Air Fryer Cauliflower

This air fryer cauliflower recipe is perfect for preparing cauliflower that is tender, deliciously seasoned, and ready in no time! All you need is a few simple ingredients and your air fryer to make this delicious side dish.

Air fryers are known for cooking fish and chicken perfectly without any effort. But have you used yours to make roasted vegetables yet?

If you haven’t, I highly recommend trying this air fryer cauliflower recipe. It has the best seasoning, tastes super flavorful, and is super simple to prepare! Plus, it goes well with a variety of dishes and is super nutritious.

Air Fryer Cauliflower Ingredients

To make this air fryer cauliflower, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Cauliflower: For this recipe, you’ll need a fresh cauliflower head. I don’t recommend using frozen cauliflower as you’d probably need to change the cook time and/or the temperature in this recipe. So just pick up fresh cauliflower to make this tasty roasted cauliflower!
• Extra virgin olive oil: I recommend using extra virgin olive oil for this recipe as it is really healthy and has a great flavor. But if you don’t have any on hand, feel free to use another type of oil you like.
• Paprika powder: Paprika powder is one of the key ingredients in this recipe. It adds a lot of flavor and tastes really great with cauliflower!
• Garlic powder: Garlic powder is another ingredient that is needed to make the perfect roasted cauliflower! Don’t substitute it with fresh garlic as it burns very quickly in the air fryer.
• Cayenne pepper: Cayenne pepper adds a delicious boost of spice to the cauliflower. You don’t need a lot, a little goes a long way here!
• Curry powder: Curry powder is a spice mix that I regularly use. It is great for adding flavor and goes really well with the other ingredients in this recipe.

How to make air fryer cauliflower

Making air fryer cauliflower is super simple! Just follow these steps:

1. Preheat the air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 375 °F (190 °C).
2. Prepare the cauliflower: In the meantime, cut the cauliflower into florets. Place the florets in a bowl and add all other ingredients. Toss until everything is combined.
3. Air fry the cauliflower: Next, place the seasoned cauliflower in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 10-12 minutes. Shake the basket after half of the cook time has passed. Serve and enjoy!

Tips & Notes

There isn’t much that can go wrong when following this air fryer cauliflower recipe but here are a few quick notes that I still recommend reading through.

• Cut the cauliflower head into large florets. If the cauliflower florets are too small, they will most likely burn. So cut the cauliflower into larger pieces to ensure that they don’t have many burnt spots.
• Shake the basket once or twice while the cauliflower is cooking. This allows the cauliflower florets to brown more evenly. Don’t worry too much if you forget it, the cauliflower will still taste great. But it’s going to taste even better if you remember to shake the basket! 😊
• Check on the cauliflower while it’s in the air fryer. As cook time can vary with air fryer models, I’d recommend checking on the cauliflower florets at 10 minutes. Let the cauliflower air fry until it is tender.

Variations

There are many different ways to season cauliflower. I love the seasoning I provided in this recipe as it goes really well with a variety of main dishes. But here are a few other options you may want to try out.

• Curried cauliflower: To make curried roasted cauliflower, use less paprika powder. Substitute it with more curry powder and additional turmeric. It’s a delicious way to switch up the flavor of roasted cauliflower!
• Herbed cauliflower: If you like dried herbs, feel free to use less paprika powder and dried herbs instead. I love to use herbs de Provence as it’s a very delicious herb mix. But feel free to use single herbs like dried rosemary or dried thyme.
• Mexican-style cauliflower: If you like Mexican flavors, you can turn cauliflower into Mexican-style roasted cauliflower. Reduce the amount of paprika powder and add some chili powder and ground cumin. It tastes really great!

How to serve air fryer cauliflower

Air fryer cauliflower can be served with all types of dishes! Here are some ideas for you.

• Rice: Rice is one of my favorite carbs as it is super easy to prepare and tastes great with all vegetables and meat or fish! Plus, you can use leftover rice to make delicious dishes like curry fried rice. So I highly recommend making some white rice to serve alongside this air fryer cauliflower.
• Potatoes: Another favorite is potatoes. You can either boil them, pan-fry them, or roast them with the cauliflower in your air fryer.
• Chicken: If you like chicken, you could prepare chicken breasts with the cauliflower in your air fryer. Just season the chicken and air fry it at 375 °F (190 °C) for 18-22 minutes. Add the cauliflower to the air fryer when the chicken needs to cook for 12 more minutes. And if you want to switch things up, check out my parmesan crusted chicken recipe. It's really good!
• Salmon: The same works for salmon fillets! Salmon only takes 10 minutes in the air fryer, so you can add the cauliflower florets and salmon at the same time. It’s one of my favorite strategies to get dinner on the table very quickly and without much effort!

Frequently Asked Questions

More simple and delicious sides

If you love simple and flavorful side dishes, check out the following recipes. They all taste great and are very easy to make.

• Air Fryer Asparagus
• Herbed Mustard Potato Salad
• Dill Potato Salad
• Batata Harra (Spicy Potatoes)
• Turkish Bulgur Salad