If you love buffalo chicken wings but are looking for a vegetarian alternative, this buffalo cauliflower bites recipe will soon become a favorite appetizer for Game Day, Super Bowl, or your next party.
These cauliflower buffalo bites are a healthy option for finger food, served with blue cheese dressing, ranch dip, and low-carb vegetables such as carrot sticks.
This tasty appetizer is ideal for anyone following a gluten free or keto diet too!
We love all things Buffalo! Check out our popular recipes featuring this irresistible hot sauce: Buffalo Chicken Dip, Buffalo Chicken Tostada, or make your own Homemade Buffalo Sauce.
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Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
- Cauliflower - I’ve used 1 to 1 ½ pound of cauliflower for these cauliflower wings. You can either use packaged cauliflower pieces or a head of cauliflower that will need to be cut into bite-sized pieces, rinsed, and dried. It's about a medium to large head of cauliflower.
- Garlic and onion powder - The garlic and onion powder is best for dredging after dipping into the egg mixture.
- Salt - To taste. You could use regular table salt or kosher salt.
- Black pepper - To taste. If you want a bigger kick of heat, consider cayenne pepper or paprika.
- Hot sauce - Something like Frank’s or Valentina will be great for these cauliflower wings, but you can use any hot sauce you prefer or have on hand.
- Butter - You can use salted or unsalted butter but make sure it’s melted for this recipe. If you use salted butter, reduce the salt added to the almond flour mixture.
- Eggs - I’ve used large eggs that are at room temperature. For a vegan version, you could try a flax seed egg as well. But the result may be slightly different.
- Almond flour or meal - you can use both. I used coarser almond flour in the recipe but for more crispy results use almond meal. It is made with unpeeled almonds and is coarser than almond flour. However, both products are often labeled incorrectly in grocery stores. Read more on more detailed explanation of the two.
- Oil - Use the oil to lightly coat the air fryer basket and spray the tops of the cauliflower wings. Olive oil or vegetable oil will work.
- Serving ingredients - Ranch dressing, blue cheese sauce, blue cheese crumbles, and celery stalks are all great options for serving these cauliflower wings.
Instructions
Preheat the air fryer to 350 F according to manufacturer instructions (usually it’s 4-5 minutes). I used my Cosori 5.8 quart air fryer.
Prep. Prepare a large mixing bowl or baking sheet where you are going to arrange the florets.
Prepare one bowl with lightly beaten eggs and a tablespoon of water.
The second one is with almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Place cauliflower florets in a separate large bowl.
Dip each floret into the egg, then almond flour mixture, then egg again and flour.
Once the air fryer is preheated, transfer the cauliflower into the basket (spray the basket lightly with oil or use air fryer basket liners), and spray more oil on top of the florets too.
Set the timer for 14 minutes, shaking the basket at the 7-minute mark.
You’ll 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, and set aside.
Once all the cauliflower is cooked, add it to a hot sauce bowl and toss until fully coated.
Return to the air fryer for 4 minutes. You can skip the last step and drizzle the cauliflower with hot sauce before serving.
Serve with celery sticks, carrots, and blue cheese sauce.
To reheat add the cauliflower to the air fryer for 5 minutes at the same temperature.
For best results and crispy exterior do this only once.
After the second reheating it will not taste the same and the texture is not as crispy as it should be.
Flavor and texture: cauliflower has thick breaded (in almond flour mix) exterior, crispy on the outside, melt in your mouth soft on the inside.
The flavor is spicy but not very spicy and to balance the heat, we like to serve it with a cold creamy sauce such as blue cheese or ranch sauce.
Craving for more air fryer finger foods? My friend Chhavi from Yellow Thyme made a mouth-watering collection of easy 50+ air fryer finger foods that you can already make today!
Tips
- If you’re in a rush, use store-bought small florets instead of having to cut a head of cauliflower.
- The size of your air fryer and how many servings of these cauliflower wings you want to make will determine the number of batches that you’ll need to cook.
