Air fryer Buffalo cauliflower is a great vegan and gluten-free snack recipe. It’s a super easy, healthy, oil-free, and perfectly seasoned air fryer recipe with a handful of ingredients. These buffalo cauliflower bites are a perfect side dish and pairs amazing with any dip.
Don’t have an air fryer? You can also easily whip these buffalo cauliflower bites in a conventional oven!
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
I just love making easy & quick air fryer recipes, and these buffalo cauliflower bites are one of my favorite side dish recipes. I guess cauliflower is the best as a flavourful vegetarian & vegan alternative to buffalo chicken wings.
⇒Also, try this regular air fryer cauliflower recipe– it’s amazing!
I absolutely love to buffalo anything!! It can be chicken wings, buffalo chickpeas nachos, creamy buffalo dip, vegan buffalo meatballs… You name it! Buffalo sauce is one of my favorite sauces and I love to make it at home. The homemade buffalo sauce tastes amazing and it is free of preservatives.
Though this cauliflower recipe does not require any breading and is cooked in an air fryer with very little oil, it’s a great healthy side dish you can have on your everyday meal prep list. The ingredients for these buffalo cauliflower bites are vegan, gluten-free, and even low carb.
Ingredients for air fryer buffalo cauliflower
This recipe requires simple pantry staples that together make the best and healthy air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites. I have used just 6 ingredients, which are vegan and gluten-free.
- Cauliflower: ½ a head of cauliflower, broken or cut into pieces. You can also use frozen cauliflower florets.
- Buffalo sauce: It will give this cauliflower a rich and bit spicy flavor. I have used the Homemade Buffalo Sauce, or you can also use frank’s red hot sauce.
- Extra virgin olive oil: it will help to combine and stick the seasoning to the cauliflower florets, also make the florets extra crispy and crunchy.
- Garlic powder: It will give extra depth and enhance the flavor, do not use minced garlic, which could burn in the air fryer and stick to the basket.
- Salt & Black pepper
Paprika - Cornflour or almond flour: It allows a perfectly crisp coating for the cauliflower, for best result use, blanched almond flour.
Easy buffalo cauliflower in an air fryer
- Cut the cauliflower: Start by cutting the cauliflower into florets or bite pieces.
- Make the sauce: Melt butter (or homemade vegan butter) and mix in a good amount of frank red hot sauce.
- Mix: Now add the sauce over the cauliflower and mix until the florets are properly covered with the sauce. Set aside
- Seasoning: Take a small bowl and mix all the remaining ingredients.
- Coat: Dip the cauliflower in the dry cornflour and seasoning mixture. Use your fingers to toss the cauliflower florets in the dry mixture until well coated.
- Prep the air fryer basket: slightly grease the basket with oil
- Place the cauliflower: Gently place the cauliflower florets in a single layer inside the air fryer basket. Do not overcrowd the basket.
✦✦Depending upon the basket size you may need to cook the cauliflower in batches- but do not overcrowd the air fryer basket. ✦✦
- Cook: Cook at 350°F for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the florets are slightly tender or little browned.
How to bake Buffalo cauliflower
You can definitely bake buffalo cauliflower in an oven. You just have to do-
- Turn on the oven and set it at 400°F.
- Place the seasoned cauliflower on a foil-lined pan and bake for 15 minutes. Now remove the cauliflower and gently toss with buffalo sauce. Do not soak the cauliflower just slightly allow it to coat.
- Gently place the cauliflower florets back on the pan and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the florets are fork-tender and crispy on the outside.
Tips for air fryer buffalo cauliflower
- Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket, it will make the cauliflower soggy and undercooked. If your air fryer basket is smaller in size then cook the cauliflower in 2 batches.
- You can also, first air fryer the cauliflower tossed in the seasoning and then coat it with the buffalo sauce. Either way, it will taste great.
- Make sure to heat the homemade buffalo sauce before pouring it over the air fried cauliflower florets.
- If you dose not get the crunch then put it again and cook for an extra 1 to 2 minutes
More easy air fryer recipes
- Crispy Chicken in an air fryer
- Air fryer diced potatoes
- Air Fried crispy cauliflower
- Crispy Air Fried Roasted Tofu
- Air fried orange tofu
- Easy Air fried Millet Cookies
- Easy Air fryer Vegan Meatballs
- Air fryer hard-boiled eggs
- Air fryer broccoli