The perfect, healthy Indian samosa recipe (baked samosa and air-fryer samosa) made with just six simple pantry ingredients. Give it a try already!

Chances are, if you’ve eaten at an Indian restaurant, you’ve had samosas. They might look complicated to make, but they’ve become a household staple these days. And they’re delicious because they’re flaky and flavorful.

That said, too often samosas are also oily. So, I set out on a mission to develop a healthy, Indian samosa recipe, so I can enjoy the snack without worrying about the fried goodness too much. So, here we are with the greatest Indian, plant-based snack. This page has recipes for both air fryer samosas and for baked samosas.

What are samosas?

Samosas are savory, typically deep-fried fritters, typically with spiced potatoes as a filling. Though I’ve also seen them made with meat, cheese or lentils. They also come in a few different shapes, just like us – the triangular ones are most popular, but I’ve also seen cones and half-moons. They were brought to East Africa by the migrant Indians during British colonization, and are often called “sambusa” there.

How do you make Samosas?

My recipe needs just six ingredients – flour, water, and oil for the samosa dough. Potatoes, peas and some spices for the filling. Technically, you can use almost anything for the filling. My recipe uses the traditional masala (potatoes, peas, turmeric, salt and chili powder). The best thing about this is that you can always use any leftover filling on bread as a sandwich and any leftover dough to make Indian flatbread. I’m also working on a cheesy samosa, so stay tuned for that!

Can you make samosas in an air fryer?

It’s so easy to bake or air-fry samosas. Three things to keep in mind:

1. Use a slightly higher fat to flour ratio. For instance, here, I use 2 tablespoon of oil per cup of flour
2. Add a bit of baking soda to the dough when you knead if you want it ultra crispy (I haven’t done that here, but it’s an easy option)
3. Coat them fully with oil and then bake at 400F for 35 to 40 minutes, turning over halfway through. Or, to air-fry, put them in at 380F for 15 minutes, also turning halfway through.

What is the difference between air fryer samosas and deep fried samosas?

The main difference I noticed between air-fryer or baked samosas and deep fried ones is that the pastry is often not as flaky in the former. A simple trick to ensure extra crispiness is to add a pinch of baking soda when you make the dough. I’ve also found that AP produces flakier results than using atta (i.e. whole wheat flour). That said, you’re trading off 5-6 cups of oil for a tablespoon or two when you bake or air-fry samosas. Totally worth it.

I honestly didn’t notice any difference between the baked and air-fried versions. In the picture below, the top part is the baked samosas and the bottom part is the air-fryer samosas. They both tasted just as delicious!

How do you fold samosas?

This was probably the one question that I was most worried about when I set out. But I found that it was actually quite easy once you get a hold of it. I was inspired by Richa, over at My Food Story, but still had to try it a couple of times to get it right. The method that worked for me is highlighted in the illustration below.

How to store samosas? Can you reheat them?

I typically tend to keep my samosas for a day or two after I’ve made them. Just like any other pastry, the longer you keep it, the less flaky it gets. I don’t recommend eating a samosa 1-2 days after it’s been made. To store, I wrap them in foil and then reheat them in the oven at 350F for 5-10 minutes if I intend to eat them soon thereafter.

Frequently Asked Questions