Air Fryer Cauliflower Buffalo Wings are amazingly crispy and full of spicy bold flavors. These vegetarian wings are easy to make at home without deep frying.
The 2 ingredients buffalo wing sauce makes these cauliflower bites lip smacking delicious. The authentic Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and butter create a flavor-packed glaze. It is LOVE at first bite !
Adults, vegetarians, and even meat lovers enjoy this recipe. And don't be surprised if you notice kids gobbling them up too. They are addictive, tasty and crispy !
Best Party Appetizer
In my books, buffalo flavor is synonymous to game day appetizer. So serve it as a crowd pleaser party snack along with Mushroom Pastry Puffs, Spinach Artichoke Dip and Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus.
You also can use these spicy cauliflower bites as a side to your favorite dinners. They pair well with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms and Miso Glazed Grilled Veggies.
Similar to Spicy Masala Roasted Chickpeas, these cauliflower wings are our favorite after school snack. We love it for movie night too.
If you love cauliflower as much as we do, try our Bang Bang Cauliflower Bites as well Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower recipes for scrumptious meals.
Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
Thanks to the magic of air fryer cooking, I love how crispy these cauliflower bites turn out without using much oil. They are moist and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Hello guilt free snacking !
Always awesome when delicious tasty food is little healthier and easier on the waist-line.
Don’t have an air fryer? I am including instructions in the recipe card for oven baked cauliflower wings as well.
What are Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Buffalo cauliflower wings are a vegetarian alternative to traditional Buffalo Chicken wings. Instead of battered chicken, you use cauliflower florets.
This recipe is a great meat alternative for buffalo chicken wings and can be made gluten-free. I am including simple swaps to make it vegan and low carb keto friendly. This also is a fantastic way to get picky eaters to eat more veggies.
How to serve
Just like they do in the restaurants, serve these Air fryer buffalo cauliflower wings with blue cheese dressing and ranch dressing to dip into. I like to serve them along with cut up celery sticks and carrot sticks as well.
Ingredients
Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's the overview of what you need.
- Cauliflower Florets : Cut the whole cauliflower into bite size florets leaving some stem intact for holding.
- Breading Batter : All purpose flour, all purpose seasoning, black pepper and smoked paprika whisked together with buttermilk. You can use regular any baking flour. I am using certified gluten free version. For seasoning, you can also use garlic powder and onion salt.
- Buffalo Sauce / Glaze : Butter and Red Hot sauce
- Oil Spray or Olive Oil
How To Make
Coat your air fryer basket or cookie sheet well with oil spray.
Melt the butter and whisk it together with red hot sauce in a bowl to make the classic buffalo sauce. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, spices and buttermilk together until it makes smooth batter without lumps.
Dip the cauliflower into the batter, in batches. Once it coats the floret, lightly shake so the excess batter drops off.
After the cauliflower is fully coated, place it on a greased sheet pan. Be sure to drain as much batter as possible off the cauliflower before placing on the tray.
Spray some oil on the coated wings / florets.
Air fry at 375 ° F for 15 minutes. Check mid-way through and spray some oil over half cooked florets. When they appear golden brown, they are done cooking.
After the cauliflower has cooked remove it. Drizzle the buffalo sauce on it and toss well. Garnish as desired and serve warm immediately. Enjoy !
How to bake cauliflower wings in the oven?
Preheat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the coated wings as described above. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Bake them on the middle rack for about 20 minutes turning them halfway through.
For crisp baking, I like to use a crisper pan over the baking sheet. It helps air circulate better . If your oven has it, use a convection bake setting.
How do you store cauliflower bites?
These taste best fresh, but you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, put them in the air fryer at 370 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-5 minutes.
What is the best buffalo cauliflower wings sauce?
Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce tops the list for popular wing sauce. You can also use Texas Pete, Anchor Bar or Crystal Hot Sauce. We also like Sweet Baby Ray's and Buffalo Wild Wings sauce.
How to make this recipe vegan
Replace buttermilk with any plant based milk + 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Use vegan butter spread or melted coconut oil instead of butter for the glaze.
Is this recipe suitable for Gluten-free diet?
Yes. I am using certified gluten free baking all purpose flour for breading the wings. So this recipe is suitable for gluten free diet.
How do I make it keto friendly?
Use Almond flour instead of all purpose flour for breading.
Our Favorite Air Fryers
If you looking for a recommendation for my favorite Air fryers, I have a couple of recommendations. Attaching Amazon Affiliate Links below ( opens in separate tabs )
For a family of four, we extensively use Cuisinart Air Fryer / Toaster Oven Combo which has bigger steel air fryer basket. I also love my Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven. For small / individual servings Pranjali uses Ninja Foodie. We also love our Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid which gets multiple dishes in one go.
Our Popular Vegetarian Air Fryer Recipes
- Stuffed Mushrooms
- Zucchini Fries
- Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers
- Crispy Okra
- Potato Fritters / Aloo Tikki
- Kale Chips
- Paneer Tacos
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower approx. 4 cups of florets
- 1 cup buttermilk. for vegan - use plant milk + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour - I used gluten-free version
- 2 teaspoon all purpose seasoning
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 cup Frank's red hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter for vegan - use plant based butter spread or coconut oil
Instructions
Air Fryer Instructions :
- Coat your air fryer basket or cookie sheet well with oil spray.
- Melt the butter and whisk it together with red hot sauce to make the classic buffalo sauce. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, spices and buttermilk together until it makes smooth batter without lumps.
- Dip the cauliflower into the batter, in batches. Once it coates the floret, lightly shake so the excess batter drops off.
- After the cauliflower is fully coated, place it on a air fryer basket. Be sure to drain as much batter as possible off the cauliflower before placing it on.
- Spray some oil on the coated wings / florets. Air fry at 375 ° F for 15 minutes. Check mid-way through and spray some oil over half cooked florets.
- When they appear golden brown, they are done cooking. Remove from the air fryer. Drizzle the buffalo sauce on it. Garnish as desired and serve warm immediately. Enjoy !
How to bake cauliflower wings in the oven?
- Preheat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the coated wings as described above. Place them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake them on the middle rack for about 20 minutes turning them halfway through.
- When they appear golden brown, they are done cooking. Remove from the oven. Drizzle the buffalo sauce on it. Garnish as desired and serve warm immediately. Enjoy !
- For crisp baking, I like to use a cookie cooling rack over the baking sheet. It helps air circulate better . If your oven has it, use a convection bake setting.
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