Air-fried Broccoli & Cheese Balls

These air-fried broccoli & cheese balls are the best way to eat your broccoli! They are crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside. I came up with this recipe to entice the kids to eat their veggies and we all fell in love! These vegan broccoli and cheeseballs are easy to make and much healthier than the fried ones that we get from the pizza delivery. But they have that same fried comfort food vibe with a fraction of the oil! Plus they have protein since I added chickpeas to the recipe!

What are broccoli & cheese balls?

If you are unfamiliar with broccoli and cheese balls that come from East Coast Greek Pizzarias, I am sorry! As a young vegetarian in my 20s we often got pizza delivery and instead of wings, we always got the deep fried broccoli and cheese balls. They are battered balls of chopped broccoli and cheese that are deep fried until crispy and golden. Most places serve them with ranch or sour cream. I turned my kids on to them and I love that my pickiest eater will eat broccoli this way. Recently our local pizzeria changed their product to include bacon which made us very unhappy. That is what inspired me to come up with my own recipe for a vegan broccoli and cheese ball that is air-fried.

Ingredients for Air-Fried Broccoli & Cheese Balls

I went all out on making these air-fried broccoli & cheese balls much healthier than their inspiration. I use whole wheat panic breadcrumbs and chickpea flour in place of white breadcrumbs or white flour. You may sub in the white versions if they are easier for you to find. I like Good Planet Foods vegan cheeses the best for these as they have the right combo of flavor and meltability.

• whole wheat panko
• chickpeas
• ground flax
• aquafaba
• broccoli
• vegan cheddar cheese
• vegan parmesan cheese
• nutritional yeast
• salt
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• chickpea flour

How to Make Air-Fried Broccoli & Cheese Balls

Obviously according to the title these are air-fried but you will have good luck baking them as well. They won't stay as round and they will take about double the time but they will still taste delicious.

• First blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes until they turn bright green. Remove and run under cold water to halt the cooking process.
• Add the broccoli to a high speed blender and pulse until the broccoli is pulverized into tiny pieces.
• Make flax egg by combining 3 tbsp reserved aquafaba and 1 tbsp ground flax seeds. Set aside to gel.
• In a large bowl, combine mashed chickpeas, panko, broccoli, vegan cheddar, vegan parmesan, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix with hands until all is well combined and you can form balls.
• Make balls with the mix and place on a sheet pan. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
• Once set, make a breading station with 3 small bowls. One for chickpea flour, one for aquafaba and one for panko. One by one, dip the balls in each bowl to coat . First the chickpea flour, then the aquafaba, then the panko.
• Spray your air fryer grate with avocado or olive oil then fill the basket with broccoli balls. Spray the tops then air fry at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, turning once at the halfway point. Do this in batches until all are crispy and olden on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside.
• Serve with dipping sauce of choice.

Tips for the best eating

The best way to eat these tasty snacks is to dip them in vegan ranch or sour cream. You could also put them in a wrap or eat them with pasta or in a buddha bowl. For me, it makes sense to eat them on the side on pizza night. No matter how you eat them, you will love these tasty morsels.

Other delicious airfryer recipes

• Vegan Crabcakes
• Vegan Eggrolls
• Chickpea Pakora Fritters