Air fryer cauliflower is easy to make in your Ninja Foodi or other machine. Healthy and full of flavor it’s a great vegetable side dish or snack.
We are obsessed with this air fryer cauliflower recipe! Do you have an air fryer machine? We got ours recently and use it every day now. It’s the best way to make healthy gluten free side dishes with no oil required. (originally published 9/19, affiliate links present)
Cauliflower in Air Fryer
We have made cheesy Instant Pot cauliflower before, but wanted to make a healthier version in our new machine.
OH MY was it even better than I could have even imagined.
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!
- Grab the best air fryer cookbook here.
- Here’s a printable air fryer cook times 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. We have a Foodi social media group as well.
Here are some questions you might have before you get started with this:
What good is cauliflower?
A head of cauliflower is a vegetable that is naturally high in fiber and vitamin B. It provides antioxidants that can protect against cancer which is great.
The fiber enhances weight loss and healthy digestion. It contains choline as well which is essential for learning and memory, as well as other important nutrients.
Is cauliflower a keto food?
Yes. It has 1.5 grams of net carbs per half a cup so you can eat a decent amount and not fall out of ketosis. It’s a low carb vegetable you’ll love.
This is just one of our easy Ninja Foodi recipes, but you can use any brand to make this!
How do you prepare cauliflower?
You’ll want to remove the green leaves and hard stem first. Then use a knife and cut the florets off. The smaller the pieces the more tender they will get. When it is fork tender you can just sprinkle with salt and pepper or smother with homemade cheese sauce.
What can you cook in an air fryer?
The answer is, you can air fry everything!!
- You’ll find a lot of easy air fryer dinner recipes here
- Then you should go a step further with air fryer cauliflower, air fryer corn, and air fryer zucchini chips recipes for healthy sides.
- They’re definitely healthy snacks for kids that are full of flavor. You might be surprised to find out they actually like veggies. AHHHHhhhh!
You’ll need to use your hands for this one to make sure the olive oil and seasonings are well distributed.
Can you air fry frozen vegetables?
I prefer fresh for sure but yes, you can. Just:
- For some you would want to use higher heat so they don’t have a chance to get soggy.
- Choose olive oil spray as opposed to bottled because it will stick better. Then season accordingly.
We have made air fryer frozen cauliflower before out of the bag and it’s quite delicious. The seasonings don’t stick quite as well as they do with fresh but you can add more halfway thru as well.
Ingredients needed
- Head of cauliflower
- Olive oil
- avocado oil is a good alternative too
- Old Bay seasoning
- Garlic salt
- Minced garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Paprika
This is by far one of our favorite low carb air fryer recipes we’ve made. I mean yes, Instant Pot side dishes are great too but you don’t get those crispy edges on your vegetables that I love.
Ninja Foodi Cauliflower
Tip for making air fryer vegetables: Gently shake or use a wooden spoon to flip pieces over every 5 minutes or so. This will give all sides and areas to get nice and crispy.
Time needed: 15 minutes.
Air Fryer Cauliflower
- Prepare florets
Cut head into bite size cauliflower florets. Equal sizes is helpful to cook evenly.
- Preheat
Preheat and set air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Add ingredients
Put florets in a mixing bowl and rub olive oil on all pieces. Sprinkle seasoning and mix. Using your hands is helpful so it’s evenly distributed.
- Cook
Put half of what’s in your bowl inside your air fryer basket making sure they don’t overlap. Set for 15 minutes and shake/toss or shake the basket every 5 minutes.
Add cauliflower left and follow same steps, then Enjoy!
Entire process and cook time will take 30 minutes to make an entire head of salt and pepper roasted cauliflower.
If you don’t have an air fryer you can make oven roasted buffalo baked cauliflower.
Are air fryers good for you?
Compared to deep frying, using an air fryer reduces the amount of fat and calories in your food. So, I’d say a resounding YES to this question. This is a way to get the same crunchy crispiness to all foods with NO oil required. It’s been a game changer for us.
Cauliflower recipes?
- This Instant Pot whole cauliflower, and Pressure cooker cauliflower mash are great low carb side dishes.
- Instant Pot cauliflower soup is cheesy and great too.
- Steaming a head with just some butter, salt and pepper is a simple and easy option everyone can do.
You can now make air fryer cauliflower wings too!
Want other air fryer vegetable recipes? We have a bunch, asparagus in the air fryer is just the beginning.
Air fryer baked potatoes are always a good option.
You can top these with:
- Meatless chili
- Pressure cooker broccoli
- Cheese and chives
- Sour cream
Then throw in a batch of brussel sprouts in the air fryer for a healthy snack or side dish.
What can I do with an air fryer?
Just about everything!! I hope we have shown you that in this post. Not only should you now understand how to air fry cauliflower, but a bunch of other ideas too.
From vegetables, to steak, and even frozen foods like tater tots, they always come out better without oil. There are lots of keto friendly dishes to make too like air fryer fried green tomatoes and more.
Want to see a few of my favorite things you might want to write on your Christmas list this year??!! 😉 Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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Can you lose weight eating cauliflower?
It does have several properties that may help with your weight loss journey, but on it’s own wouldn’t be a complete diet. Very low in calories with only 25 calories per cup, you can eat a lot of it.
As a good source of fiber, cauliflower slows digestion and promotes feelings of fullness as well. This means it will make you feels satiated without having to eat a bunch of it.
Air Fryer Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower stem removed, broken up into bite size pieces
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower into bite size florets and put into a bowl. Pour 1.5 tbsp of olive oil on top and mix/rub on with hands, then pour on remaining oil and continue to rub it on every piece so they're lightly coated.
- Sprinkle on all seasonings and again mix/massage the florets gently with your fingers so every piece is coated.
- You're air fryer should have preheated for at least 5 minutes at this time. Put half your cauliflower into your air fryer basket, so they're not overlapping and set time for 15 minutes.
- Every 5 minutes lift the lid and use a wooden spoon to flip pieces gently so the other side can crisp up as well.
- After 15 minutes is up and you've flipped them twice serve as is or with some dipping sauces!
Video
Amanda
Thursday 27th of May 2021
Everyone loved this recipe! My son will not eat cauliflower but he ate this and wants it again soon!
The Typical Mom
Saturday 29th of May 2021
OH yay!
Amanda Finks
Thursday 11th of March 2021
Love how easy and flavorful this cauliflower is in the air fryer. A favorite side dish!
Sandi
Thursday 11th of March 2021
We loved how crispy the cauliflower got. So yum!
Robin
Tuesday 9th of February 2021
I’m going to try this today! I’m from MD so Old Bay for everything haha! I can’t believe I never thought to put it on roasted veggies!
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 9th of February 2021
It's so good on everything
Larissa
Monday 9th of November 2020
Awesome recipe! I made this recipe without old bay spice. It turned out great! Thank you for putting a reminder to do it in small batches. That made my cauliflower come out perfectly crisp to enjoy. I waited for the cauliflower to cool then put it in the food processor to make cauliflower rice. It was a great low carb alternative to rice.
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 10th of November 2020
Perfect