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Home » Entrees » Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks {Air-Fried}

October 15, 2017

Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks {Air-Fried}

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Air-Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks this Recipe

Looking for crispy buffalo goodness without firing up a vat of hot oil? Check out this buffalo cauliflower recipe!

Buffalo Cauliflower Prep

Butcher your cauliflower, give it a quick boil, allow to chill. Make a dry batter and a wet batter. Dust, dunk, pack. Chill again. Give all sides a generous blast of cooking spray. After 10 minutes in the air fryer, this happens! Crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside.

Buffalo Cauliflower - first fry

Next, douse in your favorite prepared buffalo sauce (or prepare your own by melting 1:1 ratio of vegan butter with your favorite hot sauce). Air fry again to get this:

It’s perfect for piling onto a burger, or eating as is with some vegan bleu cheese dressing. Daiya and Follow Your Heart both make good ones. Serve the florets with celery and vegan bleu cheese as an appetizer if you like. If you can’t cram it all into your face in one sitting, don’t fret. These can be tossed into the air fryer later … they’ll still come out super crispy and delicious as the first time!

More serving suggestions:

Throw the florets onto a pizza

Toss the florets onto a salad

Douse the steaks in sriracha-maple syrup instead and serve with waffles

Slather the florets in a butter-sriracha sauce for vegan wings

Use can alternatively use this method with tofu!

Buffalo Cauliflower Burger

If serving on a bun, slathering it with a little vegan butter and toasting it up is 100% essential. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to plain old buns. 🙂

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Air-Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks

Air-Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks


★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Erin Wysocarski
  • Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings
Print Recipe
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Ingredients

for the cauliflower

  • one large head of cauliflower
  • salt and pepper

for the dry ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 TB garlic powder
  • 1 TB onion powder
  • 1 TB salt
  • 1 TB paprika
  • 2 tsp cayenne (optional)

for the wet ingredients

  • 1 cup soymilk, with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar whisked in
  • 2 TB Follow Your Heart VeganEgg powder, blended with 1/2 cup ice cold water
  • 2 TB bourbon
  • 1 TB hot sauce

for frying and coating

  • Spray oil
  • at least one cup of prepared buffalo sauce. (You can also make your own by mixing a 1:1 ratio of melted vegan butter with a vinegar-based hot sauce) 

to serve

  • toasted hamburger buns
  • cabbage or lettuce
  • pickles
  • red onion
  • tomato and/or avocado
  • vegan bleu cheese dressing
  • extra buffalo sauce
  • celery

Instructions

to prep the cauliflower

  1. To cut your cauliflower steaks, place a head of cauliflower stem side down on a cutting board. Using a large knife, slice it down the very middle. Then cut down again on each half to create 3 or 4, 1-inch thick slabs. Chop up the leftover portion of the cauliflower into little, bite-sized florets.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place the cauliflower into the pot, let the boil return, wait about a minute, then transfer the florets to a cookie sheet with a wire rack over it to cool. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Leave out for 30 minutes, or throw into your refrigerator to cool.

to make the breading

  1. Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. 
  2. Combine all of the wet ingredients into a separate medium-sized bowl.
  3. Working one piece at a time, coat the steaks and florets evenly in the dry mixture, tapping off any extra and placing it back onto the wire rack.
  4. Pour 3 tablespoons of the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine with a rubber spatula.
  5. Working one piece at a time, dunk the steaks and florets into the wet mixture, then pack the moistened flour mixture firmly around it.
  6. Return the battered cauliflower back onto the wire rack and place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. 

to air fry the cauliflower

  1. Spray the cauliflower steaks evenly with cooking spray. Place into the air fryer at 400 degrees and cook for 10 minutes, flipping the slabs over halfway through the cooking time. Apply a little more spray over any areas that look dry and cook for an additional minute or two if needed to achieve a deeply golden color all over.
  2. Place the buffalo sauce into a bowl, then carefully turn the steaks around in the bowl to coat. Place back into the air fryer and fry on each side for 3-4 minutes, or until the edges look crispy.
  3. Repeat the process with the florets. Air fry time will take less with the florets since they are smaller. Just give them a shake halfway through the cook time, and spray any areas with cooking spray that look dry.
  4. Serve immediately on toasted hamburger buns or with celery and vegan bleu cheese dressing.

