Air Fryer Falafel Bites with Pesto Dipping Sauce
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These Air Fryer Falafel Bites with Pesto Dipping Sauce are the perfect vegan snack – covered in everything but the bagel seasoning and perfectly crispy!
I am so excited about this recipe! Falafel and everything but the bagel seasoning?!? It is a match made in heaven, I promise you.
Plus by making these in the air fryer you get that nice crispy crust without all the oil! Healthier snack with a whole lotta crunch!
TSV TIP: I got my air fryer off of amazon. You can find the one I have here. I also got my extra large bottle of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning on amazon too. You can find it here. I also really like the one from Trader Joe’s.
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can fry these up in a little bit of oil on the stovetop – check out my traditional falafel recipe to get frying instructions.
How to make your Air Fryer Falafel Bites with Pesto Dipping Sauce
Combine canned chickpeas, onions, garlic, cilantro, parsley and seasonings in a food processor with a little bit of flour & baking powder. Let it cool then form it into balls.
Be sure not to over-salt your dough – there is salt in the everything but the bagel seasoning, so if anything, under-salt your dough and go to town with the coating. You can always add salt after they’re cooked if needed.
Roll the balls in your everything but the bagel seasoning and you are ready to go.
How to make vegan pesto dipping sauce
After you have your falafel dough made, you can make the pesto dipping sauce. It is a simple combo of vegan pesto, vegan mayo and lemon juice. So quick and so tasty.
Need some vegan pesto inspo? Check out these recipes:
Once everything is ready, serve it up with some extra lemon wedges and dig in!
Air Fryer Falafel Bites with Pesto Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1/2 yellow onion roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley roughly chopped
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper* to taste
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- olive oil spray
- everything but the bagel seasoning
- 2 tbsp vegan pesto
- 2 tbsp vegan mayo
- 1 lemon separated
Instructions
- Add chickpeas, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt & pepper to a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped and combined. Add flour and baking powder to the food processor and pulse until combined and a ball of dough has formed – you still want to have some chunks.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is cooling make the dipping sauce. Combine the pesto, mayo and juice of half a lemon in a bowl. Stir to combine. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Spread a layer of everything but the bagel seasoning out on a plate. Spray your hands with olive oil to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Roll into 1" balls and then coat the outside of each ball with everything but the bagel seasoning. Place the balls in the air fryer basket and spray with olive oil.
- Cook at 350 degrees for 14 minutes – flipping halfway. Remove from the air fryer and serve with the pesto dipping sauce and lemon wedges.
Video
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
If you make this recipe be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
these look amazing, making them today! also, I recently saw that Winco carries Everything But the Bagel Seasoning in bulk now for very cheap!!
UPDATE: made them, they’re amaaaazing! Tender on the inside & nice crust outside! I only dipped the top half of each ball in the seasoning before air frying bc ours is pretty dang salty & it was perfect! SO good!
Yay! So glad you tried them out! I’m glad you took my salt recommendations to heart lol Every seasoning is different – some are super salty. So glad you liked them!!!
Thank YOU for the recipe!! It’s definitely going into our regular rotation!