Want to go the healthier vegetarian route but can’t seem to give up meat? Substitute this air fryer falafel to meatballs, patties, or nuggets! Falafel is a Middle Eastern crispy round street snack made up of crushed chickpeas (garbanzo beans). They are typically shaped into balls or flattened as patties then deep fried. Sounds fattening? Not when you’re air frying them!
For my homemade falafel, I used canned chickpeas and blended them using a food processor along with simple herbs and spices. I then chilled my falafel mix to make sure that it wouldn’t fall apart when fried. If you don’t have any chickpeas though, you can use fava beans as they are pretty similar. In fact, fava beans are said to be even healthier than chickpeas!
Although I’m not vegan, I totally find this gluten free falafel recipe with canned chickpeas so appetizing! Every bite of this plant-based snack is so flavorful that you’d forget that it is actually made of just legumes. And of course, what makes this falafel recipe even healthier is that it’s air fried so we’re skipping the extra oil, fats, and calories!
I added tahini sauce and sliced crisp veggies to make my falafels even better. Other than that you can dip it in hummus, serve it as falafel pita, or add them chopped into your cheese salad. I’ve shared with you the many ways that I enjoy this healthy air fryer falafel, but feel free to explore!
How To Make Air Fryer Falafel
Skip the oil and extra calories with this easy-to-make air fryer falafel with tahini sauce! It’s loaded with tender chickpeas and tasteful seasonings for a filling meal.
Serves:
Ingredients
- 15.5ozchickpeas, or fava beans,(1 can), rinsed and drained
- 1small yellow onion,quartered
- 3garlic cloves,roughly chopped
- ⅓cupparsley,roughly chopped
- ⅓cupcilantro,roughly chopped
- ⅓cupscallions,chopped
- 1tspground cumin
- ½tspkosher salt
- ⅛tspred pepper flakes,crushed
- 1tspbaking powder
- 4tbspall purpose flour,plus more for dusting
- olive oil spray
- tahini sauce
For Optional Serving:
- hummus
- tomatoes,sliced
- cucumber,sliced
- red onion,thinly sliced
- pita
Instructions
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Dry the chickpeas on paper towels.
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Place the onions and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, scallions, cilantro, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes.
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Process for about 30 to 60 seconds until blended, then add the chickpeas and pulse 2 to 3 times until just blended, but not pureed.
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Sprinkle in the baking powder and the flour, scape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula, and pulse for 2 to 3 times.
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Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for about 2 to 3 hours.
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Form the falafel mixture into 12 balls. If it’s too sticky, work with flour on your hands and work surface.
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Preheat the air fryer 350 degrees F. Spray the falafel with oil.
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Cook for about 14 minutes, in batches until golden brown, turning halfway.
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Pour a generous amount of tahini sauce on top of the falafels.
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Serve warm and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Calories: 182.65kcal
- Fat: 5.59g
- Saturated Fat: 0.79g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 3.50g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.92g
- Carbohydrates: 29.21g
- Fiber: 9.28g
- Sugar: 11.17g
- Protein: 10.27g
- Sodium: 360.38mg
- Calcium: 153.48mg
- Potassium: 475.28mg
- Iron: 3.10mg
- Vitamin A: 49.04µg
- Vitamin C: 14.69mg
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