Notes

These can be made beforehand and recrisped in the air fryer at 400 at 5-7 minutes per side at 400 degrees for steaks and 6-8 minutes for florets, giving them a shake halfway through cooking time.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

If you made this recipe ...

Please leave a comment and a 5-star rating if you loved the recipe.

It helps more people find my site and helps me to continue creating new content!

Air-Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Steaks

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Carrot Lox Stuffed Ravioli
Vegan Tempeh Crab Cakes
Pulled Jackfruit Sandwiches with Red Cabbage Slaw
Oyster Mushroom Wontons in a Roasted Ginger Broth

Filed Under: Burgers, Entrees Tagged With: cauliflower

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Iona says

    October 17, 2017 at 4:52 pm

    Hi Erin,
    These look amazing! What type of air fryer do you use?
    cheers
    Iona

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      October 17, 2017 at 4:58 pm

      Iona, thanks. I use GoWise because it was on sale, but I think they are all pretty much the same!

      Reply
  2. laura says

    October 18, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    it looks so delicious thank you for the recipe. i should try it.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Hannah says

    October 21, 2017 at 11:24 pm

    That cauliflower is seriously on point! Easily one of the best renditions I’ve seen come out of an air fryer.

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      October 23, 2017 at 10:30 pm

      Thank you, Hannah!

      Reply
  4. Joy-Marie Snell says

    October 25, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    why use an air fryer? this is the first time i heard of the appliance.

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      October 25, 2017 at 2:40 pm

      Well, I think the result shows you why: you get a crispy “fried” texture without submerging in hot oil!

      Reply
      • Mary Anne says

        April 10, 2019 at 9:51 am

        Could you get the same result in the oven as well?

        Reply
  5. Colleen McAllister says

    October 27, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    I can’t wait to try this. I use an air fryer all the time. I have 3 of them!

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      October 27, 2017 at 4:44 pm

      Now that’s commitment, Colleen! Hope you enjoy the recipe!

      Reply
  6. Kristina Hjorth Jensen says

    November 3, 2017 at 8:07 am

    AMAZING recipe!! A favorite since I first made it.
    Great job.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      November 3, 2017 at 8:26 am

      Kristina, thanks for your feedback … I’m so happy you enjoyed it!!

      Reply
  7. Brian Cerda says

    November 3, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    Do they get crispy if you bake?

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      November 4, 2017 at 8:00 am

      Brian, I have not tried baking them, so I can’t say for sure. But if you try with good results, I’d love to know!

      Reply
      • Brian Cerda says

        November 5, 2017 at 5:42 pm

        Wow. I went to buy that egg substitute. 8 bucks for bout 4 eggs
        Veganism is expensive!

        Reply
        • erinwyso says

          November 6, 2017 at 6:36 am

          Brian,

          VeganEgg is sold by a variety of sellers, who set prices that are not controlled by Follow Your Heart. I buy this at my Whole Foods for 6 dollars. The standard packaging holds the equivalent of a dozen eggs, so I’m not sure where you are seeing on the package that it’s the equivalent of 4 eggs?

          Either way, I think making a broad, generalized statement that “Veganism is expensive” based on the price of one specific vegan product isn’t accurate or fair.

          A quick google of “vegan egg substitutes” will give you plenty of choices to find alternatives or make your own egg substitutes for a variety of dishes. For example, Ener-G brand egg replacer will likely work here, but may give slightly different results. I hope you can find one that works for you!

