Air Fryer Carrot Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Tasty and simple to make, these air fryer carrot falafel contain carrots for extra nutrition. They’re an inclusive meal as they’re both vegan and gluten free. Serve with tahini sauce, salad and flat bread for a delicious lunch or supper.
Never mind raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, falafel are definitely one of my favourite things. They transport me straight back to the bustling streets of Alexandria in Egypt. Every street corner had its own falafel vendor who sold them fresh and hot, stuffed into pitta bread and drizzled with tahini sauce. We used to have them for breakfast as a special treat.
These air fryer carrot falafel may not be the authentic recipe, but they’re delicious and are a breeze to make.
Air Fryer Carrot Falafel with Tahini Sauce
The last time I posted a recipe for this Egyptian staple, it was for these chocolate falafel, which formed part of a six course chocolate dinner. They were a roaring success, but as I’ve never managed to get my hands on chocolate almond butter again, I’ve not repeated my triumph. I could, of course, make my own nut butter and now I’ve thought of it, I surely will.
Meanwhile these air fryer carrot falafel work a treat. They are vegan and gluten free and make for a tasty brunch or lunch for four. Double the quantity and you have an easy evening meal.
Tahini sauce is a must with falafel. It’s very easy to make. I added some of my homemade chilli sauce to this one, which just gives it a bit of extra piquancy.
The Best Falafel
The best falafels, according to Claudia Roden, come from Alexandria. Who am I to argue with that esteemed connoisseur of all dishes Middle Eastern? They are certainly the best I’ve ever eaten. They’re made with dried fava beans, otherwise known as broad beans, rather than the ubiquitous chickpeas.
As a nod to these, I used fava bean flour to bind my falafel mixture together, though you could use gram flour (chickpea flour) instead.
Traditionally falafel are served with tahini sauce and salad, all nice and snug in a pitta bread. I didn’t have the requisite bread, so we ate our air fryer carrot falafel in a wrap, loaded with my latest favourite salad – Brussels sprouts.
If you haven’t tried sprouts in a salad, they’re a revelation. I’ll be posting my recipe for Brussels sprout salad at a later date.
If you want a more authentic homemade falafel recipe, I did eventually get around to making some. And very nice they are too.
Healthy Frying
I used my Optimum HealthyFry to cook these golden balls of goodness. It gave them the classic crisp on the outside, tender on the inside finish, but without having to either fry them in lots of fat or heat an expensive oven.
I’ve been using this appliance a lot since I got it and it’s one of those gadgets that actually gets used on an almost daily basis. It’s very simple to work and easy to clean too. It also reduces cooking times and gives great results. I you haven’t tried air fryer falafels yet, I urge you to give them a go.
My power blender did some of the work too. I used the little jug to mush the chickpeas, parsley and garlic and it did a grand job. Once again, it was very quick and easy.
Other Air Fryer Recipes You Might Like
- Air fryer Brussels sprouts
- Crispy kale
- How to make your own prunes
- Roasted Mediterranean vegetables
- Roasted hazelnut bliss balls
- Rosemary chips
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try my recipe for air fryer carrot falafel, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And please rate it. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on your preferred social media site and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Pin this air fryer carrot falafel for later.
Air Fryer Carrot Falafel – The Recipe
Carrot Falafel
Equipment
- air fryer (affiliate link) optional
Ingredients
Falafel
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 carrot grated
- 1 tin chickpeas (400g or 14oz)
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 sprig fresh parsley
- ½ lemon zest & juice
- ½ tsp tamari (affiliate link)
- 1 ½ tbsp fava bean flour
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
Tahini Sauce
- 2 tbsp tahini
- ½ lemon juiced
- ½ tsp tamari (affiliate link) or other high quality gluten free soya sauce
- ½ tsp chilli sauce I use my homemade chilli sauce
- hot water
Instructions
Falafel
- Dry fry the cumin in a frying pan for a few minutes, then remove.½ tsp cumin seeds
- Fry the onion and carrot in the olive oil over a moderate heat for about 5 minutes until softened.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 small onion, 1 carrot
- Grind the chickpeas up with the lemon juice, tamari, garlic, tahini and parsley. I used my power blender which worked a treat.1 tin chickpeas, 1 tbsp tahini, 2 cloves garlic, 6 sprig fresh parsley, ½ lemon, ½ tsp tamari (affiliate link)
- Turn out into a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients.1 ½ tbsp fava bean flour, ½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp chilli sauce, ½ tsp turmeric
- Leave in a cool place to firm up for half an hour or so, then roll into ping pong size balls.
- Heat the air fryer as per instructions, then place on chip setting and air fry for 15 mins at 180℃ (350℉). Shake the basket half way through cooking. Alternatively bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 190℃ (375℉, Gas 5).
Tahini Sauce
- Stir the tahini, lemon juice, tamari and chilli sauce together, then whisk in enough hot water to make a smooth sauce that’s just the right consistency for drizzling.
