AirFryerCookbook

Air Fryer Falafel

Craggy, herb-green falafel from soaked dried chickpeas — crisp outside, fluffy within, and crisped in moving air instead of a deep vat of oil.

Prep
20m
Cook
15m
Total
35m
Serves
4
Level
Medium
Temp
375°F
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By Air Fryer Cookbook Team · May 11, 2026

Air Fryer Falafel
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Falafel is one of the great democratic foods of the Levant — fried chickpea fritters sold from carts and hole-in-the-wall counters in Beirut, Damascus, Amman, and (with fava beans instead) Cairo, where some food historians place its origin. It's mezze, it's street food, it's a sandwich stuffed into pita with tahini and pickled turnips the color of a sunset. Cheap, filling, vegan by accident long before that was a marketing term. A culture's everyday cooking usually tells you more than its restaurant cooking, and falafel is the everyday at its best.

Here's the honest tradeoff with the air fryer: a deep fryer gives falafel that all-over blistered, lacy crust because the whole ball is submerged at once. Air-frying browns the surfaces the air touches, so you flip, and you accept a slightly more even, less explosive shatter. What you gain is real — a fraction of the oil, no pot of fat to manage, and an interior that stays moist and green. The one rule you can't bend: dried chickpeas soaked overnight, never canned. Canned chickpeas are already cooked and full of water; they collapse. Raw soaked ones bind themselves.

Use a basket with room to spread the patties out so they crisp instead of steam.

The Recipe

Air Fryer Falafel

35m · Serves 4 · Medium · Cosori 5.8qt

Free from Gluten · Dairy · Tree nuts · Egg · Soy · Peanuts · Fish · ShellfishContains SesameAllergen info →

Ingredients

Serves
4
  • 1 cupdried chickpeas — soaked overnight — do NOT use canned
  • ½ cupfresh parsley — packed, stems trimmed
  • ½ cupfresh cilantro — packed
  • ½yellow onion — roughly chopped
  • 4 clovesgarlic
  • 1 tbsptahini — sesame — binds without egg
  • 1½ tspground cumin
  • 1 tspground coriander
  • 1 tspfine sea salt
  • ¾ tspbaking soda
  • 2 tbspolive oil — for brushing

Method

  1. 01

    Drain the soaked chickpeas well and pat dry. They should be doubled in size but still hard and raw — that's the secret to falafel that holds together without flour or egg. Never use canned; they turn to mush.

  2. 02

    Pulse the chickpeas, herbs, onion, garlic, tahini, cumin, coriander, and salt in a food processor until you have a coarse, sandy paste that clumps when pressed — not a smooth purée. Stir in the baking soda, then chill 20 minutes.

  3. 03

    Scoop into 16 walnut-sized balls and gently flatten each into a thick patty. Brush all over with olive oil.

  4. 04

    Air fry at 375°F for 15 minutes, flipping halfway, until deeply browned and crisp-shelled with a tender green interior.

  5. 05

    Serve hot in pita or over salad with extra tahini. They're best within the hour — falafel waits for no one.

Nutrition · per serving

210 cal / 10g protein / 9g fat / 26g carbs

Estimated. Values vary by brand and portion.

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Good to know

Common questions

Can you make air fryer falafel with canned chickpeas?
No — this recipe depends on dried chickpeas soaked overnight, never canned. Canned chickpeas are already cooked and full of water, so they collapse into mush; raw soaked ones bind themselves without flour or egg.
How long do you cook falafel in the air fryer and at what temperature?
Air fry the patties at 375°F for 15 minutes, flipping halfway, until they're deeply browned and crisp-shelled with a tender green interior.
Why is my air fryer falafel falling apart?
Usually it's the chickpeas or the grind. Use dried chickpeas soaked overnight (never canned), pulse only to a coarse, sandy paste that clumps when pressed, stir in the baking soda, and chill 20 minutes before shaping.
Can you make the falafel mixture ahead of time?
You can chill the shaped mixture, but eat the cooked falafel fast — they're best within the hour of cooking. As the recipe says, falafel waits for no one, so cook it close to serving.

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