg | Potassium: 981mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 4743IU | Vitamin C: 71mg | Calcium: 260mg | Iron: 8mg