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Description
It is very important for this recipe that you use dried chickpeas and let them soak in a big pot or bowl overnight. Using canned chickpeas will result in a mushy mess that won’t hold together. Speaking of holding them together, this recipe could be made gluten free if you use chickpea flour in place of all-purpose.
The next day use a strainer to drain the chickpeas. Then prep the spices and veggies. For this recipe the onion, garlic, parsley, and cilantro can be rough cut. The food processor does all the heavy lifting. Pulse the ingredients until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Don’t over blend the mixture though. You don’t want the result to be a paste.
After we are done with the food processor I like to unplug it and remove both the bowl from the processor and the blade from the bowl. Optionally you can transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Then take a handful of the falafel mixture and shape it in your hands; slowly squeezing, turning to compress, and shaping. Then place the shaped falafel into the air fryer basket.
The newer equivalent of the air fryer I used to make this recipe is the Philips XL 3 quart Air Fryer. It is also important to space out the falafel in the air fryer to give enough circulation to cook them evenly. For this recipe I cooked two batches of five falafel. If you choose to make pita pockets it is best to slice these into halves before stuffing in the pita bread. You’ll comfortably end up with five pita bread sandwiches (two falafel per single pita round).
Having a pair of metal tongs can really come to the rescue in removing the falafel from the basket easily. Although it may be possible to try to turn the basket over this may result in falafel rolling into unintended locations.
This recipe pairs nicely with hummus, Tahini Sauce and Griddle Fajitas. It works both in pita pockets or in a salad. A choose your own adventure scenario. Enjoy! 🙂
Ingredients
1 cup dried chickpeas aka dried garbanzo beans
1/4 of a medium sized red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. sea salt
Optional Toppings
Hummus
Lettuce
Tomato
Directions
- Place the dry chickpeas into a big bowl, cover them with cold water and let them soak for 24 hours. Once soaked drain and rinse the chickpeas.
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are finely minced. Do not over-pulse. The consistency you are looking for is coarse; not smooth or paste like.
- Using your hands, shape the falafel mixture into small balls about 1.5” – 2” in diameter. Arrange 5 – 9 falafel balls in a single layer in your air fryer depending on your make and model. You want to give the falafel a little room for the air to circulate.
- Set your air fryer to 375ºF and bake for 10-15 minutes. I recommend checking them every five minutes and giving them a little shake so they don’t stick to the basket.
- The falafel is done when it is golden brown and crisp. A pair of long metal tongs works best for removing them from the hot basket. Store the falafel in a warm place until ready to serve.