Air fryer cauliflower wings are healthy crispy bites of heaven. Serve as a light snack or side dish. Make as spicy or mild as you want. You can even make in a Ninja Foodi if that is the pot you have. Baked cauliflower wings are great but these won’t heat up your whole house!
Yes I am obsessed with my new machine, and air fryer cauliflower wings was the latest creation. A healthy and crispy snack or side dish, I bet even your kids will ask for this easy air fryer recipe again and again. (affiliate links present, originally published 2/21)
Ninja Foodi Cauliflower Wings
I made air fryer cauliflower a while back. Seriously, it was so good I’ve never made it any other way since then. With a little crisp on the outside but tender with every bite, it is just the best way to get the best of both worlds. Now here is one lightly breaded with a bit of a spicy kick.
You can make them really spicy or mild, either way is great. Air crisp until crunchy or just a light crisp to just add some texture. It’s a healthy side dish that is really cheap to make too.
If you love air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:
- THIS is my Favorite Air Fryer!
- You can find more Air fryer recipes here, we have Ninja Foodi recipes as well; bookmark them both!
- This is the best air fryer cookbook. It’s important to know and remember how to preheat air fryer for best results.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
- Then join our Facebook page where you can share and find more ideas you’ll love.
Yes you can Instant Pot cauliflower too without even breaking it up into florets but the seasonings just don’t stick. We like this method the best.
Cauliflower Wings Air Fryer
These are the ingredients you’ll need to get started on this:
- Head of cauliflower – and knife to cut into small florets
- the smaller the pieces are the quicker they’ll cook and the crispier they’ll get on the outside
- adjust the size according to your preference
- for air fryer frozen cauliflower use this timing
- Hot sauce – this Old Bay hot sauce is kinda’ amazing
- Melted butter
- Panko bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing are popular dipping sauces
Get out a cutting board and get to cutting. If you rinse the head beforehand then lay pieces on paper towels to absorb the water on the outside of each piece.
Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings No Breading
You actually could make this more low carb keto friendly without the breadcrumbs at all. You could just follow how to cook cauliflower in air fryer directions below (without that ingredient) and toss in your favorite buffalo sauce at the end. Makes it gluten free so everyone can enjoy them.
If you do not remove the water after washing the coating is likely to slip off and not stick like you want it to. Here are a few questions you might have before you get started on this:
When you’re making vegetarian wings I suggest 380 degrees F. For air fryer lemon pepper chicken wings I like 400 F better. You only need a few minutes when using cauliflower instead, meat will take twice as long but still so fast.
You can now find them at Buffalo Wild Wings, and Finney’s Crafthouse and Kitchen has always offered them on their menu.
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
Don’t have a Cosori and need oven directions instead? Follow our buffalo cauliflower wings recipe link at the top of this post. You’ll just need a baking sheet for those.
Then just get to mixing and coating. Now if you want a light coat then stir cauliflower florets in a large bowl with hot sauce and butter. Then add the rest and stir.
If you want a thicker coating then after the butter mixture you’ll want to put breadcrumbs into a shallow dish and coat each piece separately. This will allow you to get more to stick on, thicker.
In this case you may need more than 1 cup of Panko. Either way they’ll turn out delicious.
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
We love these and our air fryer boneless wings as a healthy snack. They’re also a great football party food to serve during Super Bowl game day too!
Time needed: 6 minutes.
Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
- Wash and dry
Rinse head. Cut end of cauliflower head off and cut into small to medium sized florets. (the smaller the pcs. the faster they will cook and become tender).
Lay on paper towels and wrap up to remove as much water off outside as possible. - Prepare
In a small bowl melt the butter and hot sauce together, stir.
Put bite size pieces into another bowl and pour hot sauce butter over the top. Toss to coat every piece.
Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F. for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle seasonings on top of florets, then sprinkle on Panko bread crumbs and toss so they’re nicely coated. If you want a thicker coating put Panko on a plate and dip butter coated florets one by one into bread crumbs. - Cook
Pour 1/2 of mixture into air fryer basket and spread out so they’re in a single layer and not overlapping. Close drawer and air fry for 6 minutes – 15 minutes. Timing will depend greatly on how large each pc. is.
Start with 6 min, open and test with a fork. If you want them browner and/or more tender then close and add another minute or two until they’re how you want them.
Remove and enjoy, and then add second half of your batch and cook for the same time as your first batch. Serve with dips like bbq sauce, dipping sauce for chicken wings, or cocktail sauce even.
From start to finish with the time it takes to prep everything I would say it may take about 20ish minutes. I do like to only cook half of it at a time so that they’re spread out and get really crispy. I prefer really small pieces.
6 minutes is perfection when they’re about the size of your thumb. You can make as much as you want, just empty and add another batch. Cook those and by the time they’re done you’ll be done with the first bit I guarantee.
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites Air Fryer
It’s an inexpensive snack that is quite addicting. You can totally adjust the heat level to your liking too. There are TONS of different hot sauces out there.
How long can you keep cooked cauliflower in the refrigerator?
Technically it will last a week, no problem. BUT if you make them crispy like this you won’t like it once it’s not fresh out of the basket. The outside will get soft and a bit mushy, just eat these right away for best results.
Can you reheat cooked cauliflower?
Yes, and this hot air machine is actually a great way to do it. You’ll just need a few minutes to “revive” it. Like I said above though, these won’t save well.
If you want to serve your whole crew, or make a great duo of a meal, try our Ninja Foodi wings or air fryer chicken wings with the best dry rub ever too. If you’re forgetful, this is how to cook frozen chicken wings in air fryer too.
Try them and see what you think of this air fryer vegetarian recipe here! Love a different dip that we didn’t mention here, let us know so we can try your creations too. 😉
Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings Panko
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Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 6 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt or more at the end
- 1 c Panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Rinse head. Cut end of cauliflower head off and cut into small to medium sized florets. (the smaller the pcs. the faster they will cook and become tender). Lay on paper towels and wrap up to remove as much water off outside as possible.
- In a small bowl melt the butter and hot sauce together, stir.
- Put florets into another bowl and pour hot sauce butter over the top. Toss to coat every piece.
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F. for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle seasonings on top of florets, then sprinkle on Panko bread crumbs and toss so they're nicely coated. If you want a thicker coating put Panko on a plate and dip butter coated florets one by one into bread crumbs.
- Pour 1/2 of mixture into air fryer basket and spread out so they're not overlapping.
- Close drawer and cook for 6 – 10 minutes. Timing will depend on how thick your pieces are and how tender you want them to be.
- Open and test with a fork. If you want them browner and/or more tender then close and add another minute or two until they're how you want them.
- Remove and enjoy, and then add second half of your batch and cook for the same time as your first batch.