- Drizzle over the hot falafel and serve in pitta bread along with some salad.2 tbsp tahini, ½ lemon, ½ tsp tamari (affiliate link), ½ tsp chilli sauce, hot water
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sending these air fryer carrot falafel off to Jac at Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays.
The air fryer falafel also go to Corina at Searching for Spice for Cook Once Eat Twice. They will keep in the fridge for a few days and can also be frozen.
Can you clarify the amount of fava bean flour please. Recipe just says “1 1/2”
Hi Jacquie, so sorry to have missed that out. It’s 1 ½ tbsp. Updating the recipe card now.
This falafel looks so tasty! I really need to try this recipe.
It’s delicious Jenny and so easy if you have an air fryer.
Looks like a great way to use up leftover carrots. I never know what to do with them!
I know what yo mean, carrots do have a tendency to mount up. I tend to bung carrots in things like tomato sauce or smoothies
Ahhhh Falafels….. they take me back to Egypt too….. one of my favourite places! I have visited 3 times and seen much of the country, but strangely never reached Alexandria. I met my husband on one of my visits, so it is quite possible that falafels may have been a first shared meal with him (although I only remember ice cream!!!!!) xx
Ooh how exciting Kate. I’m so glad you told me that. No wonder Egypt is a special place for you too. I managed to see quite a bit of it when I was living there, but never enough!
Love the flavours and such a pretty picture. Pinned for later 🙂
Thank Jan. I really should make falafel more often and now it’s so much easier with the HealthyFry I probably will.
These look so lovely! Love the flavours you’ve used. This new air fryer sounds like a really handy kitchen appliance! Thanks for sharing with the No Waste Food Challenge! 🙂
I’m totally in love with the HealthyFry. Just wish I had a bigger kitchen to put it in 😉
Oooh – yes please Choclette!! I LOVE falafel and these ones look especially good 🙂 Eb x
Thanks Eb. Homemade falafel are infinitely better than the reheat at home ones you can buy.
These sound gorgeous and I love how they have that slightly cracked look on the outside – It really makes them look tasty! Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Thanks Corina. Thanks for liking the cracks 😉 It is indicative of their crunchy exterior, which has to be a good thing 🙂
Oh gosh, you’ve hit my weak spot! I also tend to have flaffs in wraps – mostly because we don’t see pitas here, and because I always think about making my own when it’s a bit late. But I always have wraps on hand!
I don’t have an air fryer but I’m guessing that if I brushed these with oil, I could bake them in the oven? Oh, see what I did there? I said I’d bake something. Baking – me! LOLOL!
Excellent, glad to have found a way to get you to do some baking 😉 When I’ve made falafel before, I’ve shallow fried for a couple of minutes and then baked, but I expect coating in oil would work just as well.
I am obsessed with my air fryer, but I never would have thought to do falafel in it. Tahini sauce is a must with falafel!
I’m glad we’re in agreement 🙂 The falafel worked brilliantly in the HealthyFry.
They look delicious but I am TOTALLY distracted by chocolate falafel, GENIUS! Make that almond nut butter immediately!
Those felafel were a bit of a hit. I really should try making them again.
I love falafel and of course carrots are one of my favorite veggies!
Carrots are wonderful. The colour goes particularly well with these falafel.
I love falafel too, the addition of carrot is clever! I need to get myself a air fryer!
The air fryer was a completely new concept to me, but now I’ve got one, I’m finding I’m using it more and more.
These look fab Choclette! We often make falafel wraps for lunches and dinners but we’ve never actually tried making them ourselves. Who knew it was so easy – and not at all unhealthy! Great recipe 🙂
Thanks Emma. Making the real thing with dried fava beans or chickpeas and then deep frying is a bit more complicated, but these are super easy to put together and can be shallow fried and baked in the oven or just baked in the oven.
How do you stop yourself from eating them all!
Well we did eat them all. There were two of us and it was our main meal 😉
These look delicious and I’m definitely adding them to my list as I always buy my falafel for speed.
Definitely worth making a batch up and keeping in the fridge / freezer. They don’t take long, especially with Froothie gadgets 😉
I love falafel! Carrot will be a great addition to the norm! And tahini dressing is always amazing! Can’t wait to try yours!
Thanks Emily. You can’t really taste the carrot, but it’s fun to get a bit of extra veg in.
I LOVE the look of this!! That wrap too… yum!!
Thanks Lisa. They were the best wraps I’ve had in a long time 🙂
One of my favourites! Love that you used air fryer to make these..a guilty free treat!
Yes, if we’d only used some sort of wholemeal bread, this would have been a super healthy meal.
Ooh these sound delicious! I’ve never made falafels although I do love them.
They are really very easy, especially if you use a tin of chickpeas like I did and cook them in an air fryer. Definitely worth a try.
Just loving all the flavours packed into these lush looking Falafels! Thanks for including my recipe:-)
My pleasure Camilla. It’s really useful to get recipe ideas as air frying is still a new concept to me.