This easy air fryer onion bhaji recipe is one of the simplest you’ll ever make—crispy, golden, and full of flavour. No deep frying needed, so it’s a healthier alternative to traditional onion pakora. Perfect as a starter or side dish for homemade Indian takeaway meals. (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Follow my step-by-step easy onion bhaji recipe with video instructions to make perfectly crispy bhaji every time!
We absolutely love crispy onion bhaji at home, and once you try making air fryer onion bhaji, you really won’t need to order an Indian takeaway again. They turn out light, crispy and full of flavour, but without deep frying. Honestly, homemade air fried onion bhaji tastes much better than frozen onion bhaji in the air fryer and is a healthier alternative to deep-fried onion pakora too.
My secret to the crispiest air fryer onion bhaji is simple — rice flour. Adding a little rice flour to the batter makes the onion pakora extra crispy and stops them from turning soft.
Jump to:
Why Make this Air fryer Onion Bhaji ( Onion Pakora )
- Air-fried, not deep-fried! – Enjoy crispy, tasty bhajis without the guilt! Once you start, I can bet you won’t be able to stop with one.
- Vegan & Gluten-Free – Perfect for anyone with dietary restrictions.
- Cost-effective – Made with a handful of simple pantry ingredients, it’s budget-friendly too.
- Low-oil snack – Uses only 2-2.5 teaspoon of oil
- Easy and mess-free – Mix everything in one bowl, cook in the air fryer, and skip the greasy mess of deep frying.
- Quick to make – Minimal prep and cleanup make it a breeze.
- Make ahead & reheat – They reheat beautifully in the air fryer, making them perfect for meal prep.
- Versatile – Serve as a starter, side, or even with Punjabi Kadhi Pakora.
- Weight Watchers & Slimming world-friendly – Satisfy cravings with this light, low-oil version that the whole family will love!
Sandhya's Top Tips
- The secret to my crispy onion bhaji in the air fryer? Rice flour. It helps the batter stay light, stops the pakora from turning soggy, and gives you that classic crispy onion bhaji texture you get from takeaway-style onion pakora.
- Always preheat the air fryer before making onion bhaji. This helps the onion pakora cook evenly and turn crispy.
- Slice the onions thinly for the best crispy air fryer onion bhaji texture. Thick slices won’t crisp properly.
- The onion bhaji batter should not be too wet. Let the onions sit in the flour first so they release natural moisture.
- Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket. Cook the onion bhaji in a single layer for the best results.
- The second batch cooks faster, so reduce the cooking time slightly.
- There is no need for baking soda, bicarbonate of soda or baking powder. These are not traditional ingredients used in the onion bhaji recipe.
What is Onion Bhaji?
Onion Bhaji is a popular restaurant and takeaway favorite in the UK. It is a sliced onion fritter either deep fried, baked or air fried, served with tamarind chutney and coriander mint chutney. The batter is made with chickpea flour (gram flour), ground spice powders, coriander leaves, and very little water.
However, in India, Onion Bhaji is known by different names - Onion Pakora, Onion Pakoda, Vengayam Bajji, and Kanda Bhajji. This delicious crispy snack is often served with Indian Masala Chai or a cup of strong filter coffee in the Indian subcontinent.
Keep in mind - The Air fryer Onion Bhaji and Deep Fried Onion Bhaji have different textures due to the nature of cooking and the limited amount of oil in the recipe.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and a full recipe can be found in the recipe card below.
- Red Onions: Slice the onion thin. You can also swap for brown or white onion, but adjust the water quantity.
- Rice Flour: It adds crispiness. No rice flour? That’s okay! Swap with cornflour. You can easily find in Asian grocery stores.
- Ginger: Add 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger not ginger powder. Garlic tends to be overpowering, so I skip it.
- Chilli: For a kick of heat, add in a diced green chilli or some red chilli powder
- Flour: Stick to gram flour(chickpea flour)—plain flour won’t work that well. They are easily available in the Asian Isle in supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and ASDA.
Optional add ins
- Cashews: Consider adding chopped cashews for a tasty crunch.
- Spices: Add garam masala for extra flavor, or cumin/ajwain seeds if you like.
- Veggies: Mix in spinach, grated carrot, or grated potato to make mixed veg pakoras.
- Baking Soda/Powder: No need for either! I never use them for making onion pakoras.
How to Make Air Fryer Onion Bhaji?
Step 1. In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced onion, chickpea flour, coriander leaves and spices (not water) and let it rest for 20 minutes. This allows the onions to release their moisture.
Step 2. After resting, give the mixture a good squeeze with clean hands.
