Bang Bang Cauliflower (Air Fryer)
This air fryer bang bang cauliflower is the vegetarian take on the popular Bonefish Grill’s bang bang shrimp appetizer. Here panko breadcrumbs coated cauliflower florets are air-fried until crisp and tossed into sweet, spicy and creamy bang bang sauce.
❤️ You’ll Love This Bang Bang Cauliflower
Taste & Texture:
- Every bite has a sweet and spicy taste.
- It has all kinds of textures like cauliflower florets are crisp around the edges and soft, tender from the inside.
- It loses its crispness after some time as florets are coated with the sauce. So serve it right away.
Quick & Easy: prep work and breading the florets takes around 10 minutes, air frying the cauliflower takes 15 minutes (for one batch – 2 servings) and then the last step is tossing into the sauce takes less than 5 minutes. So This bang bang cauliflower gets ready in just 30 minutes.
Healthier Version: Instead of deep-frying the breaded cauliflower florets, we are air frying to make them healthy. Or you can bake them (see the instruction below for details).
Appetizer or Side: This makes a great, delicious appetizer or have it as a veggie side with your meal.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
- Cauliflower: A whole small head of cauliflower is separated into small bite-sized florets.
- Corn starch: Do not skip it. This makes the florets crispy.
- Buttermilk: Use store-bought buttermilk or use buttermilk powder dissolved in the water.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Use the plain panko. However, you can use any breadcrumbs of your choice but panko gives the best crisp texture.
- Bang bang sauce: It is made with mayo, thai sweet chili sauce, sriracha and honey. Check out the detailed post or just follow the measurements given below.
👩🍳 How To Make Bang Bang Cauliflower?
Making Bang Bang Sauce:
1) Measure and add sauce ingredients one by one in a bowl.
2) Whisk it until silky, and smooth. Keep it aside until needed.
Prep & Air-Fry:
1) First make the batter, take all purpose flour, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2) Mix it using a spoon.
3) Add buttermilk and make a smooth, lump-free thick batter. The batter should not be thin or runny, it should be thick and coating-kind of consistency.
4) Keep 3 bowls (for the batter, panko bread crumbs, cauliflower florets), a plate (to keep breaded florets) and 2 forks (one for batter and one for breadcrumbs) ready.
5) Now dip one floret into the batter and drain excess batter by lifting it using a fork.
6) Then coat all the sides with breadcrumbs and place on a plate or directly into the air-fryer basket.
7) Repeat the same until it fits into the basket in a single layer. Spray it with cooking oil spray. You may have to do it in batches.
8) Air fry them at 400°F for 12-15 minutes. It should be golden brown and crispy around the edges and soft from the inside.
Baking instructions: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the breaded florets on a parchment-lined baking tray in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake another 5 minutes.
9) Now transfer them into a large bowl and air fry rest.
10) Drizzle the bang bang sauce on top.
11) Toss it until the florets are coated with the sauce. Serve immediately and garnish with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
💭 Expert Tips
- The batter consistency has to be thick and coating-type (not runny or watery). If it’s too thin then add some more flour. If it’s too thick then add some more water or buttermilk.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket otherwise they won’t crisp up.
- Serve it right away after tossing it into the sauce to get the best texture experience. As it sits longer, it loses the crispness.
- Want to keep the florets crispy for longer? After air frying, don’t toss them into the sauce. Just serve a sauce on the side. Let the individual dip their florets into the sauce.
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Bang Bang Cauliflower Recipe (Air Fryer)
US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml)
Ingredients
For Sauce:
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Thai sweet chili sauce, *Notes1
- 2 teaspoon Sriracha, Notes2
- 1 teaspoon Honey, Optional
For Bang Bang Cauliflower:
- 1 head Cauliflower (gobi), (about 3 cups of bite-sized florets)
- ¾ cup All purpose flour (Maida)
- 1 tablespoon Corn flour (corn starch)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- Spring onion greens, for garnishing
- Toasted sesame seeds, for garnishing
Instructions
- To make the sauce, measure and add sauce ingredients one by one in a bowl. Whisk it until silky, and smooth. Keep it aside until needed.
- First make the batter, take all purpose flour, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix it using a spoon.
- Add buttermilk and make a smooth, lump-free thick batter.
- Keep 3 bowls (for the batter, panko bread crumbs, cauliflower florets), a plate (to keep breaded florets) and 2 forks (one for batter and one for breadcrumbs) ready.
- Now dip one floret into the batter and drain excess batter by lifting it using a fork.
- Then coat all the sides with breadcrumbs and place on a plate or directly into the air-fryer basket.
- Repeat the same until it fits into the basket in a single layer. Spray it with cooking oil spray. You may have to do it in batches.
- Air fry them at 400°F for 12-15 minutes. It should be golden brown and crispy around the edges and soft from the inside.Baking instructions: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the breaded florets on a parchment-lined baking tray in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake another 5 minutes.
- Now transfer them into a large bowl and repeat the same for the rest.
- Drizzle the bang bang sauce on top. Toss it until the florets are coated with the sauce.
- Serve immediately on a plate, garnish with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
- The batter consistency has to be thick and coating-type (not runny or watery). If it’s too thin then add some more flour. If it’s too thick then add some more water or buttermilk.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket otherwise they won’t crisp up. Serve this right away after tossing it into the sauce to get the best texture experience. As it sits longer, it loses the crispness.
- Want to keep the florets crispy for longer? After air frying, don’t toss them into the sauce. Just serve a sauce on the side. Let the individual dip their florets into the sauce.
