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)
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.
Cauliflower in Air Fryer
Here are some questions you might have before you get started with this:
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is just one of our easy Ninja Foodi recipes, but you can use any brand to make this!
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:
- 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.
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.
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.
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***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about 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
Robin says
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 says
It’s so good on everything
Larissa says
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 says
Perfect
ted says
Worst recipe site ever. Are you ever going to get to the point??????????
Allison says
I just got an air fryer to evaluate. It has a stir feature which is a nice but frankly if I hadn’t gotten it for free, I wouldn’t bother. This cauliflower recipe is just how I make it in the oven — same ingredients, same temperature, less time because I can roast it all at once. The air fryer is big and needs a place to store it and it draws a lot of power so be careful and don’t be using a microwave n the same circuit. Sure fire way to trip a circuit!
Darcy says
So after I put half of the cauliflower and set the timer foe 15 minutes, what happens to the other half of it??
Marcia says
You put the other half for 15 minutes also, after the first half is done .
Jan says
Excellent recipe! Thank you. This will definitely be on our menu often.
Kyla says
Thanks! I had not even thought about putting veggies in my air fryer. I usually roast cauliflower with EVOO, TJ 21 Salute seasoning, minced garlic and red pepper flakes. It’s amazing. Can’t wait to try I. The air fryer
The Typical Mom says
OMG it is the way to go!
Krissy Allori says
This turned out amazing! It’s so good and so easy to make. I loved the crispy edges the best!
Whitney says
I love the crispy flavor and seasoning. It definitely the best way to get my family to eat cauliflower!
Monica says
Oh my goodness, the crispy bits on this cauliflower are just to die for! An air fryer would be worth having for this side dish alone – YUM!
Lisalia says
Yum this was delicious. I love my air fryer and usually just use it for things I would deep fry… but the cauliflower was something new and I loved it. My only substitution is that I didn’t have old bay seasoning – IDK what that even is haha – but I added some Mrs Dash. Will definitely make this again.
Veena Azmanov says
This recipe is so healthy and quick and flavorful too. Best vegetarian platter.