Easy Air Fryer Falafel

This Easy Air Fryer Falafel starts with dry garbanzo beans which I soaked overnight and then ground in the food processor [paid link] with an onion, minced garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, parsley, and just a tiny pinch of cardamom.

Falafel is a Middle Eastern street food consisting of a small fritter made from ground chickpeas [paid link] (garbanzo beans), minced garlic, and fresh parsley. 

Falafel can be eaten plain, with hummus and vegetables, or most frequently tucked into a pita and topped with condiments like hot sauce or a yogurt sauce similar to tzatziki.

I prefer my falafel in a pita filled with fresh tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers and then topped with a dollop of hummus and drizzled with yogurt sauce.

If we’re being totally honest, falafel goes good with ranch dressing, too – just sayin’. Don’t judge!

To be fair, we first encountered falafel at a local restaurant and we’ve since eaten our fair – so much so that were inspired to create our own falafel at home.

You’d be surprised what you can learn just by talking to the servers and restaurant owners who are usually more than happy (and often proud) to share with your their techniques, and even sometimes their recipes!

This Easy Air Fryer Falafel starts with dry garbanzo beans which I soaked overnight and then ground in the food processor [paid link] with an onion, minced garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, parsley, and just a tiny pinch of cardamom.

I then formed the mixture into small (1-ounce) discs and fried them in my Power Air Fryer [paid link]  with just a small amount of canola oil so the outside is crispy but the inside still has that moist, crumbly texture I crave.

I have also tried this recipe using canned chickpeas [paid link], but in my opinion, the recipe just doesn’t have the same texture as you get from using the dry chickpeas [paid link] – and there’s also a slight change in flavor as well.

It’s my suggestion, to always start with the dry beans and soak them overnight.

I actually double this recipe and flash freeze the falafel for quick lunches (and snacks). They heat from frozen in just a few minutes.

To do this: Prepare the falafel according to recipe directions, but do not fry. Shape into small (1 ounce) discs and place on cookie sheet.

Place cookie sheet in the freezer (called flash freezing) and allow falafel to freeze.

Remove cookie sheet from freezer and place falafel into a freezer-safe bag or container. Place back into the freezer. Frozen uncooked falafel will last about 3 to 6 months in the freezer. Then just cook frozen falafel according to the recipe instructions.

Easy Air Fryer Falafel

Ronda Eagle | Kitchen Dreaming

Falafel is a Middle Eastern street food consisting of a small fritter made from ground chickpeas [paid link] (garbanzo beans), minced garlic, and fresh parsley. Falafel can be eaten plain, with hummus and vegetables, or most frequently tucked into a pita and topped with condiments like hot sauce or a yogurt sauce similar to tzatziki.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 8 hours hrs

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 8 hours hrs 12 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 8 Servings of 4 (1-oz) falafel balls or patties

Calories 222 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb dry chickpeas [paid link] (garbanzo beans) [See Note 1]
• 1 small onion , roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3-5 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Pinch (1/8 tsp) of ground cardamom
• canola cooking spray

Instructions

 

• Pour the chickpeas [paid link] into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size as they soak – you will have between 4 and 5 cups of beans after soaking.
• Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well. Pour them into your food processor [paid link] along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour or chickpea flour (use chickpea flour to make gluten free), salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.
• Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that… but don’t overprocess, you don’t want it turning into hummus!
• Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a cookie scoop [paid link]. I usually use about 1 tbsp of mixture per falafel or an amount the size of a walnut. I then flatten it into a patty.
• Place the falafel into an even layer into the air fryer in a single layer. Spray lightly with canola oil.
• Close the Power Air Fryer [paid link] drawer and press the power button. Use the “M” button and navigate to the “Fry” icon. Set the temperature to 370 degrees F. Set the time to 12 minutes – turning the falafel halfway through the cooking time.
• Serve with hummus, pita, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and yogurt sauce.

Notes

1. Start with dry, do NOT substitute canned beans. They do not have the same consistency as the dry beans.
2. To freeze falafel patties:
   1. Prepare the falafel according to recipe directions, but do not fry. Shape into small (1 ounce) discs and place on cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the freezer (called flash freezing) and allow falafel to freeze.
   2. Remove cookie sheet from freezer and place falafel into a freezer-safe bag or container. Place back into the freezer. Frozen uncooked falafel will last about 3 to 6 months in the freezer.
   3. Then just cook frozen falafel according to the recipe instructions.

Nutrition

Serving: 4ozCalories: 222kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 12gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 598mgPotassium: 546mgFiber: 10gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 377IUVitamin C: 9mgVitamin E: 1mgVitamin K: 67µgCalcium: 74mgFolate: 327µgIron: 4mgZinc: 2mg

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