          Reply
  8. Jennifer Bliss says

    November 8, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    This is ALL KINDS OF YUM! It’s been forever and a day since my last comment…like literally YEARS…sorry about that! Mind if I link you and visit and comment more often!? I’m re-working my blogroll so I don’t lose track of my faves!

    Reply
  9. Deb says

    December 5, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    I saw a long wire basket that sits inside of a copper pan at Bed Bath and Beyond. Do you think that works as well or close to an air fryer? I could buy one but boy, even my kitchen I’m running out of room. Your thoughts please?
    Enjoy the snow. California is on fire at the moment so breathe some clean air for me too….ha!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Bett says

      January 1, 2020 at 6:55 pm

      Alas this is a bit late, but in case you’re still interested, no, a basket in a pan isn’t anything like an air fryer. Air fryers are smaller and more focused versions of convection ovens. You can get things that seem to approach meeting in the middle between the ovens and the “fryers,” but nothing less than a convection oven will even approach what you can do with the air fryer.

      Reply
  10. Ann vanvleck says

    December 6, 2017 at 12:16 am

    That looks so good Abe I can’t wait. I don’t have air fryer but would this work in my small fry baby?
    I can’t buy another appliance!

    Reply
  11. Elizabeth Higgins says

    January 19, 2018 at 7:37 am

    Pardon my slowness but it was only after getting to the ingredient’s list that I realized the “burger steaks” used here were actually cauliflower steaks. Truth be told, I could not tell the difference at all because your cauliflower steaks just looked like the real deal, Erin! I think using sweet onions would also add more flavor to the burgers instead of the red onion ones. Do you suggest serving these cauliflowers as they are with a different kind of dressing on the side? If so, any dressing that you recommend? Thank you so much!

    ★★★★

    Reply
  12. Mary says

    April 25, 2018 at 8:43 pm

    Is it possible to omit the cooking spray and still have this recipe turn out normal/ crispy? I am trying to omit all processed oils, and butters from my diet. It’s all new to me, because cooking with olive oil has been my go to for most of my life. Thank you in advance.

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      April 27, 2018 at 8:22 am

      Mary,

      No, you need oil to make this crispy. A few spritzes of spray oil should be enough here. I hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  13. Kelly Stevens says

    August 11, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    This recipe came up when I searched for air fryer cauliflower steaks. So glad it did and that I found your blog. This was delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Looking forward to trying others.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  14. Caitlin says

    December 27, 2020 at 1:19 am

    Got a Cuisinart air fryer for Christmas and tried this out. I added a bit of Panko for extra crunch. This is a phenomenal recipe. I made a quick slaw, pickled onions, and sweet and spicy pickles, and a light smear of vegan garlic aioli on the bun. Wowza!!! So good. My reluctantly vegan husband loved this haha

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      December 27, 2020 at 7:35 am

      Caitlin, so happy this turned out great with your new air fryer. Gotta love it when someone is reluctant or skeptical about a dish and it changes their mind. Enjoy your air fryer — I use mine daily and cannot imagine my kitchen without one!

      Reply
  15. Jessica says

    April 21, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    What could you use in replace of bourbon? I know it will cook out and leave flavor, but I have a sensitive guest. I love everything else about this and would love to try!

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      April 22, 2021 at 2:35 pm

      Hi Jessica,

      I think it should be fine if you just leave it out … I hope you enjoy!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        April 22, 2021 at 2:57 pm

        It was amazing Erin! Truly impressed! We left the Buffalo sauce out and made gravy instead! Wow! Then the next day, we had the left overs on a salad! I didn’t think my husband would be into it but he LOVES it! 🙏🏼

        Reply
        • erinwyso says

          April 23, 2021 at 7:43 am

          Jessica, thanks so much for your feedback, so happy it was a hit!

          Reply

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Hi! I’m Erin Wysocarski. Glad you’re here.

I create vegan recipes for those who love to cook and eat. My husband Jeff photographs them. We live in Boston with our rescue dog, Harper. More about Erin »

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