Deliciously spicy and perfectly crispy, our buffalo cauliflower air fryer recipe is ALWAYS a huge hit with everyone, young and old. Since we’ve been making these tasty snacks in our air fryer, people can’t get enough of them.
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Why you’ll love this easy air fryer cauliflower recipe
Our advice? Make twice as much as you need, people WILL want more, and get the dipping sauces ready!
Ingredients you’ll need to make air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites
You’ll need all the ingredients shown below in the photograph.
What are buffalo cauliflower bites?
Buffalo cauliflower bites or buffalo cauliflower wings are the vegetarian and vegan versions of buffalo wings.
They have the same crunchy hot taste to them, just without the meat.
What do I serve with air fryer cauliflower wings or bites?
Buffalo cauliflower is very versatile, eat it on its own as a tasty snack, serve with a bowl of air fryer French fries, alongside a veggie burger, add it to a taco, stuff it in pitta bread – you can eat it however you like!
What’s the best buffalo sauce to use?
The best buffalo sauce to coat your cauliflower florets is your favorite buffalo sauce.
If you’ve never used a hot sauce before, then we recommend Frank’s red hot sauce, it’s got a perfect fiery taste to it and we think it’s delicious.
Just go with what you prefer.
Delicious dips and sauces to dip your air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites into
As your cauliflower florets are cooked in buffalo sauce and that’s a hot sauce, then you’ll want a delicious creamy dip or sauce to dip them into.
Try ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, garlic dipping sauce, sour cream and chives, cucumber raita, or even tzatziki.
If you are serving them with dipping sauce, then why not also serve carrot sticks and celery sticks?
These are perfect crunchy accompaniments for cauliflower bites.
Which air fryer is best to use for this recipe?
Everyone has their own favorite air fryer to use.
So we can only tell you what we’ve tried.
We use two brands, the ninja air fryers, and the instant pot air fryers, and at the moment, our favorite air fryer is the instant pot vortex.
Instant Pot Vortex 4-in-1 Air Fryer 5.7L
Our favorite air fryer is the Instant pot Vortex and we like this for its intuitive display, the filter stops lasting food smells, and you can see your food cooking through the glass panel and light function.
Reduce the mess
Luckily air fryers don’t make half the mess that traditional cooking would make, but we believe in making things as simple as possible.
We use air fryer parchment paper, which not only makes cleaning up a lot simpler, but it helps to prevent your food from sticking, which has got to be a good thing – right?
Do you eat them hot or cold?
This is purely personal taste and preference, personally, I can eat air-fried cauliflower either hot or cold.
It tastes good either way, meaning that you can tuck into any leftovers quickly and easily.
Can I use frozen cauliflower florets?
We don’t recommend using frozen cauliflower for this recipe.
Frozen cauliflower tends to have a lot of moisture in them and can make the cauliflower bites rather soggy.
How do I store them?
Our buffalo cauliflower stores well in the fridge when placed in an airtight container.
It will keep for up to 4 days.
We don’t recommend freezing them as when they defrost, they retain moisture which means they don’t crisp up nicely.
Recipe notes and expert tips
More air fryer recipes for you to try
If you love our air fryer buffalo cauliflower, then why not try our other easy recipes?
Why not try some Nashville hot cauliflower bites?
How to make air fryer buffalo cauliflower
Making our air fryer buffalo cauliflower recipe is easy if you follow our simple instructions.
A full printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Preheat your air fryer to 375°F/190°C.
Add your florets to a large bowl, then add Buffalo sauce, paprika, garlic powder, corn starch, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Mix so that the cauliflower florets are well coated with the buffalo flour mixture.
Lightly grease your air fryer basket and then add the florets, ensuring you don’t crowd them, and they are in a single layer.
You may have to cook in batches.
Air fry for 12 – 15 minutes, until they are fork-tender, you’ll notice that they look slightly brown.
Everybody enjoys their food at different levels of ‘doneness’, so keep an eye on them and cook more or less time, depending on how you like them.
Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce, such as bleu cheese dressing, ranch dressing, or cucumber raita!
We hope you enjoy making and eating our air-fried buffalo cauliflower bites and would love to hear how you got on with making them.
Please leave a comment below and feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Air fryer buffalo cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 Whole cauliflower
- 1 cup Buffalo sauce
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Garlic powder
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch (cornflour)
- 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 375°F/190°C
- Add your florets to a large bowl, then add Buffalo sauce, paprika, garlic powder, cornstarch, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix so that the cauliflower florets are well coated with the buffalo flour mixture1 Whole cauliflower, 2 tsp Paprika, 2 tsp Garlic powder, 2 tbsp Cornstarch (cornflour), 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, Salt and pepper, 1 cup Buffalo sauce
- Lightly grease your air fryer basket and then add the florets, ensuring you don’t crowd them and they are in a single layer. You may have to cook in batches. Cook for 12 – 15 minutes, until they are fork-tender, you’ll notice that they look slightly brown. Everybody enjoys their food at different levels of ‘doneness’, so keep an eye on them and cook more or less, depending on how you like them
- Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce, such as bleu cheese dressing, ranch dressing, or cucumber raita!
Notes
- Don’t overcrowd
Don’t put too many cauliflower florets in your air fryer basket, overcrowd them and they will turn out soggy - Not crispy enough for you?
Place them under the broiler or grill for a few more minutes until they are perfectly crispy for you - Can’t get hold of Frank’s red hot sauces?
Just use your favorite buffalo sauce - Substitute corn starch
You could use almond flour - Use butter instead
For a slightly different flavor use melted butter instead of olive oil. - Out of garlic powder?
Use onion powder instead. - Less mess
Use air fryer parchment paper liners - Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container, not suitable for freezing
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that nutrient values are estimates only. Variations can occur due to product availability and manner of food preparation. Nutrition may vary based on methods of origin, preparation, freshness of ingredients, and other factors.
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Shelby says
This came out beautifully and hubby loved it for our Friday night movie snack!
Mandy from Splash of Taste says
We’re so pleased you both enjoyed them!
Glenda says
These completely satisfied my, “crunchy” cravings. I can’t believe how crisp they got. We love buffalo anything at our house and now these are being added to the collection. Thanks!
Mandy from Splash of Taste says
Oh the crunch is great isn’t it! So pleased you enjoyed them!
Crystal says
This is such a delicious way to prepare cauliflower – thank you so much for the recipe!
Mandy from Splash of Taste says
You are more than welcome – glad you liked them!
Allyssa says
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing buffalo cauliflower recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Jenn says
This is a delish recipe! I loved all the flavors in it and your tips were very helpful!