Air Fryer Falafel Balls are crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and perfect on salads or stuffed into a pita. Drizzle with homemade tahini dressing!
My air fryer obsession continues with this crispy air fryer falafel. This recipe is adapted from my Baked Falafel Sliders. If you want to make baby falafel but don't have an air fryer, I recommend heading over to that recipe. It's a great one!
A friend on Instagram recently mentioned that he bought an air fryer but is having trouble finding vegan recipes to make in it, so this one's for you, Ian!
I have some other air fryer recipes in the works - including pumpkin doughnut holes - so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out my roundup of a dozen fun vegan air fryer recipes to tide you guys over.
You can watch a video of this recipe below, or get the written recipe at the bottom of the page.
How to Use Air Fryer Falafel Balls
These little balls of deliciousness are super versatile. Serve them up over salad greens, as pictured, or stuff them into a sandwich or wrap.
For sandwiches and wraps, you may want to flatten these a bit, rather than cooking them up as big spheres. They can be a little bit cumbersome in a sandwich, as-is.
You can also dish them up as part of a meze spread, with hummus, baba ghanoush, stuffed grape leaves, and fresh and pickled veggies to go with.
Air Fryer Falafel Balls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
- 1/2 cup minced carrots
- 1/2 cup roasted - salted cashews
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 cups cooked or 1 15 ounce can chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- juice of 1 fresh lemon
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Cook the onions and carrots until they soften, about 7 minutes, then transfer them to a large bowl.
- Put the cashews and oats into your food processor and grind until you get a coarse meal. Add that to the bowl with the veggies.
- Put the chickpeas into your food processor with the soy sauce and lemon juice and puree until they’re semi-smooth (some chunks are totally okay). You’ll probably need to stop and scrape down the side a few times to get things moving. Transfer those to the same bowl, then stir in the flax and spices. Make sure everything is incorporated really well, and use a fork to mash up any big pieces of chickpeas that you encounter while you’re stirring. It’s fine if you don’t mash every single chickpea. This recipe is very forgiving.
- Use your hands to create 12 falafel balls from the dough, then arrange them in a single layer in your air fryer basket.
- Cook at 370 for 12 minutes, shaking after 8 minutes.
- Serve stuffed into a wrap or on top of salad greens with Magical Tahini Dressing.
Claire
These are sooooo delicious! Thank you for the recipe. It's going to become a favourite in my home 🙂
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Claire! I’m so happy to hear that!
Ruth
I thought these were terrible. So much effort for so little results. Made exactly as described.
Becky Striepe
I’m so sorry to hear that! Terrible in what way?
Ruth
No taste. No similarity to falafel. Nothing interesting.
Becky Striepe
Gotcha. Thank you for the feedback!
Ruth
Tasteless, dry, nothing like falafel
Mary Chittick
These falafels are delicious. I cooked at 400 for 12 minutes for better browning. I have a Nu Wave. They came out perfect. Thank you. Oh and I didn't have time to make the sauce so I got some Tahini Sauce at Trader Joe's and added in some dill. Worked great.
Becky Striepe
I love to hear that! And I love this cheater tip for the sauce! I'm all about shortcuts for busy nights.
Laura
These came out great! The only thing I did that was different was I threw the onions and carrots in the blender along with the chick peas, because I'm not a great dicer and I thought my carrot pieces were too big. I love using the Air Fryer- I shudder to think how much oil I used making these before, in a frying pan!
Becky Striepe
Ooh that is smart! I'm making these for an event this coming weekend, and I may steal your idea for the sake of time!
Laura
Air fryer is the best. Your pictures of the dish are awesome
Becky Striepe
Thank you!
Jenn
I love everything about this - especially that tahini sauce!!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Jenn!
Ian
These look amazing. Thanks for doing the hard work so we don't have to. And thanks especially for the shout out!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Ian! I appreciated the kick in the pants. I'd really gotten into a routine and stopped experimenting with my air fryer!
Aimee | Wallflower Kitchen
You're really making me want to buy an air fryer with all these recipes!
Becky Striepe
Haha thank you, Aimee!