When it comes to finding the best healthy game day recipe, you can’t go wrong with these Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower bites. It uses simple ingredients but is a super tasty snack and the air fryer will have them ready in minutes. The best part is they have all the delicious flavors of buffalo chicken wings, but without all the grease and fat.
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Sometimes you just want a delicious snack or spicy appetizer that you know is going to hit the spot and these buffalo cauliflower bites are the ones to try. Buffalo flavors are traditionally enjoyed on a game day with most people choosing buffalo chicken wings, but I think this beats the wings hands down. There are a few buffalo cauliflower recipes but I think this air fryer version is the best way to get that crisy texture and gentle spice from the seasoning. It is one of my favorite air fryer recipes.
These will make an amazing appetizer or snack, and the breaded caulfilower is a simple recipe to follow. I gurantee the whole family will love the taste and flavors from this great recipe.
Ingredients needed for the Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
- 1 head of cauliflower, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, cut into bite-size florets (rinsed and dried prior)
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup of hot sauce, such as Frank’s or Valentina
- 3 tablespoons of butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup of almond flour, blanched
- Oil for cooking
- Ranch dressing or blue cheese sauce
- Blue cheese crumbles (optional) for serving
- Celery stalks for serving
How to make the Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
Now that you have got all of the ingredients together it is time to make the dish.
Step one: Time to prepare the air fyer and the cauliflower
Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, according to manufacturer instructions (usually it’s 4-5 minutes). Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper where you are going to arrange the florets after dredging them.
Step two: Prepare the dredging station
Prepare one bowl with lightly beaten eggs and a tablespoon of water. In a second bowl, combine the almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder salt and pepper. Dip each floret into the egg, then the almond flour mixture, then back into the egg mixture and back into flour mixture. Place the florets onto the prepared sheet pan.
Step three: Air fry the cauliflower
Once the air fryer is preheated, transfer the cauliflower into the basket (spray the basket lightly with oil or use air fryer basket liners). Spray the cooking oil on top of the florets too. Set a timer for 14 minutes, shaking the basket at the 7-minute mark. You may need to do this in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your air fryer. The florets should be crispy, lightly golden brown, and cooked through.
Step three: The final touches
Meanwhile prepare another large bowl with hot sauce and melted butter, and set aside. Once all the cauliflower is cooked, add it to the hot sauce bowl and toss until fully coated. Return the cauliflowerto the air fryer for 4 minutes. ***You can skip the last step and add the cooked cauliflower to a large bowl and drizzle the with hot sauce mix right before serving.
Step four: Time to enjoy
Serve with celery sticks, carrots, and blue cheese sauce. Delicious!
Recipe notes and tips
With many recipes, no matter the simplicity or ease of it, there will always be extra tips to take note of. It will help you to ensure that you can get the recipe right the first time. I have a couple of suggestions and notes that will help you when making this recipe.
- An air fryer is an amazing tool and doesn’t require much oil. However, in this recipe, I recommend spraying the florets with plenty of oil as it helps them to caramelize better.
- Having a single layer of the fresh cauliflower will help the air fryer to perform at its best.
- For the best result and crispy exterior do this only once. After the second reheating it will not taste the same and the texture not as crispy and light as it should be.
Variations to try
When it comes to any recipe it is always good to hear of any variations you could make and try. This is by no means an exact recipe, and you can do your own thing when it comes to what you add or how you make it. Here are a couple of recommended variations that you might want to try.
- These air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites are perfect with blue cheese dressing, frank’s red hot sauce, a ranch dip, or your favorite dipping sauce. A super tasty side dish or snack.
- Why not try more vegtables in the same way? Broccoli would work well as well as popping bell peppers in the air fryer. Zuchinni would also work a treat.
- You could make this into a meal such as buffalo cauliflower tacos. You could simple add the cauliflower to a taco with some salad and extra sauce. Yum!
FAQs
There will always be questions that people may have even though it may be seen as an easy recipe, so hopefully, I will have managed to answer some of the most commonly asked questions below.
Can you make this ahead of time?
These air-fried buffalo cauliflower bites are best enjoyed straight away, but you can prepare them in advance. When they are prepared store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to enjoy.
What should I do with leftovers?
If you have leftovers then make sure you refrigerate the cauliflower in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can then reheat in an an air fryer or oven at about 350 F until crisp.
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, cut into bite-size florets (rinsed and dried prior)
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup hot sauce such as Frank’s or Valentina
- 3 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup almond flour blanched (or all-purpose flour)
- Oil for cooking
- Ranch dressing or blue cheese sauce
- Blue cheese crumbles optional for serving
- Celery stalks for serving
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 F according to manufacturer instructions (usually it’s 4-5 minutes).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to arrange the florets on them as you prepare them.
- Prepare one bowl with lightly beaten eggs and a tablespoon of water.
- In a second bowl, combine almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder salt & pepper.
- Dip each floret into egg mixture, then almond flour mixture, then egg mixture again and flour mixture a second time. Place florets on prepared baking sheet after they are dredged.
- Once the air fryer is preheated, transfer the cauliflower into the basket (spray the basket lightly with oil or use air fryer basket liners), spray more oil on top of the florets too.
- Set timer for 14 minutes, shaking the basket at 7 minute mark.
- You will need to do this in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- The florets should be crispy, lightly golden brown and cooked through.
- Meanwhile prepare another large bowl with hot sauce and melted butter, set aside.
- Once all the cauliflower is cooked, add it to hot sauce bowl and toss until full coated. Return to air fryer for an additional 4 minutes. ***You can skip the last step and add the cooked cauliflower to a large bowl and drizzle it with hot sauce mix right before serving.
- Serve with celery sticks, carrots, blue cheese sauce.
Nutrition