You are going to love this cauliflower wings recipe made in an air fryer! It’s soft and tender inside and perfectly crispy on the outside without using a deep fryer. It’s definitely a healthier game-day option that doesn’t sacrifice flavor or texture. Trust me, you’ll want to make this again and again.
Cauliflower is truly such a versatile vegetable. You’ll love how flavorful this air fryer recipe is and fall in love with the crispy and saucy “wings.” You won’t even realize this recipe is cauliflower-based! If you want another delicious cauliflower-based recipe, try my cauliflower mac and cheese recipe, cauliflower tacos recipe, or cauliflower steak recipe.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Cauliflower — When picking a head of cauliflower, you want one that’s dense and feels heavy for its size, so there are a lot of florets in the head. Avoid any that have yellow or brown spots on them. You can also buy pre-cut florets to save time.
- Flour — You do not need any special flour to make the batter for the cauliflower wings. You can use all-purpose flour, or if you prefer, you can use gluten-free or whole-wheat flour.
- Seasoning — For maximum flavor, the flour needs to be seasoned. I season it with black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- Milk — You can make the batter with regular milk or non-dairy milk.
- Sauce — You can make the sauce to coat your cauliflower wings with bbq or hot sauce like Franks Red Hot.
How to Make Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
Step 1: Cut the cauliflower into florets, around 1 ½” in length.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk until well combined.
Step 3: Add the milk and whisk again until there are no lumps in the batter.
Step 4: Toss the cauliflower florets in the batter and place them on a baking sheet or plate until you have coated all the cauliflower pieces.
Step 5: Spay the air fryer basket with a light coat of olive oil and add the cauliflower pieces. Cook at 380 F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork.
Step 6: Remove the cauliflower from the air fryer basket and add it to the large mixing bowl with combined BBQ (or hot sauce) and melted butter. Toss until all of the cauliflower has been well coated. Serve immediately.
Tips For This Recipe
- Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket. Keeping the cauliflower in a single layer ensures the hot air can reach all around the cauliflower to make it crispy. Air fry the cauliflower wings in two batches if needed.
- Be careful not to overcook the cauliflower wings in the air fryer, as they can go from tender to mushy and then fall apart!
- This recipe tastes best when still hot, so be sure to serve them immediately.
- You can warm up the sauce you coat the cauliflower wings in before tossing them together if you prefer.
- Want to turn up the heat? Add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to the sauce before coating the cauliflower.
- I recommend cutting the cauliflower into 1 to 1½-inch florets, so they are easy to eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
While this recipe goes well with anything, I would go with the classic combination of celery or carrot sticks with blue cheese or ranch dipping sauce.
Store leftover cauliflower wings in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
To keep the cauliflower wings crispy, reheat them in the air fryer until warm.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup milk or milk alternative like oat milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¾ cup bbq or hot sauce like Franks Red Hot
- 1 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into florets, around 1½” in length.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk until well combined. Add the milk and whisk again until there are no lumps in the batter.
- Toss the cauliflower florets in the batter and place on a baking sheet or plate until all of the cauliflower pieces have been prepped.
- Spay the air fryer basket with a light coat of olive oil and add the cauliflower pieces.
- Cook at 380 F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, add the BBQ (or hot sauce) along with the melted butter to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Remove the cauliflower from the air fryer basket and add to the large mixing bowl with the sauce. Toss until all of the cauliflower has been well coated.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket. Keeping the cauliflower in a single layer ensures the hot air can reach all around the cauliflower to make it crispy. Air fry the cauliflower wings in two batches if needed.
- Be careful not to overcook the cauliflower wings in the air fryer, as they can go from tender to mushy and then fall apart!
- This recipe tastes best when still hot, so be sure to serve them immediately.
- You can warm up the sauce you coat the cauliflower wings in before tossing them together if you prefer.
- Want to turn up the heat? Add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to the sauce before coating the cauliflower.
- I recommend cutting the cauliflower into 1 to 1½-inch florets, so they are easy to eat.
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