These air fryer vegan buffalo cauliflower bites are irresistible. Breaded cauliflower florets are air fried to crispy perfection and coated with spicy buffalo sauce. This vegan appetizer is the best game day snack or a healthy side dish. Pair it with your favorite creamy dip and you’ll surely end up wanting more!
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💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make. This recipe is easy to put together. You only need to mix the ingredients together, coat the cauliflower in breading, and then toss it in the air fryer, and you’ll have a delicious snack. The only thing that’s easier are these air fryer frozen French fries!! Want a different spin on spicy cauliflower? Check out this gochujang cauliflower instead.
- Light and healthy. This perfect appetizer is vegan, low carb, and super light and healthy to eat!
- Crispy perfection. This recipe cooks evenly in the air fryer each time resulting in crispy and crunchy cauliflower buffalo bites!
📋 Ingredients and notes
To make these air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites, you’ll need cauliflower (cut into bite-sized florets), all-purpose flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, unsweetened almond milk, and panko breadcrumbs.
To make the buffalo sauce from scratch, you’ll need hot sauce, vegan butter, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and salt.
Notes and variations
Milk substitute. If you don’t have unsweetened almond milk, you can use another non-dairy milk of your choice, such as soy milk or oat milk.
Breadcrumbs. If you’re not a fan of panko breadcrumbs, you can try using regular breadcrumbs or cornmeal instead.
Gluten-free option. If you want to make the recipe gluten-free, you can substitute the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour or almond flour, and use gluten-free breadcrumbs instead of panko.
Level of spiciness. You can adjust the amount of hot sauce and spices in the buffalo sauce to your liking. If you prefer a milder sauce, use less hot sauce, and if you want it spicier, add more. You can even mix in some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to level up the spiciness.
Buffalo sauce. If you don’t want to make buffalo sauce from scratch, you can replace it with one cup of store-bought vegan buffalo sauce.
📖 Make air fryer vegan buffalo cauliflower
Make cauliflower bites:
Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Add the almond milk and whisk until smooth.
Add the cauliflower florets to the bowl with the flour mixture and toss until the florets are evenly coated.
In another bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs.
Working one at a time, remove a cauliflower floret from the almond milk mixture, allowing any excess to drip off, and then coat it in the panko breadcrumbs, pressing the breadcrumbs onto the floret to ensure it is fully coated. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower florets.
Place the coated cauliflower florets in the air fryer basket and arrange them in a single layer, making sure they are not touching or crowded.
Air fry for 5 minutes, then shake the basket to move the cauliflower around. Air fry for another 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and the coating is golden brown and crispy.
Make the buffalo sauce:
While the cauliflower is cooking, make the buffalo sauce by whisking together the hot sauce, melted vegan butter, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and salt in a small bowl.
When the cauliflower is done, transfer it to a large bowl and pour the buffalo sauce over the top. Toss the cauliflower until it is evenly coated in the sauce.
👩🏽🍳 Make the best air fryer vegan buffalo cauliflower!
To make the best crispy air fryer buffalo cauliflower every time, make sure to follow these tips!
Fully coat the cauliflower florets with the flour mixture because this is what gives them the crispiness and flavor.
Shake the air fryer basket a few times during the cooking process to ensure that the cauliflower is cooking evenly on all sides.
Make the cauliflower bites even crispier by spraying them lightly with
cooking spray before placing them in the air fryer.
Add buffalo sauce while cooking. Double the sauce and double the flavor by coating the florets once halfway through the cooking time, and then after they are finished cooking.
Prevent sticking. If your air fryer basket is not non-stick, you may want to spray it lightly with cooking spray to prevent the cauliflower from sticking. You can also place parchment paper or foil.
Eat it while hot! These cauliflower bites are best eaten while they are still hot because that is also when they are most crispy. For best results, air fry them just before you are about to serve them.
👩🏽🍳 Troubleshooting FAQs
Yes! For best results, finish coating the cauliflower in breading and store them in an airtight container. You can also make buffalo sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Air fry the florets once they are ready to be served so they are fresh and crispy.
Yes, you can make this recipe gluten-free by replacing all-purpose flour with gluten-free all-purpose flour. You can also use half almond flour and half coconut flour. You can also use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
🍴 How to serve and storage air fryer buffalo cauliflower
Serve the air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites hot with your favorite dipping sauce, such as ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing!
Store them in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to two days. You can also freeze them for up to a month in a freezer-safe container. To reheat, simply air fry them again until they are crispy.
You can make the buffalo sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator until
ready to use. Simply reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stove before
tossing it with the cooked cauliflower.
🍴Other easy air fryer snacks
- Air fryer smashed potatoes
- Indian samosas or samosa chaat
- Vegan fritters
- Microwave corn on the cob
- Vegan chicken drumsticks
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Air Fryer Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cauliflower bites
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
For the buffalo sauce
- ½ cup hot sauce
- ¼ cup vegan butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Add the almond milk and whisk until smooth.
- Add the cauliflower florets to the bowl with the almond milk mixture and toss until the florets are evenly coated.
- In another bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs.
- Working one at a time, remove a cauliflower floret from the almond milk mixture, allowing any excess to drip off, and then coat it in the panko breadcrumbs, pressing the breadcrumbs onto the floret to ensure it is fully coated. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower florets.
- Place the coated cauliflower florets in the air fryer basket, making sure they are not touching or crowded.
- Air fry for 5 minutes, then shake the basket to move the cauliflower around. Air fry for another 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and the coating is golden brown and crispy.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, make the buffalo sauce by whisking together the hot sauce, melted vegan butter, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and salt in a small bowl.
- When the cauliflower is done, transfer it to a large bowl and pour the buffalo sauce over the top. Toss the cauliflower until it is evenly coated in the sauce.
Notes
- Double-coat them by dipping them in the almond milk and breadcrumbs again.
- You can adjust the amount of hot sauce and spices in the buffalo sauce to your
liking. If you prefer a milder sauce, use less hot sauce, and if you want it spicier,
add more. - Serve the air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites hot with your favorite dipping sauce,
such as ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing. - Make sure to shake the air fryer basket a few times during the cooking process to ensure that the cauliflower is cooking evenly on all sides.
- If your air fryer has a non-stick coating, you may not need to spray the basket with cooking spray. However, if your air fryer basket is not non-stick, you may want to spray it lightly with cooking spray to prevent the cauliflower from sticking.
- If you don’t have unsweetened almond milk, you can use another non-dairy milk of your choice, such as soy milk or oat milk.
- If you prefer a spicier buffalo sauce, you can add more hot sauce to the recipe, or even mix in some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- If you’re not a fan of panko breadcrumbs, you can try using regular breadcrumbs or cornmeal instead.
- To make the cauliflower bites even crispier, you can spray them lightly with
cooking spray before placing them in the air fryer. - To make the dish even more colorful, you can mix in some other roasted
vegetables, such as red bell peppers or sweet potatoes, along with the
cauliflower. - If you want to make the recipe gluten-free, you can substitute the all-purpose
flour with gluten-free flour, and use gluten-free breadcrumbs instead of panko. - You can make the buffalo sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator until
ready to use. Simply reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stove before
tossing it with the cooked cauliflower. - You can also buy 1 cup of vegan buffalo sauce in the store.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious! And so easy to make. I added a little more hot sauce at the end, and we loved it!
Made this for the holiday weekend and no one missed the butter! They were gone before the chicken wings! So good