Name: Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 medium-size head of cauliflower (about 600 g); 4 tbsp chickpea flour; 2 tsp smoked paprika powder; 1 tsp turmeric powder; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp chilli powder; 5-8 tbsp plant milk, enough to result in a thick but runny texture (I used soy); 6 tbsp panko breadcrumbs; 1 tsp sea salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 2 tsp smoked paprika powder

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These delicious & easy vegan air fryer cauliflower wings are a definite finger food staple in our household and easily made in your oven or air fryer.

crispy cauliflower wings on a serving platter

Air-Fryer Cauliflower Wings

Perfectly crunchy on the outside - and oh-so-delicious when dunked into our favourite dips! I think this simple Vegan Cauliflower Wings Recipe is the ultimate finger food and I love making these for Netflix nights, dinner parties or simply as a treat for dinner. They're simply so more-ish, no matter the occasion, you'll be wanting more of these delicious goodies!

For this recipe I've only used cupboard staples that you can easily get from any supermarket - it makes this recipe super easy to re-create as there are no complicated ingredients included. There are 3 main parts to this recipe: the cauliflower florets, the batter & the breadcrumb coating and as you will see I like to prepare these easy vegan cauliflower wings in the oven instead of a deep fryer. I used to deep-fry these wings, but very quickly realised that the crunchy outside gets soggy after sitting aside for 10 minutes and they come out at least just as tasty in the oven.

The exact amounts for the batter and coating depend on the size of your cauliflower. Just for reference: I've used a medium-size head of cauliflower for this recipe. If you end up with any batter leftovers, don't worry - they're perfect for some veg or you can also use the cauliflower stem and make it crisp up deliciously in the oven.

What you'll need to make these Cauliflower Wings

Ingredients for Cauliflower Wings

Cauliflower

For the batter:

Chickpea flour
Smoked paprika powder
Turmeric powder
Black pepper
Chilli powder
Plant milk (I used soy)

For the breadcrumbs mix:

Panko breadcrumbs
Sea salt
Black pepper
Smoked paprika powder

Notes on the seasoning

I love to use a lot of seasoning in both batter and breadcrumb mix to create these delicious little bites full of flavour! Personally, I enjoy these easy vegan cauliflower wings with a slightly smoky flavour, hence I like to use smoked paprika powder in both my batter as well as breadcrumbs mixture. To add a little bit of a tang, I like to add chilli powder - if you're however on the totally mild side you can leave this out, or if you like it spicy, you can go to town with the chilli seasoning.

Equipment

Oven or air fryer
oven tray
mixing bowls

How to make Easy Cauliflower Wings

Step 1: Prepare the cauliflower

Firstly you'll want to wash your cauliflower and cut off each floret. If you've got any leftover cauliflower stem, this will be just as good for the recipe if you've got any spare batter at the end so try not to waste it!

Step 2: Create the batter

Next, you need to blend your batter, which you can do firstly by combining all your dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl before slowly pouring in the plant milk and whisking it until you're left with a thick liquid.

Step 3: Mix the breadcrumbs and seasoning

Now, in a different bowl mix up the Panko breadcrumbs, sea salt, black pepper and smoked paprika powder.

Set the breadcrumb mix aside, line a baking tray with a baking sheet and preheat your oven to 180ºC.

Step 4: Assemble your cauliflower bites

Now that you have all your ingredients ready, dip each cauliflower floret into the batter and let it drip off for five seconds or so before dropping it into the breadcrumbs mix and making sure it's completely covered in breadcrumbs. All you have to do now is put it on the parking tray and repeat until all your florets are ready to be cooked.

Step 5: Bake or air-fry

Cook your cauliflower wings for 12-15 minutes at 180ºC in the oven or for 8-10 minutes in your air fryer.

Step 6: Serve

Once they're ready just take them out and serve with the sauce of your choice! I usually have these with tomato ketchup or a simple vegan yoghurt dip but it would work just as well with BBQ sauce or vegan ranch dressing.

How to easily make these Cauliflower Wings gluten-free

As this recipe uses breadcrumbs, it is not gluten-free in itself, there are however a couple of things you can do to easily adjust it:

Make sure to only use chickpea (gram) flour or gluten-free alternatives.
Replace the breadcrumbs with either gluten-free breadcrumbs or a mixture of gluten-free oats, flaxseed, hemp seeds

With these replacements, the outer layer of these cauliflower wings will still get crunchy whilst being perfectly gluten-free.

This recipe is:

vegan
more-ish
tasty
a delicious nibble
great for dipping
low fat
as spicy as you like it
the perfect finger food!
easy to make gluten free

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Easy Vegan Cauliflower Wings

Air-Fryer Cauliflower Wings