- Never overcrowd the air fryer basket, as this will limit the air circulation in the air fryer and reduce the crispy exterior of the cauliflower wings.
- It’s not a bad idea to check on your wings during the cooking time to ensure they aren’t over-browning. Different brands and makes of air fryers vary in cooking intensity and times.
- Serve these buffalo cauliflower wings with sauce or dressing in separate bowls for your family and guests to help themselves. If you add the sauce or dressing onto the wings before they are consumed, the coating on the cauliflower wings can soften.
- This recipe along with our spicy Million Dollar Deviled Eggs and Stuffed Mushrooms are a great addition to your party appetizer list.
JULIA'S TIP The great thing about an air fryer is that you don’t need a lot of cooking oil. That said, don’t be too sparing with the oil since a good coating on the cauliflower florets will help them caramelize.
FAQ
These cauliflower buffalo wings are not vegan since I’ve used eggs in the dredging process. They are, however, vegetarian and gluten-free!
Air frying any food will always make it a healthier alternative to deep-fried foods.
These buffalo cauliflower wings are not only low in saturated fat, they are also a delicious way to include healthy veggies into snacks that the whole family will love.
There's a lot of moisture from the drizzled sauce or dressing so if you added this to the spicy buffalo cauliflower bites before serving, this could account for them turning soggy.
I always serve these coated cauliflower wings with a separate serving of dressing or sauce to keep these snacks crispy and crunchy for longer.
I don’t recommend reheating these buffalo cauliflower wings in the microwave as they can turn very soft, and the coating can become quite soggy.
Instead, add your leftover cauliflower wings back into the air fryer for a couple of minutes or reheat them on a baking tray at 350F for 5-10 minutes.
Easy Air Fryer Recipes
Air fryer is my favorite thing lately, from my guest favorite Air Fryer Nachos, Peanut Butter Cookies, Air Fryer Cabbage, to Jalapeno Poppers.
Anything can be done in air fryer, plus it reheats beautifully and tastes and looks like freshly made!
ALL AIR FRYER recipes.
I hope you'll enjoy this air fryer buffalo cauliflower wings recipe, please leave a rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo of your food and tag me on Instagram @theyummy_bowl. I love seeing your creations!
Thank you for reading,
Love,
Julia
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
INGREDIENTS
- 1 head cauliflower (about 1 to 1 ½ 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 or meal (see notes)
- Oil for cooking
- Ranch dressing or blue cheese sauce
- Blue cheese crumbles (optional for serving)
- Celery stalks for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 F according to manufacturer instructions (usually it’s 4-5 minutes). Cosori 5.8 quart
- Prep. Prepare a large mixing bowl or baking sheet where you are going to arrange the florets. Prepare one bowl with lightly beaten eggs and a tablespoon of water. The second one is with almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place cauliflower florets in a separate large bowl. Dip each floret into the egg, then almond flour mixture, then egg again and flour.
- Once the air fryer is preheated, transfer the cauliflower into the basket (spray the basket lightly with oil or use air fryer basket liners), and spray more oil on top of the florets too. Set the timer for 14 minutes, shaking the basket at the 7-minute mark.
- You’ll 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, and set aside.
- Once all the cauliflower is cooked, add it to a hot sauce bowl and toss until fully coated. Return to the air fryer for 4 minutes. You can skip the last step and drizzle the cauliflower with hot sauce before serving.
- Serve with celery sticks, carrots, and blue cheese sauce.
- To reheat add the cauliflower to the air fryer for 5 minutes at the same temperature. For best results and crispy exterior do this only once. After second reheating it will not taste the same and the texture is not as crispy as it should be.
- Flavor and texture: cauliflower has thick breaded (in almond flour mix) exterior, crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth soft on the inside. The flavor is spicy but not very spicy and to balance the heat served with cold creamy sauce.
Video
NOTES
PRIVATE NOTES
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Delicious vegetarian appetizer and a great alternative to buffalo chicken wings.