These Air Fryer Cucumber Fritters, made with Indian spices and besan (gram flour), have an amazing crispy exterior. Just a little oil, no long prepping, and a delicious vegan appetizer is ready.
As someone who absolutely loves fried food, I was surprised by how crisp and amazing these Air-Fried Cucumber Fritters turned out. They have all the texture and flavor you'd expect from deep-fried snacks—but with much less oil and effort. Just 3–4 teaspoons of sesame oil is all it takes!
Crisp, golden-brown bites of the freshly grated cucumber slices mixed with salt, red chili, garam masala, besan, kasoori methi, brushed with sesame oil- a simple and Indian style of making fritters that can be perfectly air-fried in 15 minutes.
While you may use panko breadcrumbs to make crispy breaded cucumber chips, I wished to make a gluten-free vegan snack, and gram flour worked well- the perfect replacement for bread crumbs.
Enjoy them with Green cilantro chutney or tomato ketchup.
If you are a fan of cucumber, you may try a simple recipe of air fryer cucumber chips made with just spices, olive oil and mustard sauce.
Get my favorite Air Fryer chips from the blog: Air Fryer Beet Chips, and Air Fryer Carrot Fries, or a side dish like Air Fryer Broccoli and Cauliflower
Try More Indian Snacks- Rice Fritters, Onion Fritters (Indian pakora), Hara Bhara Kebab and Sweet potato Fritters.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements for ingredients.
- Cucumber- Cucumber is the star ingredient of this recipe. English cucumbers without seeds work best as they don't have high water content and can be easily made crispy. You may try using any local variety of cucumber as well. You may use Zucchini, Butternut squash, Beets, carrots, or pumpkin.
- Gram Flour (Besan)- I love making besan fritters. You may use corn flour but taste and texture would vary.
- Sesame Oil
- Spices- Garam masala, red chili powder, kasoori methi, amchur (can use lemon juice), green chili.
- Salt- Normal salt works well. I have used garlic salt.
- You may add leafy greens like spinach, kale, or cilantro.
How To Make Air Fried Cucumber Fritters
Step 1 Wash, Dry, Grate
Wash the fresh cucumbers and dry them with a kitchen cloth. Grate the cucumber with medium holes. Make sure to squeeze the water as you can't make fritters with so much water.
While you prep cucumbers, pre heat air fryer at 190 ℃ for about 5-10 min.
Step 2 Coat Cucumber with Besan and Spices
In a large bowl, add grated cucumbers (drained water) and mix them with spices, sesame oil, and besan. Shape them with hands- round, flat patties. They would be sticky, and it's normal. You can make them and place them directly on greased parchment paper.
Step 3 Air Fry
Grease a parchment paper and place it in the air fryer basket and place the cucumber fritters in even gaps.
Brush oil over the fritters too. Air fry these fritters for about 10-15 minutes or till you then move a bit using a fork at 190 ℃.
Make sure to flip them halfway through to cook from the other side as well. It takes roughly 8-10 minutes from one side. Though it can vary according to the brand of air fryer.
Step 4 Serve It
The Crispy and browned air-fried Cucumber Fritters (no breading) are ready to serve. Team them with tomato ketchup, cilantro chutney, or a sauce of your choice.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, cucumbers when coated with spices and oil turn out crispy and well cooked in the air fryer.
While the left over cucumber fritters may be stored in a dry container with a lid for about 1-2 days in the refrigerator, I recommend consuming them fresh as they lose crispiness when stored.
The best way to consume cucumbers is having them raw. I may suggest trying this recipe of cucumber fritters as they tasted similar to zucchini or eggplant fritters.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to squeeze the cucumbers after grating and use them immediately as they have so much water that they keep leaking it.
- When using an air fryer for making fritters, usually there is not much need to flip the vegetables. Just shaking is fine. But since this is besan fritters, I had flipped it to cook on both sides for browning.
- Before making fritters with your hands, grease your hands with a little oil. The batter would be sticky. We don't want to add a lot of oil or water. If we add besan to dry them, they will be too dry. So, a little bit of sticky (not runny) batter is fine.
- Apply oil over fritters and air fryer basket for non sticky frying.
- Serve the fritters fresh as they lose crispiness if stored for long.
How To Make Cucumber Fritters in Oven
This recipe of air frying cucumber works fine if you want to bake the fritters in oven. You may have to pre heat the oven at 220°C for about 10 min and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fritters are golden brown and crispy. You may want to flip them halfway through the baking time for even crispiness.
More Snack Recipes:
Don't forget to subscribe to my Weekly Newsletter for a free Recipe!
Air Fryer Cucumber Fritters- No Bread Crumbs
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Air Fryer steps to make in oven are given
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber english cucumber works best
- 2 tablespoon besan (gram flour) adjust if cucumber feels watery
- 2.5 tsp sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon amchur powder swap with lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1 small green chili minced
- salt to taste I have used garlic salt. You may use salt and garlic powder
- 1-2 teaspoon water as needed to make a not-so-thick besan batter
Instructions
- Wash the fresh cucumbers and dry them with a kitchen cloth. Grate the cucumber with medium holes. Make sure to squeeze the water as you can't make fritters with so much water. While you prep cucumbers, pre heat air fryer at 190 ℃ for about 5-10 min.
- In a large bowl, add grated cucumbers (drained water) and mix them with spices, sesame oil, and besan. Shape them with hands- round, flat patties. They would be sticky, and it's normal. You can make them and place them directly on greased parchment paper.
- Grease a parchment paper and place it in the air fryer basket and place the cucumber fritters in even gaps. Brush oil over the fritters too. Air fry these fritters for about 10-15 minutes or till browned at 190 ℃. Make sure to flip them halfway through to cook from the other side as well. It takes roughly 8-10 minutes from one side. Though it can vary according to the brand of air fryer.
- The Crispy and browned air-fried Cucumber Fritters (no breading) are ready to serve. Team them with tomato ketchup, cilantro chutney, or a sauce of your choice.
Notes
- Make sure to squeeze the cucumbers after grating and use them immediately as they have so much water that they keep leaking it.
- When using an air fryer for making fritters, usually, there is not much need to flip the vegetables. Just shaking is fine. But since this is besan fritters, I had flipped it to cook on both sides for browning.
- Apply oil over fritters and the air fryer basket for non-sticky frying.
- Serve the fritters fresh as they lose crispiness if stored for long.
- Before making fritters with your hands, grease your hands with a little oil. The batter would be sticky. We don't want to add a lot of oil or water. If we add besan to dry them, they will be too dry. So, a little bit of sticky (not runny) batter is fine.
How To Make Cucumber Fritters in Oven
This recipe of air frying cucumber works fine if you want to bake the fritters in oven. You may have to pre heat the oven at 220°C for about 10 min and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fritters are golden brown and crispy. You may want to flip them halfway through the baking time for even crispiness.| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 4 | |
| Servings: 1-2 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 120 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 5.6g | 7% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 14mg | 1% |
| Total Carbohydrate 23.9g | 9% |
| Dietary Fiber 3.3g | 12% |
| Total Sugars 3.5g | |
| Protein 3.9g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 45mg | 3% |
| Iron 2mg | 9% |
| Potassium 389mg | 8% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
Jacob says
Was looking for an easy and low calorie snack and landed on your page. Looks so perfect and healthy! Thanks for sharing.
Deepti says
Hi Jacob,
I am so glad to know this! Keep visiting for more such healthy recipes. Thanks for sharing!