Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Air fryer Buffalo cauliflower bites are crispy and spicy, a delicious and unexpected alternative to greasy chicken wings. Better for you and perfect for vegetarian diets.
How long it takes: less than 30 minutes!
Equipment you’ll need: air fryer, salad spinner, bowls
Servings: 8
I love these air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites. Replacing chicken wings with tasty and nutritious cauliflower, a plant, is a good healthy idea and great for some variety in your diet. Cauliflower has so many health benefits, lots of nutrition and fiber in every bite.
And buffalo cauliflower bites are delicious! My mom was a little skeptical about trying these, not being a huge fan of buffalo hot wings, but she couldn’t stop eating them. So crispy and with just the right amount of spiciness, buffalo cauliflower bites are really surprisingly delicious, especially dipped in blue cheese dressing or homemade ranch dressing.
So give them a try! You definitely won’t fool anyone into thinking that they’re really chicken wings, but I promise they won’t care, once they try one of these air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites. They’re perfect with a pint of cold beer.
How To Make Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Trust me, they are easy to make. (Keep scrolling down for the full printable recipe.)
Prep cauliflower. After you cut and wash the head of cauliflower, it’s essential to remove as much moisture as possible. Use your salad spinner to remove excess moisture and then spread the cauliflower florets on a dry towel to air dry. The drier the florets, the crispier the bites will be!
Prep sauce and breading. While the cauliflower is drying, in a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and hot sauce, until you have sauce that’s nice and smooth. In another large bowl, combine the flour, panko or breadcrumbs, dried parsley and garlic powder.
Bread the cauliflower. Breading the cauliflower is an easy process. First, dump all the cauliflower in the sauce and stir until all of the sauce is coating the cauliflower. There should not be any sauce left in the bottom of the bowl. Keep stirring until the cauliflower is almost completely coated.
Next, toss the cauliflower pieces in the dry mixture. You may want to do a few at a time so you can coat each piece with the crumb mixture. Arrange them in the air fryer as you go, putting them in a single layer, without touching each other if possible.
Air fry. You’ll have to cook the wings in batches unless you have a very large air fryer. Keep finished cauliflower bites in a warm oven until ready to eat, or put them on a plate and watch them disappear! Serve them with homemade blue cheese dressing.
Recipe Variations
- Don’t like “hot” wings? For a milder version, replace the hot sauce with honey mustard, barbecue sauce, or ketchup.
- Keto: Skip the panko/breadcrumbs and use 1 cup almond flour in place of the all-purpose flour. Another alternative is to simply omit the breading (similar to air fryer cauliflower). Your bites won’t be quite as crispy but will be spicy and delicious.
- Bake the cauliflower bites in the oven. If you don’t have an air fryer, use your oven instead. See note on the recipe card for instructions.
- Rather have chicken wings? Try air fryer chicken wings or oven-baked chili lime chicken wings, they’re really good!
Air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites are best eaten immediately. However, if you have any left over, wrap them well and refrigerate for up to 3 days. For best results, pop them back into the air fryer to crisp up. Alternatively, a toaster oven would work well for reheating. Keep in mind that some of the breading will probably fall off, and they won’t be as crispy.
More Air Fryer Snacks
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- ⅓ cup hot sauce (like Frank's), more for dipping if desired
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Ranch or blue cheese dressing, for dipping, optional
Instructions
- To prepare cauliflower, cut or break into evenly sized florets. Rinse well and spin dry. The florets should be as dry as you can get them.1 head cauliflower
- In a large bowl, combine melted butter and hot sauce, stirring with a whisk until blended together. Add cauliflower and toss to coat. The cauliflower should be almost completely coated with the butter/hot sauce blend.6 tablespoons butter, melted, ⅓ cup hot sauce (like Frank's), more for dipping if desired
- In another large bowl, mix panko bread crumbs, all-purpose flour, dried parsley, garlic powder, and salt.1 cup panko bread crumbs, ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons dried parsley, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Lightly spray air fryer cooking rack, if desired. Toss cauliflower in panko mixture until coated and place in air fryer in a single layer, with space between each one as much as possible.
- Set air fryer to 350ºF and cook for 13 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Color deepens as they cool.
- Continue to cook the remainder of the cauliflower in batches.
- To keep warm, put cooked cauliflower on a wire baking rack placed on top of a sheet pan in a warm oven (175-200ºF). This will keep the cooked cauliflower warm and crispy while you finish cooking the rest.
- Serve with ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.Ranch or blue cheese dressing, for dipping, optional
Notes
- Oven directions: Prep and coat cauliflower. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place bites on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, flip bites. Cook 5 to 7 more minutes or until crispy. If desired, broil an additional 2 to 3 minutes to brown further.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I hadn’t bookmarked this recipe and I just spent like half an hour going through every buffalo cauliflower recipe I could find to find this one again- it’s So Good & I refuse to use another recipe. bookmarking immediately so I can actually find it next time!
So glad you like it! Thank you for leaving a review – it made me smile!
This looks great! I love the idea of making Buffalo Cauliflower in the air fryer. Have you tried this with frozen cauliflower?
I have not! I’m not sure it would work because frozen cauliflower has a higher water content. I think the breading might fall off.
I made these last night and they were delicious! Loved them! Husband loved them! I will definitely make again!!
I’m so glad to hear that you guys liked these! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Deliciousness I used Franks Red Hot Dill Pickle and Sriracha, added the rest of the ingredients and followed as written by baking in the oven. To make them more crispy, with the next batch I will heat the oil to 365 degrees in a heavy saucepan and fry for about 30 seconds, then drain on paper towels.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for leaving a review!
sounds delicious–and another reason to consider buying an air fryer.
It’s a fun toy!
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Thank you! Glad to hear it!