Tip: If it still seems dry, add some water. Start with 1 tablespoon of water at a time and mix until you get a clumpy mixture. Then mix in a teaspoon of oil.
Step 3. Preheat your air fryer to 200°C, arrange small lumps of the batter in the air fryer basket as you find in the Indian restaurants. Then brush with a little oil or use an oil spray.
Step 4. Air fry for 10-12 minutes until the onion bhajis are golden brown and crispy.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve Air fryer Onion Bhaji along with Green Chutney or Tamarind Sauce as a perfect starter or snack. You can also tuck these crispy bhajis into wraps for a quick and tasty midweek meal.
- For a curry night, pair them with Coriander Garlic Naan bread, Dal Tarka, Coconut Chickpea Curry, Veg Korma, and Cucumber Raita. It’s the ultimate addition to a homemade fakeaway feast!
- Great to to also serve with Whole Wheat Chapatis, Chana Masala, and Rogan Josh, then you need to try this recipe. This Air fryer version of our Onion Pakora is also great for Kadhi Pakora too.
Storing & Reheating
Store leftover onion bhaji in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze air fryer onion bhaji. Let them cool completely, then place in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, cook the onion bhaji in the air fryer until hot and crispy again. You can reheat straight from the fridge or cook frozen onion bhaji in the air fryer without defrosting. Avoid using the microwave, as it will make them soft instead of crispy.
Recipe FAQ's
Authentic Onion Bhaji recipe is vegan. There is no need to use egg to make the fritters. Batter is made with onion, chickpea flour, rice flour, spices and water and then deep fried or air fried to golden perfection.
It's super simple! I actually have a recipe specifically for making air fryer frozen onion bhajis—check it out!
Yes, you can! Once the onion bhajis have cooled, transfer them to freezer-safe bags and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw them in the microwave or overnight in the fridge. Then, pop them back into the air fryer and cook until thoroughly heated.
To reheat the bhajis stored in the fridge, place them back into the air fryer bakset and cook at 180C for 3-4 minutes until thoroughly heated.
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Ingredients
- 2 medium red onions sliced thin
- 1 cup gram flour / chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoon Rice Flour
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon Ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Chilli powder
- ¼ cup coriander leaves
- Salt to taste
- 1 - 3 teaspoon water as needed
- 2 - 2½ teaspoon Oil
Instructions
- MIX THE INGREDIENTS - Add all the dry ingredients - flour, spices, salt, onion, and coriander leaves.
- Mix them with clean hands and allow them to sit for at least 20 minutes ( or longer - up to 1 hour )
- ONION BHAJI BATTER - After 20 minutes, squeeze the onions with your hands to release the water. Combine the mixture together to form a thick batter. If you feel the batter is too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the batter coats the onions well. Add one teaspoon of oil and mix.If you feel, during the process of frying the batter has gone a bit watery, you can add 1-2 teaspoon of gram flour too.
- AIR FRY ONION BHAJI - Preheat the Air fryer to 400F / 200C for 10 minutes. Brush the air fryer basket with oil. Add small lumps of the fritter batter into a basket without touching each other. Brush a little oil on the top. Air fry for 10- 12 minutes, rotating at halftime. Brush again with a little oil.
- Air fry until evenly brown and crispy. Check if they’re cooked inside and the bhaji is not wet. Transfer to a serving plate.
- SERVE - Serve immediately with your favorite coriander chutney, ketchup, tamarind chutney, or raita.
Video
Notes
Sandhya's Expert Tips to make Onion Bhajis in the Air fryer
- Preheat the Air Fryer. This step is essential to replicate the temperature of the cooking oil to make crispy bhajis.
- Do not slice the Onion too thick. Thinner the better!
- The pakora batter must not be too wet. Allowing the onion to rest in the flour is an important step. Onion will leave its water when it's rested with flour, so do not be tempted to add a lot of water to make the batter.
- Rice Flour. Adding the rice flour to the chickpea flour batter will make super crispy pakora bhaji.
- The second batch will cook slightly quicker than the first as the air fryer has been cooking for a while.
- Brushing a layer of oil is necessary for this bhaji recipe, otherwise, they will turn out dry.
- Do not overcrowd the Bhaji in the air fryer basket.
- Allow the bhaji batter to rest. The longer you leave the onions to rest in the dry flour, the lesser water you will need. Also, the cooking time will also be lesser.
Peter McKinnon says
Hi Sandhya: I’m making them this afternoon and ran into an unexpected problem: when I tried to form the bhajis into balls (or pads), they would not stick together well. More batter sticks to my hands than to the onion slices. I’ve tried using spoons with a bit of oil on them to form balls/pads. Any suggestions?
