Crispy Oil Free Falafel (with oven and air fryer options)
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This falafel is vegan and gluten free and it’s crispy even though it is not fried! Holy crap, you guys, I finally got an air fryer. I’ve been hearing you all rave about them for years and I finally see what the fuss is about. You don’t need an air fryer to make this recipe (I’ve included conventional oven instructions) but it sure does an amazing job of crisping these little puppies right up.
The trick to making falafel is using soaked dry chickpeas. Do not cook them and do not try to use canned chickpeas. They won’t work. Soak the dried chickpeas for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours, and rinse before using. You have a couple options for crushing the chickpeas and mixing the ingredients. I prefer to use my juicer for this. I have the Omega 8006 juicer. In addition to making juice, it comes with a blank screen that allows you to make things like nut butters and falafel. I just run all the ingredients through the juicer with the blank on (so it is crushing everything, not extracting juice). It’s quick and really creates the perfect consistency for this recipe. If you do not have a juicer that has this function, you can use a food processor. Just be sure to not over or under process. The final mixture needs to be processed enough that is can be formed into balls but not so processed that it becomes a paste.
I like to serve falafel on top of a bed of greens with a lemon tahini dressing. It also goes well on a sandwich or with this Tabbouleh Inspired Quinoa Salad. Let me know if you try this!
Falafel (vegan, gluten free and oil free)
Equipment
- juicer or food processor
- air fryer (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry garbanzo beans soaked overnight
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 1/2 tsp salt or more, to taste
- 3/4 tsp cumin ground
- 3/4 tsp coriander ground
Instructions
- Soak garbanzo beans for at least 8 hours. Please do not try to use canned, cooked or unsoaked garbanzo beans in this recipe. They will not work.
Combine all ingredients using one of these methods:
Juicer:
- Using the blank screen in your juicer (this works with the Omega brand Masticating juicers. I have not tested it with other brands), run all ingredients through the juicer. Everything will be crushed, creating the perfect consistency for falafel.
Food Processor:
- Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor. You want to process until the mixture is not smooth (it should not be a paste) but processed enough to hold together. It will be a coarse meal.
Forming the falafel:
- Form falafel into balls about 1" in diameter. This recipe will make about 24 falafel balls.
Cooking, air fryer method (preferred):
- Place the falafel balls in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Air Fry at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes (until falafel is nicely browned and crispy but not burnt). Shake the basket partway through to keep falafel from sticking.
Cooking, oven method:
- Place falafel balls in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Flip the falafel halfway through.