Air Fryer Cauliflower

Air Fryer Cauliflower is a delicious low carb side dish recipe your family will fall in love with. With only five minutes hands-on time and a handful of ingredients, this will be a recipe you will come back to over and over.

overhead of a plate of air fried cauliflower sprinkled with parsley - 5

If there is one type of recipe I have been getting requests for more than any other, it is low-carb recipes. And I get it. Lowering the amount of carbohydrates in your diet not only has great health benefits, it is a great way of controlling your appetite.

One of the heavy hitters when it comes to low-carb eating is cauliflower. This versatile vegetable can be used to replace rice and pizza crust, plus so much more.

But, I really love cauliflower just roasted as a side dish. In fact, one of my kids delights in cauliflower as a side dish. It makes appearances regularly on our dinner table.

In this Air Fryer Cauliflower recipe, we are crisping it up using the air fryer. This is very similar to my Roasted Broccoli recipe , we are just letting the air fryer do the roasting and freeing up our oven.

overhead of ingredients for air fryer cauliflower: oil, garlic, a head of cauliflower, some shredded parmesan, salt and pepper - 6

How to Cook Cauliflower in the Air Fryer

Here is a brief overview of how this air fryer roasted cauliflower recipe comes together. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe, including all ingredients and measurements.

Prepare the Cauliflower

I like to cut the florets into bite-sized pieces. See my tips below to make quick work of cutting up your cauliflower. Then toss the cauliflower with fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

overhead of bowl of cut up cauliflower that has been seasoned and tossed with oil - 7

Cook it in the Air Fryer

Put the cauliflower in the basket of the preheated air fryer . Cook it for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing it once or twice while it is cooking. This is optional, but we love to toss the hot cauliflower with finely grated Parmesan cheese.

overhead of air fryer basket with uncooked cauliflower in it - 8

Tips and Tricks

Picking a good head of cauliflower: Pick a head of cauliflower that is bright white and doesn’t have any brown spots. The whole head should be tight together without any loose sections. Finally, the cauliflower head should have bright green leaves that are tightly attached.
How to cut cauliflower: First, cut the cauliflower in half, then cut the thick core out of each half. Cut off the florets and cut them into bite-sized pieces. You can see step-by-step photos and directions here: How to Cut Cauliflower
Using frozen cauliflower: Be sure it is thawed and patted dry before making this recipe.
Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket: If you are cooking a lot of cauliflower, you will want to do so in batches so it can cook evenly and get the nice crisp on it.
Cooking cauliflower in the oven: Prepare the cauliflower exactly as written, spreading it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake it in a 425 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes, tossing once in the middle.
Doubling the batch: This recipe cooks down from about six cups of cauliflower to only two cups. This recipe can easily be doubled. Keep in mind that you will need to cook it a little longer.
Making air fryer buffalo cauliflower: Toss the cooked cauliflower with some buffalo sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing for dipping.

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Low Carb Dinners to Pair With Cauliflower

If you are looking for some great and healthy dinners to serve with this roasted cauliflower, try some of these!

Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
Oven Baked Salmon in Foil
Low Carb Chicken Stuffed Peppers

If you make this Air Fryer Cauliflower recipe or any of my other side dishes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

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Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower (about 6 cups of florets)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with garlic powder, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add it to the basket of your air fryer. 1 head of cauliflower, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Air Fryer for 18 to 23 minutes. Toss once in the middle.
While still hot, toss the cauliflower with the cheese. Serve and enjoy. 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

overhead of air fried cauliflower in the basket of the air fryer - 10

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