Crispy cauliflower florets are tossed in a creamy and spicy sauce in the Air Fryer Bang Bang cauliflower recipe.
Perfect as a side dish or an appetizer, this one’s a vegetarian take on the famous Bang Bang chicken and Bang Bang shrimp.
I’ve recently been trying a lot of Air Fryer recipes recently, especially side dishes.
My Air Fryer Parmesan asparagus and Air Fryer zucchini and squash were big hits, and I loved how easy they were to make, and how they were such a great way to put all the fresh produce to use.
Jump to:
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Ingredients For the Bang Bang Cauliflower
- How to Make Bang Bang Cauliflower in the Air Fryer
- Substitutions & Variations
- 💭Top Tip
- Equipment
- How to Store Leftover Bang Bang Cauliflower
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Serve the Air Fryer Bang Bang Cauliflower
- FAQs
- Related Recipes
- Air Fryer Bang Bang Cauliflower
What's So Great About the Recipe?
My favorite part about this recipe is the fact that it can be customized too.
You can easily make a gluten free or vegan version of the dish with just a few swaps, and the result will be just as delicious.
It is truly a fantastic recipe for anyone and everyone!
Ingredients For the Bang Bang Cauliflower
To make the Air Fryer Bang Bang cauliflower, you’ll need just a few simple ingredients.
For the Cauliflower Bites
Cauliflower: I used a whole cauliflower head for this recipe. Choose a fresh, ripe cauliflower that doesn’t have spots and is firm to touch.
Flour: All purpose flour is perfect to make the batter, but if you’re looking to make the dish gluten free, use a gluten free flour of your choice instead.
Milk: A dash of milk will help add some creaminess to the cauliflower and will get the batter to the right consistency.
Breadcrumbs: I used some panko breadcrumbs for the coating. You can skip this one if you want to.
Seasonings: To season the cauliflower florets, I used onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
For the Bang Bang Sauce
Mayonnaise: Creamy, full fat mayonnaise is the best choice for this recipe. If you want to keep it healthier, switch to low fat mayo instead.
Sriracha: You’ll also need a bit of Sriracha sauce or any other hot sauce of your choice.
Honey: A drizzle of honey balances out the heat from the sauce. Skip this one if you don’t want the sweetness.
To Garnish
Sesame seeds: A nice sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds can add a nice crunch factor to the Bang Bang cauliflower and make it look tempting too!
Chives: And of course, some chopped chives for a bit of freshness is another plus!
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Bang Bang Cauliflower in the Air Fryer
Got all the ingredients ready? Here’s what you’ll need to do to make the Bang Bang cauliflower recipe.
Step 1: Chop the cauliflower into florets.
Step 2: In a small bowl, add all the sauce ingredients.
Step 3: Mix and prepare the spicy Bang Bang sauce.
Step 4: In a large bowl, prepare the batter.
Step 5: Coat the cauliflower in the batter, evenly coat in breadcrumbs and place the breaded florets in an even layer in the Air Fryer basket.
Step 6: Cook the cauliflower for 12 minutes in the Air Fryer, shaking the basket midway through the cooking process.
Get them out, add them to the Bang Bang sauce and toss to coat evenly. Return cauliflower to the Air Fryer and cook again for 2-3 minutes.
Top with chopped chives and sesame seeds and serve.
Substitutions & Variations
- Don’t have the Sriracha that the recipe calls for? Use any other sweet chili sauce of your choice.
- Don’t have panko breadcrumbs? Regular breadcrumbs can do the trick too.
💭Top Tip
To cut down the cooking time for this recipe, you can make the sauce and batter in advance and put this easy appetizer together in minutes when you want to.
Equipment
How to Store Leftover Bang Bang Cauliflower
If you ended up making more of it than you needed, you can store the leftovers for later too.
Ideally, it is best to store the spicy sauce and the breaded cauliflower separately, in individual airtight containers to keep them fresh. You can refrigerate them for 1-2 days, and then reheat the cauliflower back in the Air Fryer before tossing them in the sauce.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- To get the perfectly cooked cauliflower, make sure you cut the cauliflower florets such that they’re nearly the same size.
- To make the cauliflower pieces extra crispy, you can double dip them in the batter and in the breadcrumbs before you bake the cauliflower.
- Make sure you arrange the cauliflower florets in the Air Fryer basket in an even layer to get them to crisp up nicely.
- You can also choose to spray the cauliflower with a bit of cooking spray if you want to.
How to Serve the Air Fryer Bang Bang Cauliflower
This Air Fryer Bang Bang cauliflower is great to make and serve as a snack or appetizer whenever you’re looking to have something that’s healthy and tasty.
I love teaming it up with my garlic lemon butter shrimp as a veggie side, or with my simple garlic turmeric rice dish.
If you’re looking at this recipe to use up some extra cauliflower that you have in the refrigerator, you might also want to check out this spiced Air Fryer cauliflower steak recipe.
FAQs
Yes! Making vegan Bang Bang cauliflower wings is super easy. Simply use oat milk or any other plant based milk of your choice, and vegan mayo for the sauce.
To make the Air Fryer cauliflower extra crispy, you can also use a mix of all purpose flour and cornflour for the batter.
If you don’t have an Air Fryer, you can totally choose to make this recipe in the oven instead. Simply preheat the oven, place the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Air Fryer Bang Bang Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower cut into florets
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups panko
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoon sriracha
Instructions
- Chop the cauliflower into florets.
- In a small bowl, add all the sauce ingredients.
- Mix and prepare the spicy bang bang sauce.
- In a large bowl, prepare the batter.
- Coat the cauliflower in the batter, evenly coat in breadcrumbs and place the breaded florets in an even layer in the Air Fryer basket.
- Cook the cauliflower for 12 minutes in the Air Fryer, shaking the basket midway through the cooking process.
- Get them out, add them to the bang bang sauce and toss to coat evenly. Return cauliflower to the Air Fryer and cook again for 2-3 minutes.
- Top with chopped chives and sesame seeds and serve.