Learn how to make flourless, eggless irresistible air fryer cauliflower bites. These sweet, sour, and spicy cauliflower bites need only a handful of ingredients and are the perfect appetizer, snack, or side dish.
Ok, I am obsessed with cauliflower. It’s my go-to veggie when I am running out of options, and I think that cauliflower makes all the dishes yum. Doesn’t it?
It’s such a versatile veggie, and be it for South Indian kuzhambu or kurma or steaks; you can use cauliflower. You will find many cauliflower recipes on my blog, and I have linked popular ones below. Do check it out.
Cauliflower bites with pantry staples
You only need six ingredients for these sweet, sour, and spicy cauliflower bites, including sugar and salt. I didn’t count the garnishing. Yes, that’s it. You don’t need any flour, bread crumbs for these delicious bites.
Cauliflower: I used one cauliflower head, which was approx 460 grams. Just cut into big florets.
Oil: Oil is optional, but I highly recommend it. We are just adding 2 tsps of oil and helps to absorb the sauce well.
Sriracha: Didn’t I say it’s spicy cauliflower. All the spiciness comes from this sauce. So adjust it to your taste preference. You can also use any other hot sauce instead.
Ketchup: The sweet and sour flavor comes from this. You can use 3 to 4 tbsps. I used 3 tbsps for this measure. You can reduce it further if you are conscious of the sodium and sugar content in it.
Salt and sugar: These two helps to balance the flavors.
Cilantro: Optional, just to garnish.
That’s it, folks. I am sure we all will have these ingredients. You can substitute sriracha with red chili sauce also. These sweet, sour, and spicy cauliflower bites might look like buffalo cauliflower, but these are not. I did not use the buffalo sauce here.
Air Fryer cauliflower bites
I made these bites in the air fryer, but I have the oven instructions in the recipe notes section. Do check it out.
The procedure of making these bites is straightforward. You might all have guessed it by now. Make the sauce. Toss the cauliflower and air fry. Yes, but there is a small step before. I cooked the cauliflower without the sauce first in the air fryer and then tossed them in the sauce and air fried again.
It’s more like sauteing the cauliflower first and then adding the sauce and sauteing again if we are doing it on the stove-top. I felt cooking the cauliflower first helps to absorb the sauce well, and we liked the flavor better.
Alternatively, you can coat the cauliflower florets with the sauce and air fry also. Do give it a try. Cooking is all about experimenting and find the right flavor that you like. I am sharing the version that we liked.
These cauli bites are not super crispy like my bitter gourd chips, but they are soft and tender with a bite making it a perfect side for noodles and rice.
How to serve these cauliflower bites?
These cauli bites are the perfect appetizer, snack, and it’s a great side dish also.
- You can serve them as is as an appetizer or snack with ranch or with any yogurt dip.
- It pairs well as a side dish with fried rice, udon noodles, veg noodle soup, Hakka noodles, etc. Serve it with any of these entrees to make a complete meal.
- You can also use it as your taco filling or smash the cauliflower and make it into a sandwich filling.
Just unleash your creativity, and you will end up with endless options.
Are you looking for more cauliflower recipes? Here you go.
Now without any further ado, let’s see how to make these sweet, sour, and spicy cauliflower bites in an air fryer with step-wise pictures.
How to make cauliflower bites in Air Fryer?
- Preheat the air fryer as per the manual instructions. I preheated mine for 5 minutes at 350 deg F. Meanwhile, cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces like below. Make sure the florets are not super small.
- Now drizzle 2 tsps of the peanut oil over the cauliflower florets and rub it in with your hands. Make sure you coat all the florets evenly with the oil.
- Place the cauliflower florets in the air fryer basket. Spread them evenly. I did not work in batches this time, as I had only a few florets extra. I just placed it on the top and sides.
- Air fry the cauliflower for 8 minutes, tossing them once around 4 minutes at 350 deg F. Here are the florets after initial cooking.
- While you are air frying the cauliflower, you can prepare the sauce quickly. In a mixing bowl, add the ketchup, sriracha, sugar, and salt. Mix well.
- Add the partially cooked cauliflower florets and toss and stir until all of your cauliflower florets are coated with the sauce.
- Now add the cauliflower to the air fryer basket of your air fryer, cook at 370 deg F for 16 minutes, tossing them once in between around 8 minutes.
- Here it is after 8 minutes of cooking.
- Here is how it looks after 16 minutes of cooking. If you need crispy cauliflower bites, you can continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes or until you get your desired texture. Garnish it with cilantro and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes & Oven Instructions:
- Make sure to cut the florets into big chunks.
- Adjust the ketchup and sriracha amount as per your preference.
- You can make these cauliflower bites without any oil also. But we love the flavor of peanut oil, and the oil also helps to absorb the sauce well.
Oven Instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
- Bake the cauliflower for 10 minutes. While the baking is happening, prepare the sauce.
- Add the partially cooked cauliflower florets and toss and stir until all of your cauliflower florets are coated with the sauce.
- Then bake it again for 35 to 40 minutes till they turn light brown and crisp. Make sure to toss them once in between.
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Cauliflower Bites | Sweet, Sour & Spicy Cauliflower
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower head approx 460 grams, cut into bite-sized florets.
- 2 tsps peanut oil
- 3 to 4 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp sriracha or to taste
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped, optional to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer as per the manual instructions. I preheated mine for 5 minutes at 350 deg F. Meanwhile, cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces like below. Make sure the florets are not super small.
- Now drizzle 2 tsps of the peanut oil over the cauliflower florets and rub it in with your hands. Make sure you coat all the florets evenly with the oil.
- Place the cauliflower florets in the air fryer basket. Spread them evenly. I did not work in batches this time, as I had only a few florets extra. I just placed it on the top and sides.
- Air fry the cauliflower for 8 minutes, tossing them once around 4 minutes at 350 deg F. Here are the florets after initial cooking.
- While you are air frying the cauliflower, you can prepare the sauce quickly. In a mixing bowl, add the ketchup, sriracha, sugar, and salt. Mix well.
- Add the partially cooked cauliflower florets and toss and stir until all of your cauliflower florets are coated with the sauce.
- Now add the cauliflower to the air fryer basket of your air fryer, cook at 370 deg F for 16 minutes, tossing them once in between around 8 minutes.
- Here is how it looks after 16 minutes of cooking. If you need crispy cauliflower bites, you can continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes or until you get your desired texture. Garnish it with cilantro and serve warm.
Notes
- Make sure to cut the florets into big chunks.
- Adjust the ketchup and sriracha amount as per your preference.
- You can make these cauliflower bites without any oil also. But we love the flavor of peanut oil, and the oil also helps to absorb the sauce well.
Oven Instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
- Bake the cauliflower for 10 minutes. While the baking is happening, prepare the sauce.
- Add the partially cooked cauliflower florets and toss and stir until all of your cauliflower florets are coated with the sauce.
- Then bake it again for 35 to 40 minutes till they turn light brown and crisp. Make sure to toss them once in between.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Tried this today and turned out to be awesome ! Thank you for this easy yet tasty recipe !
Thanks a lot. Glad you liked it.
Hi Vidhya. Instead of siracha sauce, can I use schezwan sauce?
Oh yeah definitely. You can also try with bbq sauce.
Thank you so much ☺️
Just made it … excellent
Thanks a lot for the feedback.