Cauliflower is a humble vegetable in appearance but hidden under those leafy greens and white florets is a veggie full of essential vitamins and antioxidants that promote healthy weight loss and is a great source of fiber.
Finding simple air fryer cauliflower recipes for quick dinner ideas and snacks is one less thing to worry about when you get home after a long day sitting at your desk, and you can enjoy a great-tasting meal with only a few ingredients.
This snowy white vegetable is versatile and suits hundreds of different recipes, so you will always find something delicious to make for yourself or when you have friends or family over for a visit.
#1. Parmesan Cauliflower
So often, we think that making something fried means adding a ton of egg and flour to get that added crisp and crunch we all love, but with these easy air fryer cauliflower recipes, you don’t have to worry about that.
And what makes this dish that much better is you don’t have to heat the kitchen with a big oven to cook some cauliflower, and the clean-up is a breeze in the air fryer.
Wash and clean the flower head and take apart the florets into good chunks, some being bite-sized but an overall similar size to aid the rapid air circulation for an even cooking process. Season generously with salt and pepper and paprika (I like to use the smoked paprika version for added richness to each mouthful but the original paprika spice works just as beautifully).
Add to that the parmesan cheese, and you have a winning combination.
Fry for several minutes till the florets are tender but still firm, so they don’t fall apart, and I like to add another sprinkle of parmesan on top when serving with freshly chopped parsley for a pop of color.
The name says it all, and if you want a snack dish that has a bit of a kick to it then this is the one for you.
I love discovering healthy convection oven cauliflower recipes that give you options. This dish is just as delicious if you simply use sweet chili sauce for the dressing rather than spicy hot, mouth-on-fire hot sauce, but the effortless factor remains the same.
Coating the cauliflower pieces in a good dusting of almond flour (to keep you on track with your health and fitness diet lifestyle) allows for a crispier exterior which you will need when it comes to coating with the homemade sauce.
You could toss the florets in the dressing which is customary, but sometimes you may want to enjoy some without, so having the sauce on the side to dip into makes this an easy tweak. You could enjoy a big bowl of these while watching a movie on the couch and you want something feel-good to nibble on, or on the side of your main meal for a filling dinner with a great-tasting veggie side. A great option when you want something tasty without all the carbs.
These golden parcels of goodness have been a firm favorite at our family gatherings since I decided to give them a try one afternoon, and they went down a treat.
Who knew that easy cauliflower air fryer recipes would be such a hit, but here we are, and it is safe to say I have made this at least 100 times, and it never disappoints. Everything is mixed together in two bowls, one wet and the other the dry seasoning.
Simply coat the florets evenly in the sauce (store-bought is just as good as a homemade version but cuts out the leg work which we could all use considering how busy life can get), and be sure no bits are left out of the goodness.
Then toss the saucy cauliflower pieces in the dry mix which is going to give it that crispy firm outer shell while keeping the inside fork tender and amazing. I like to pile these onto a crudité platter for a twist on the generic celery sticks and cocktail tomatoes, and they add a perfect texture element to a meal to balance out the other components of the meal.
Quick and simple to make but looks elegant on the plate and like you spent hours making it (but we know the real secret behind this good-looking dish).
I love an Asian-inspired dish, and this ticks so many boxes of why I enjoy cooking Asian versions of recipes. Sometimes the cuisine can be overwhelming with so many great flavors and ingredient combinations, but healthy cauliflower convection oven recipes like these make it a breeze to prepare.
Not only do you get the best out of the vegetable which by itself is filled with your five-a-day vitamins, but it is also a good source of fiber and has the taste of your favorite takeaway restaurant down the road.
This elegant snack food can be served as both the entre or appetizer and the main course with sticky rice and tofu for a vegetarian option. The appetizer option is a good one to serve a lot of people because you can make a large batch of this sticky goodness, sprinkled with sesame seeds for a delicious pop of color and finely sliced spring onion that clings to the florets, and each bite has every ingredient which guests love.
The trickiest part of this dish is making the sauce, but it is well worth it, and if you make a double or triple recipe portion, you can bottle the rest to use at a later date, kept fresh in the fridge. A winning option on all fronts.
I have always loved veggies since I was a kid, most likely because that is all I knew, but I had always seen my mother and granny make them in the oven to roast them.
So, finding these air fryer cauliflower recipes has changed roasted veg for me, and I am not looking back. Using the air fryer makes things not only that much more efficient and time-saving but gives it the crunch and crispiness you want without the need for excessive oil and grease.
Since using the fryer more and experimenting with different ingredients I have found that cauliflower has naturally present sulforaphane which protects the skin from UV radiation damage. Now not only does it taste great, but it helps your body, win-win.