Sandhya Hariharan says
Hi Peter, apologies for late reply. Thanks for giving these a try!
It sounds like the batter might be a little on the thin side. A few tips that usually help:
Make sure the onion slices are well-coated but not swimming in batter.
You can add a tiny bit more gram flour (chickpea flour) to thicken the mixture—just a tablespoon at a time until it holds together.
Using a spoon or your hands lightly oiled, press the bhajis together firmly; they don’t need to be perfect, just compact enough to hold in the oil.
Letting the batter rest for 5–10 minutes before frying can also help it bind better.
Hope that helps. You’ll have perfectly shaped bhajis in no time!
Etta says
Sandhya, this air fryer onion bhaji recipe looks absolutely fantastic!
I've been following your blog for years and always appreciate your creative, healthy takes on classic dishes. I tried a similar air fryer pakora recipe a while back, but it
never quite got that perfect crispiness – I'm definitely
trying your method this weekend! I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Larry says
I'm not a natural cook, I need to follow a recipe. These came out very well, tasty and crisp. Will make again.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Absolutely delighted to know Larry!
Scott Bryant says
I've made plenty of bhaji's over the years and this one is so easy to make and with a few added extras tasted amazing.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
So pleased to know Scott! How did you customise the bhajis - would love to know your way too!
Abigail says
I cannot find rice flour- Internet suggests substituting with cornstarch. Do you think that could work for this recipe?
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Abigail, If you can't find rice flour, you can sub it for corn starch. Rice flour lends crispiness to the pakoras.
Yasir says
I have made a few times, great recipe! Only change is I use yellow onions as the red are too sweet for my liking. I also tried frying them as in the other recipe - I have to say the fried ones are much different in taste and texture, but usually i will air fry. I think the nutritional information should be adjusted, the air fry is much lower in fat then written in the description.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Yasir,So glad you enjoy our air fryer onion bhaji! Thank you for taking time in reviewing the recipe.
Regarding the nutritional info, let me look into it now and amend if required. I usually feed it into the nutritional calculator and share the info as is.
Henry Thomas says
Can not wait to try the bhajis, awaiting my next delivery to get some gram! Many thanks.
amanda wilkins says
Thank you for this great recipe! I have coeliac disease so this healthy, gluten free recipe is fab! I had to really reduce my frying times though, not sure if it’s my air fryer.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
So glad you love the air fryer onion bhaji. Yes air frying time has to do by any large with air fryer models. May I know which one do you have?
Mandy says
Looking forward to making this recipe. Please could I ask what the gram flour is in grams?
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Mandy, 1 cup chickpea flour is about 92grams. Hope you enjoy making the air fryer onion bhaji.
Hayley says
Yes. it would be really great if you could put your recipes in metric for the rest of the world. I just came across your site and the recipes look great but adjusting from cups is always tricky for anyone outside the US. Also old fashioned UK cup measurements from prewar were different sized to US ones which complicates things even further.
Sandhya Hariharan says
Absolutely, Haley! Thanks for your feedback. I’m working on adding metric measurements to my recipes. In India, we often cook by feel, but I want to make it easier for everyone to follow. Metric conversions coming soon!
Susan Washington says
Yum. Just got an air fryer and definitely will have to try this.
Sumit Kumar says
This looks delicious, will definitely try.
Mark Putland says
Just tried these in my new air fryer,
Came out lovely, I sprayed a little oil on as they were a little dry, probably me with to much flour
Will definitely do these again as they won't last very long.
Thanks
Mark
Sandhya's Kitchen says
So happy with your maiden attempt at these Air fryer Onion Bhaji!! Glad you loved it... simply easy peasy!
Chris says
For me, came out really dry and not really edible. It's not at all clear from the instructions if you're supposed to add oil to the mixture or not? It felt like it needed it.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Chris, The instructions are pretty clear. As in step 4, it is mentioned when to brush the oil over the onion bhaji mixture. I believe you have missed the steps when trying it.
Also this recipe is a guide on how I make it. If you like to add oil to your bhaji, please feel free to add it to the mixture.
Clair Woods-Brown says
Instructions are perfectly clear, no oil in batter but brush with oil. Thanks for the recipe.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Thank you Clair!
Erin Hennessy says
Do you know if these would these freeze and reheat well?
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Erin, I have not tried freezing them. However I do not see why cannot be freezed. Reheating them should be pretty straight forward. Pop them back in the air fryer and cook as desired.
Leslie says
Freeze mine and they are perfectly fine