The Most Important Rule When Air Frying Cauliflower

Roasting cauliflower transforms the mild vegetable into a revelation, crispy and caramelized outside, soft and tender inside, and bursting with sweet, nutty flavor. The only downside? Roasting takes time — usually at least half an hour. Air frying is a practical solution that gives cauliflower those same benefits of a roasted cook in half the time.

Air fryers are essentially small convection ovens that cook food with hot air that a fan moves around the inside of the fryer. To get the best result, the hot air needs to be able to get to all sides of the food to cook it equally. You can help your air fryer do this by breaking the cauliflower into florets that you can toss with oil and other ingredients. That's where the most important rule comes into play: Keep the florets a similar size. This allows the individual pieces to cook at the same rate, so smaller florets aren't ready or even overdone while larger ones are still half-raw. Florets of about two inches are a good size with plenty of room to help the gadget cook them golden brown faster.

Easily cut up the cauliflower into the two-inch florets needed by slicing the head into quarters, coring them, then breaking the quarters into larger chunks along where the sections separate. Cut or break off the same-sized florets from these large pieces.

It's worth noting that the rule about air frying things that are the same size also applies to other vegetables. For harder, denser root vegetables, cut the similar-sized pieces smaller, so they cook more quickly. 

A couple of more steps go into making scrumptious air-fried cauliflower. Coat the florets in a mix of oil and water with salt and pepper to steam-cook the pieces. After the water flash cooks the veg and evaporates, the oil remains to help everything crisp and char. Place the florets in a single layer in the fryer basket, and don't pack them too tightly. This way, the hot air can fully circulate around each piece, cooking things evenly (and preventing your cauliflower from getting mushy).

Air-fried cauliflower made like this will be delicious on its own with just a sprinkling of salt, but there are many ways to dress it up. For example, you could try making a dipping sauce like romesco, pesto, or an easy dip with just two ingredients like yogurt and your favorite simmer sauce. You might also make the veggie-topped toast Ina Garten swears by – just get your toast of choice, add the cauliflower, some cheese, and maybe a slice of prosciutto or two. Another way to enjoy your air-fried cauliflower is by treating it like chicken and tossing it with buffalo sauce or making sweet and spicy General Tso's cauliflower.