Roasting the florets gives them a golden tinge, and in only 15 minutes, you can have tender yet crisped veggie bites, sprinkled with chili flakes and fresh parsley, and a great addition to the dinner table.
Enjoying a local take-out meal is always a nice treat, but too often it starts to get expensive, so trying similar recipes at home to achieve the same taste makes sense.
These convection oven cauliflower recipes give us that chance, and since trying them, my friends have raved about the dish, and it is as close as it gets to the real deal, but without the extortionate price tag.
This recipe has all the goodness of flavors we know and love when it comes to Asian cooking, from oyster sauce to soy sauce, and best of all (and my favorite ingredient of all time), garlic. Combining everything and coating the florets in the egg panko crumble allows it retains its shape and firm up.
As it fries, you make the sauce on the stovetop, and then they all finish at the same time. Pour the sauce into a large bowl and add the cooked cauliflower to coat completely. Serve with broccoli, sticky rice, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds if you like for a touch of nutty richness.
Who said you had to eat out to enjoy other cuisines, now you can savor your favorite tastes in the comfort of your home.
Finding cauliflower air fryer recipes that have minimal steps for preparation yet deliver an impressively impactful-looking dish is something I strive for. I love food, and even more so, delicious tasting food, but I don’t enjoy slaving in the kitchen for hours on end.
When I saw how easy this dish was, I jumped right on it. Most of the ingredients I already had in the pantry, which meant I didn’t have to make a special trip to the store, and hence it was more budget-friendly, but they are cheap enough to purchase if you are new to the culinary world.
The milk flour batter adds a beautiful thick coating which is smothered by the breadcrumbs (I have also used ground pork rinds if I don’t want a veggie option and for extra salt and flavor) and then air fried, giving them a shake halfway through.
Making the sauce was the trickiest part (If you could even call it that, pretty much thickening all the ingredients till coating consistency in a small pot), and once the florets were done, you could choose to toss them completely in the sauce with a sprinkle of sliced scallions or spring onions and chopped cashews, or have the sauce on the side to dip into.
Either way, this is a gorgeously effortless meal that is always part of the meal when I have the family over.
I love when I find dishes like these cauliflower convection oven recipes that combine flavor profiles that are complementary and bring out the best in each other, and this sweet and spicy winning recipe does just that.
You can easily adjust the sriracha sauce to your heat liking and even add some extra dried chili flakes to give it a real kick or omit it completely to keep it subtle and sweet.
This dish is great because you can cook the cauliflower already coated, so it gets nice and sticky yet locks in the flavor, giving it a few shakes along the way to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom, and it is done in under 15 minutes. And if you have a large batch, the veggie stores fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheats perfectly back in the fryer for a quick 2 minutes.
Make a side serving of ranch sauce pop into your lunch bag for work and a generous portion of these spiced florets, a great way to keep full throughout the day without needing to reach for carbs with all those unwanted calories.
Tacos will always be a winner in my house, and when I know it is packed with nutritiously delicious vegetables, I am all for it.
Serving this on a summer evening with chilled drinks is a great way to unwind and relax from a long work week, the colors are vibrant and make the dish that much more aesthetically pleasing to eat. And it is light but still filling so you have a full tummy without the feeling of being bloated and stuffed.
Homemade coleslaw has been a staple in my house since I was a kid because it is cheap as chips to buy, is packed with flavor and healthy ingredients, and pairs beautifully with almost all foods.
Once you have all the ready-cooked and mixed ingredients, the best part is the assembling, where you see your creation come to life. I like to spread hummus onto the taco, to begin with, to essentially bind everything together, but mayo or sweet chili sauce works equally well.
Layer the ingredients, fold closed, and dig in. You have all the texture elements you could want in a mouthful, and a squeeze of lime adds a freshness to elevate the flavor profiles.
This is quite the impressive dish when placed on the table for dinner, my friends and family are always wowed by how it looks and you will certainly have the same reaction when you try it. A whole roasted cauliflower head was not something I ever thought I would find myself making, but intrigued by the thought of it, and then seeing the pictures, I decided to give it a go.
And it was a huge success.
There is nothing to it, an effortless dish that makes a side-serving meal option a breeze to make.
What is so wonderful about this recipe is that you can use spices you have on hand, opt for unique blends like smoked paprika or lemon and lime onion powders, or simple seasoning of salt and pepper. If you want to rub the whole head with oil, olive oil is great, but I like options like avocado oil because it has a high smoking point but also adds flavor and then spices the oiled florets.
You can give it a generous massage if you like to get the flavors into all the little nooks and crannies, so you have the best version of flavor possible with each portion.
Leave to fry for around 30 minutes depending on the strength of your air fryer, and serve with any meal.
All the taste experienced in one bite, these rich and dark cauliflower bites are Asian cuisine at its best. You have the sweet and sour, sticky, and nutty sesame seeds element and the perfect pop of color from the sprinkle of spring onions or even lemon coriander.
