Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

September 4, 2021

Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Buffalo wings started as chicken, but the sauce is the real point: cayenne hot sauce cut with melted butter, sharp and tangy with a slow burn. This version swaps the chicken for cauliflower florets, battered and air-fried until crisp, then tossed in that same sauce. It’s a bar-snack riff, not a health-food trick — the batter and the butter are still there, just wrapped around a vegetable instead of a wing.

The cauliflower goes into a thin, seasoned batter — flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt — thinned with water or plant milk to a pourable consistency. A thin coat matters more than a thick one: excess batter should drip back into the bowl before the florets go into the air fryer basket in a single layer. Crowding the basket traps steam and the coating turns soggy instead of crisp.

The sauce itself goes back to the original Buffalo wing, invented at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964: Frank’s RedHot-style cayenne sauce whisked with melted butter. Toss the hot florets in it straight from the air fryer, or for a crisper result, brush them with sauce and give them one more short blast in the fryer before brushing again.

Serve it right away with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery and carrot sticks on the side, the same as classic Buffalo wings. The batter softens once the sauce hits it, so there’s no holding these — get them to the table while they’re still hot.

Ingredients

Serves 4

The cauliflower

600 g cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets (about 1 medium head)

The batter

80 g all-purpose flour
30 g cornstarch
180 ml water (or unsweetened plant milk)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, optional

The buffalo sauce

120 ml cayenne hot sauce (Frank’s RedHot style)
28 g unsalted butter (or vegan butter), melted

To serve

ranch or blue cheese dressing, for dipping, optional
celery and carrot sticks, optional

Directions

The cauliflower

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Trim the cauliflower and cut it into bite-size florets.

The batter

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Pour in the water (or plant milk) and whisk to a smooth, pourable batter, about the consistency of pancake batter.

Add the florets to the bowl and toss until every piece is coated. Lift each one out and let the excess batter drip back into the bowl before setting it down — a thin coating crisps up better than a thick one.

Arrange the florets in a single layer in the air fryer basket, leaving space between pieces, and work in batches if needed. Air-fry for 12 to 15 minutes, tossing or flipping halfway through, until the coating is crisp and lightly browned.

The buffalo sauce

While the florets cook, whisk the melted butter into the hot sauce until smooth and glossy.

To serve

As soon as the florets come out, toss them in the Buffalo sauce until coated. For a crisper result, brush them with sauce instead, return them to the air fryer for 3 to 5 minutes, then brush once more before serving.

Serve immediately with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery and carrot sticks. The crust softens the longer the florets sit in sauce, so get them to the table right away.

Notes

Cornstarch in the batter gives the crispest crust. For a gluten-free version, swap the all-purpose flour and cornstarch for chickpea flour. Either way, don’t crowd the air fryer basket — trapped steam is what makes the coating go soggy.

Tossing the florets in sauce right out of the fryer is faster; brushing them with sauce and giving them one more short blast in the air fryer keeps them crisper. Both work.

For a sweet-hot sauce, whisk 2 tbsp molasses into the Buffalo sauce. For a tangier one, add 1 tsp white vinegar.

No air fryer works too: bake the battered florets at 450°F (230°C) for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway, until golden.

The recipe is already dairy-free as written if you use plant milk and vegan butter — just serve it with a vegan ranch or blue cheese dressing to keep the whole plate vegan.