Watch out everyone! The mighty air fryer strikes again! I posted that I was making this on my Instagram account and I got so many messages asking for the recipe. Don’t worry, I gotchu! Ask and you shall receive! To be honest, this air fried buffalo cauliflower turned out better than I expected. I didn’t have super high hopes because I didn’t add any typical breading to make it more “fried” and it’s literally just cauliflower and some tasty sauce. But it was so good that I ate the entire bowl right after I took the pictures. #whataservingsize? Plus it’s paleo friendly and Whole30 compliant – score!
I am a huge fan of my air fryer. The one I use is from Farberware and you can buy it from Amazon or from your local Target or Wal-Mart (where I got mine). With an air fryer, your food comes out nice and crispy while still being tender on the inside using little to no oil. It’s my favorite way to crisp up vegetables like brussels sprouts, kale chips or crispy potatoes and you can even make things like buffalo chicken strips. I’ve also used it to finish off my chicken wings after baking in the oven for a little extra crunch. I’m a huge fan of buffalo style anything so when I was looking for a way to spice up some cauliflower, I immediately thought, throw some buffalo sauce on it!
Timing is something I had to play around with a lot on my air fryer when I first got it. Most things I put in around 375-400 degrees and then I just check on it every 5 minutes or so until it’s done to my liking. Different things “fry” at different cooking times so a lot of what I do with the air fryer is trial and error. With this recipe, the first batch took me about 20 min to get to the crisp level I wanted while the second batch took only about 15 minutes. This probably has to do with the air fryer already being nice and warmed up by the time the 2nd batch went in.
Another thing to note about this recipe is that the cauliflower will NOT be the super breaded type of fried. I purposely wanted to keep this recipe on the healthier (and Whole30 compliant) side so I chose to skip the egg and panko and only air fry the cauliflower with the sauce and a little nutritional yeast. The end result was not a super duper crispy fried veggie but rather a tender cauliflower with some charred edges and a tangy delicious buffalo sauce.
To make the sauce a little thicker I use arrowroot powder. Once you remove the sauce from heat, it will start to thicken. In order to drizzle your fried cauliflower with more buffalo sauce, just turn heat on low for a couple minutes to loosen it up so it’s easy to pour over the top of your veggies.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 1 Tbs Ghee (I love Fourth and Heart Pink Salt Ghee
- 1 Tsp Nutritional Yeast separated (optional but I found it gave a good flavor and crunch!)
- 1 Tsp Arrowroot Powder, divided (I use Bob's Red Mill
- Cooking spray of choice (I use Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray
Instructions
- Wash cauliflower, break into florets and pat dry
- Heat ghee in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Once ghee is melted, add Frank's Red Hot Sauce and whisk together
- When sauce begins to boil turn heat to low and add in arrowroot powder, whisking until well blended
- Place cauliflower in a large bowl and pour 3/4 of the sauce over the top
- Use hands to coat cauliflower in the sauce thoroughly as possible
- Place coated cauliflower in the air fryer and set to 400 degrees. I air fried mine in 2 batches to avoid uneven cooking.
- Sprinkle the top of the cauliflower with 1/2 tsp (per batch) of nutritional yeast. Then give your cauliflower a quick spray with avocado oil and fry for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket every 7 min or so.
- Drizzle the finished product with the leftover sauce and enjoy!
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. The products linked are ones I use personally and wholeheartedly recommend.
Thank you for your continued support!
Jennifer Garcia says
This was SUPER hot. Did not make a redo in my house. I like very hot too
Jen says
What kind of buffalo sauce did you use? You could use a more mild one if you don’t like as much heat 🙂 Or simply use less so it doesn’t have as much of a kick!
June Dawson says
I’m sorry, but I’m not crazy the hot sauces either!