Cauliflower is naturally high in fiber, so great for aiding in digestion and keeping you fuller for longer so you don’t have to constantly be snacking when you would rather eat a generous portion of this to keep you fueled to the end of the day.
Why not wrap a few of these crispy bites into a tortilla with shredded lettuce and onions for the ultimate feel-good lunch box treat, the options are endless, and although these taste their best when hot and served from the fryer, they are just as tasty the next day cold or later in the day.
And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a sticky BBQ sauce dish that has been drenched in great flavors and is so simple to make. Supper times are easier than ever when you have easy side dishes to plate along with it.
A 25-minute dish that uses only five ingredients is the perfect recipe for me, and this gnocchi is gorgeously delicious. Delicate pillows of tender cauliflower encased in a crispy outer shell is comfort food at its best.
You could choose to make the gnocchi pasta from scratch, but for the most part, we don’t usually have the time, hence using the air fryer for convenience and efficiency. But store-bought ones are amazing, and you can cook them from scratch, which is why when I go grocery shopping and see these in the freezers I always pick up two or three bags.
I can eat one bag by myself as a snack meal on a Friday when I get home from work, and the last thing I want to do is cook.
A quick spray with cooking oil or toss the frozen bites in a bowl with pouring oil to generously coat, sprinkle with salt, this adds to the flavor, texture, and overall crunch, and pop into the fryer for 20 minutes. Give them a shake halfway through to allow for an even rapid air circulation cooking process, and serve with your dipping sauce of choice.
Sweet chili mayo is my favorite, but ranch or even BBQ sauce goes down like a treat.
Mexican cuisine is all about color, intense flavors, and a bit of heat, and combined with healthy foods and ingredients like cauliflower, this dish ticks all the boxes.
A pungent dish packed with delicate seasoning, a vibrant yellow hue from the turmeric and cumin, and all tossed lightly with oil and extra herbs and spices. Thyme works well with its woody aroma and helps to balance the overall flavor profile of the serving.
Simply throw the cauliflower into the fryer for a quick 15 minutes giving it a shake every 5 minutes or so to enable the continuous blowing of hot air, and serve with a sprinkle of fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
This pairs great with a juicy piece of steak, spicy ground beef, or as part of a crudité platter with a twist. Often I will make a big batch of this with other appetizers when I have the family over, and surprisingly I rarely have any left. The color makes it so appealing to try, and the taste leaves you wanting and coming back for more.
A perfect duo for meal times and one that can be doubled or tripled in size, so you have some to add to your work lunch box for the rest of the week. There are only a handful of steps to the recipe, and once the veggies are crisped and cooked, you can serve them in a bowl as a side order or toss them in a wok with other ingredients like chicken strips and peppers for a stir-fried meal that is simple.
Beginner cooks may be daunted when first presented with an air fryer, let alone cook a dish from scratch, so this is a good starting point. You can enjoy these bite-sized veggies with a dipping sauce, and as you become more comfortable, you can make other items while these are air frying and combine everything in the end.
Simple and a lovely humble dish that can be spiced to be the star of the show or complement the main course.
Having been on a keto-eating lifestyle eating plan for a while now, I was overjoyed to find a new version of a cauliflower recipe to try. Not wanting to eat carbs and flour, there is a lot of substituting using this white vegetable.
I initially wondered how to make the mixture stick together without the generic flour, but using almond flour as an alternative (or coconut flour is good too, but you will need to use much less than with almond flour) and the salty ground pork rinds, this dish was amazing.
The final mix represented mashed potato but starch-free, and the richness of the pork rinds helped to elevate an otherwise subtle, sometimes bland vegetable.
You can make a big batch of these (and you’ll want to when you taste them, you won’t want to stop. They are so delicious) and freeze half down for use later in the week or month. Cook from frozen but allow for added time to ensure it is cooked and heated through.
These are done in 5 minutes, I like to shake them at the last moment to rough up the exterior and increase the crispiness. A winning dish that I wish I had found sooner but which is now a regular visitor to my dinner and snack menu rotation.
Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower are great for the immune system and high in antioxidants for the promotion of a healthy heart. Now, you can enjoy healthy ingredients that taste great, can be tweaked to mimic your favorite takeaway dishes, and are all done in under 30 minutes in the air fryer.
What a pleasure.
These are only some of the tasty dishes you can explore in the kitchen, to find more fantastic recipes head to our blog for inspirational recipe collections to boost your culinary motivation. Cooking made easy.
Born and raised in South Africa and being immersed in the rich culture, Candace soon found a passion for all things food related. Exploring and experiencing new flavors and taste profiles she pursued her career as a qualified chef in silver service specialized in fine dining.
