These healthy Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites are easy to make and so delicious–they can be served as a healthy appetizer or a low carb side dish, but I promise they’re not going to last long. The first time I served this, I had cauliflower haters LOVING this low carb snack! The best part about it? This recipe uses frozen cauliflower florets–you can’t get easier than this!
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is a small kitchen appliance that works similar to a convection oven. It uses rapid moving air to “fry” food and doesn’t use oil.
Air fryers come in different sizes and price ranges, but I’ve found that this one from Amazon is all I need to make appetizers for my family and friends.
If you haven’t jumped on board the air fryer band wagon yet, I get it. But I have to say, mine has become more and more useful in the kitchen for a variety of appetizers, side dishes, and healthy recipes of all kinds.
Does frozen cauliflower get soggy in the air fryer?
If you don’t cook the cauliflower enough, it gets soggy. Know that with frozen cauliflower it’ll get a little soggy first and then crisp up. The good news is that if it seems soggy, you just need to give it a bit more time to get cook and become crispy.
Is this recipe gluten free?
It sure is! I have multiple options for breading and I often make this gluten free. One of the things I love about the air fryer is that you don’t need breading to make things crispy.
I’ve used panko bread crumbs, ground up Triscut crackers, and nutritional yeast flakes (these are gluten free) for breading with these buffalo cauliflower bites. They’re all delicious.
If you aren’t particularly concerned about gluten, or sticking to a healthy lifestyle plan you can use your choice of breading for these air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites!
Can you make these cauliflower bites with no breading?
I actually started out making these without any breading! I started playing around with panko and crushed up Triscuts, then really liked making them with nutritional yeast–but these are delicious without any breading! You can make them however you like, try it a few different ways and find out which one is your favorite!
Can I make these without an air fryer?
My friend Teresa has instructions for that over on her blog–she bakes them! If you don’t have an air fryer and are not interested in buying one you can still enjoy these awesome buffalo cauliflower bites.
Are these Keto?
They totally are. Half of the bag has 4 carbs, so these definitely have a place in your keto diet. I love that I can snack on these without guilt :) They do have a bit of sodium in them because of the hot sauce, so make sure to drink a bit of water while you’re enjoying these.
Can I eat these on WW?
This healthy appetizer is actually great for just about any diet plan. Half the bag of cauliflower with Frank’s and nutritional yeast is 6 points, but if you choose to not use nutritional yeast on these, they’re free! If you use more than 1 teaspoon of oil, you should count that as a point. Also, different brands of nutritional yeast are pulling up different counts in the WW calculator. I use Now Foods, you can see it here.
Is this air fryer buffalo cauliflower whole30 compliant?
It is! You’ll have to make sure you’re using a Whole30 compliant oil (EVOO is good), and make sure your hot sauce doesn’t have any additives like sugar, cornstarch, or sulfates. The ones I’m seeing online that are Whole30 approved are Frank’s, Cholula, and Tabasco.
How about the 21 Day Fix or Portion Fix?
Gotcha covered! Half the bag of cauliflower is about 2 cups, so that’s 2G. If you spray your olive oil you don’t have to count it, but if you feel like you used a lot go ahead and count a teaspoon.
Nutritional yeast is free if you’re using one serving, but 1/2 cup will count for about 1/2 red (this is an educated guess on my part, as nutritional yeast is not on the food list). You can use whole wheat breadcrumbs and count 1Y for 1/2C. Or use 6 Triscuts, crunched up for 1Y. Or skip the breading all together!
This air fryer cauliflower is a great addition to your game day spread!
How do you make cauliflower in the air fryer?
- Add cauliflower (half of the bag of cauliflower) into a small bowl and spray with olive oil, then toss. This helps the hot sauce stick to the cauliflower and gives it more flavor. When I tried this recipe without the oil I had to use a ton of hot sauce and also drizzled some on after they were done cooking.
- Pour hot sauce over the cauliflower and toss well.
- Pour nutritional yeast flakes or breadcrumbs over cauliflower and toss well. This will help your cauliflower bites have a bread-like coating on them that browns nicely. Trust me on this one, I know it doesn’t look super appetizing but nutritional yeast had some pretty great benefits!
- Add your frozen cauliflower to the air fryer basket and set to 400. I toss them every 5 minutes or so, and they take about 15 minutes to 20 minutes to cook depending on the size of the chunks of cauliflower.
- Note: If you drizzle more buffalo sauce on after pulling them out of the air fryer, it makes them even spicier. You can also add salt and pepper to taste as well as some garlic powder.
Looking for more buffalo recipes?
If you like buffalo wing sauce you are going to want to save all of these buffalo recipes. There’s more to do with hot sauce than just coating chicken wings!
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Weight Watchers Buffalo Chicken Recipes
- Buffalo Cauliflower Mac And Cheese
- Weight Watchers Buffalo Wings
Printable Buffalo Cauliflower Bites Recipes:
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 bag cauliflower frozen florets
- olive oil spray or butter
- 1/2 cup hot sauce I use Frank's regular hot sauce
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast or panko breadcrumbs (optional)
Instructions
- Pour half of the bag of cauliflower into a bowl and spray with olive oil, toss. This helps the hot sauce stick to the cauliflower and gives it more flavor.
- Pour hot sauce over the cauliflower and toss until evenly coated.
- Pour nutritional yeast flakes over cauliflower and toss well. This will help your cauliflower bites have a bread-like coating on them that browns nicely.
- Add your frozen cauliflower to the air fryer and set to 400F. I toss them every 5 minutes or so, and they take about 20 minutes to cook.
- Note: If you drizzle more hot sauce on after pulling them out of the air fryer, it makes them even spicier.
Justine says
I love using my air fryer for recipes like this one. These are great for a party or just to snack on….so yummy!
Renee Goerger says
Thank you for this delicious air fryer buffalo cauliflower recipe. Since I received an air fryer this past Christmas, I can’t use it enough. I’m super excited to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
krissy says
what a fun new way to eat cauliflower! these look so good
Justine Howell says
Love twists on things and this one is a keeper, even the kids ate it up!
Deborah says
This is a fast and easy recipe. I ran the cauliflower through the microwave and poured off the water, it was frozen and used both crumbs and brewer’s yeast. Will do again.
me says
Brewer’s yeast is not the same things as nutritional yeast… =\