One of my favorite plant-based treats is the Middle Eastern zesty dish, Falafel! In a warm pita with veggies & tzatziki – Delish!! And this recipe from @skinnytaste uses the fabulous Air Fryer and canned chickpeas to make this treat healthier & easier to enjoy at home!
These are perfect to add to your salad for a week’s worth of lunch meal prep!
Canned chickpeas cut down on the the prep time of this dish, and the Air Fryer cuts out the deep fryer, and takes half the time of roasting in the oven! And still gives them that crunchy-on-the outside, tender-on-the-inside texture! 🙌
But for those of you who are not Air Fryer owners yet, you can also roast these in the oven at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes.
Falafel will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days, or freeze uncooked balls for up to 6 months. Defrost in refrigerator overnight before cooking.
Enjoy!
Falafel - Baked or Air Fryer
Make delicious Falafel at home! The Air Fryer & canned chickpeas make this Middle Eastern treat healthy & easy to prepare!
Ingredients
- 1 (15.5 oz.) can of chickpeas (rinsed & drained)
- 1 small yellow onion - quartered
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions (5 onions)
- 1 TSP cumin
- 1/2 TSP kosher salt
- 1/8 TSP crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 TSP baking powder
- 3 TBSP flour (plus more for dusting)
- Olive oil spray
Directions
- Step 1 Dry chickpeas on paper towels.
- Step 2 Place yellow onions, garlic, parsley, green onions, cumin, salt & red pepper flakes in the bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Process until blended, approximately 30 seconds. Then add chickpeas & pulse 2 to 4 times until just blended, but not puréed.
- Step 3 Sprinkle in the baking powder & flour, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula, and pulse 2-3 more times.
- Step 4 Transfer to a bowl & refrigerate, covered 2-3 hours.
- Step 5 After fully chilled, form falafel mixture into 12 balls. If dough is still wet/sticky, sprinkle some extra flour on your hands & your work surface.
- Step 6 Meanwhile, preheat Air Fryer to 350 degrees. When preheated, spray basket with olive oil spray.
- Step 7 Place falafel in fryer basket & spray with oil. Cook 14 minutes, flipping halfway through cook time.
Serve with sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, red onion, pita & hummus or Tzatziki sauce!
Quick Tzatziki Sauce
Creamy tzatziki sauce is the perfect compliment to zesty falafels!
Ingredients
- 1 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1/2 cup seedless cucumber - diced small
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 TSP lemon juice
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
