Our Air Fryer Breaded Cauliflower is coated with a simple, flavorful panko mixture, tossed in the air fryer, and cooked until crispy. Serve with your favorite dip and enjoy!
I know there are people out there with a deep disgust for cauliflower. I don’t understand them, and I never will.
I’m pretty sure I could convert anyone over into a cauliflower lover with this crispy cauliflower recipe! Hard to go wrong with that crispy coating!
You end up with a soft interior, crunchy exterior, and plenty of seasoning. Of course, dipping your breaded cauliflower in ranch or honey mustard doesn’t hurt either!
My daughter is vegetarian about 90% of the time (not sure what you’d call that, haha), so when we make our air fryer garlic parmesan wings for dinner, I make these breaded cauliflower wings for her.
If you are a cauliflower skeptic but want to maybe give it another try, this could very well be your conversion recipe!
Ingredient Notes:
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Cauliflower – Pick up a 16 ounce bag of cauliflower florets at your grocery store or chop a large head of cauliflower into florets yourself.
Breading –You will need a couple of eggs, panko bread crumbs, and traditional bread crumbs.
Seasoning– We will use garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and a little oil.
Dip– This is totally optional, but I tend to dip these into ranch dressing or honey mustard. You could also drizzle them with the buffalo sauce from our air fryer frozen chicken wings.
If using a head of cauliflower instead of a bag of florets, you’ll need about 5 cups of florets, which is the average size of one head of cauliflower.
We are using two types of bread crumbs to get a good coating while also making it light and crispy! You may use all panko bread crumbs, but we like a mix of the light and fluffy panko with the traditional bread crumbs for better coverage.
How to Make Crispy Cauliflower in the Air Fryer:
- Prepare the breading– Crack your eggs into a shallow bowl and whisk in a tablespoon of water. Dip the cauliflower pieces in the egg wash to coat them. Stir together the seasonings and bread crumbs in a second bowl (or in a plastic bag) to make the breading.
- Bread the cauliflower– Add the cauliflower to the bread crumbs to coat by dredging them in the bowl or tossing them all together in a plastic bag with the breading.
- Air fry the cauliflower– Spritz your air fryer basket with oil or nonstick spray and place your cauliflower in a single layer in your air fryer basket, work in batches if needed. Spritz the cauliflower liberally with oil spray. Air fry for 10 minutes at 380 degrees F.
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FAQ:
Cauliflower is high in B1 which does a lot of good things. One cool thing it does is help metabloize carbohydrates which is neat for weight loss. The best reason I eat it though, it just tastes good!
It is likely the case that you didn’t have enough space in your air fryer basket. Be sure there is space around the cauliflower for air to move. Overcrowding the air fryer will result in a less crispy texture.
I haven’t tested our breaded cauliflower recipe with frozen cauliflower. In theory it would work but you may need to adjust cooking times.
Recipe Tips!
This crispy cauliflower is great with a variety of dips! You can even serve it with a couple of different dips such as ranch, sriracha + mayo, honey mustard, or remoulade.
Turn our breaded cauliflower into ‘wings’ by drizzling it with your favorite wing sauce!
Other Popular Air Fryer Vegetable Recipes
Breaded Cauliflower in the Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cauliflower florets about 5 cups
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cups bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Oil for spritzing
- Dip if desired, see notes
Instructions
- Sort through the cauliflower florets and break or chop up any larger pieces so that all the cauliflower is a similar size.
- Add the eggs to a medium-sized bowl along with 1 tablespoon of water and beat with a fork to combine.
- Add the panko, bread crumbs, and seasonings to a second bowl or a zip top bag and stir or shake to combine.
- Drop the cauliflower into the bowl of egg and stir well to coat each piece of cauliflower in the egg mixture.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the cauliflower from the egg to the panko. Either stir the cauliflower in the bread crumbs to coat, or seal the bag and shake to coat. We find the bag/shake method to be best for even coverage.
- Spritz the basket of your air fryer with oil spray. Arrange the breaded cauliflower in an even layer leaving space between each piece for air to flow for maximum crispness. You may need to work in batches.
- Spritz the cauliflower liberally with oil spray and air fry at 380 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crispy. Repeat with any remaining cauliflower, checking after 6 minutes as the air fryer will be hot and subsequent batches will cook a bit faster.
- Serve with dip of choice.
Notes
Nutrition
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