Air-Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos

Cauliflower has a pretty mild flavor, but it's one that helps this versatile vegetable stand in for many different types of foods. One of the many roles it plays is a substitute for starch, such as in a low-carb pizza crust or rice alternative, but lately, creative cooks have been using this fairly high-protein vegetable as a kind of mock meat, as well. Here, cauliflower is given the chicken treatment: dipped in batter, cooked in an air fryer until crispy, and brushed with Buffalo sauce before being stuffed into taco shells.

The way recipe developer Deniz Vergara sees it, "Cauliflower takes on delicious Buffalo flavors" just as well as chicken. While Buffalo wing fans tend to fall into two camps, Team Blue Cheese or Team Ranch, Vergara is ranch all the way, as she suggests topping "with your favorite ranch dressing for the ultimate Buffalo-flavored taco." Needless to say, you can swap the ranch for celery and blue cheese dressing if that's your preference, or you could also go with more traditional taco toppers like cheese, salsa, or sour cream, instead.

Besides cauliflower, you're going to need flour, cornstarch, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, and salt for the batter. Cooking spray will come in handy for greasing up the air fryer basket, while Buffalo sauce, of course, is necessary for adding some flavor. As for the tacos, you'll need some of the crunchy-type shells, plus romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and scallions to top them with, as well as any additional dressings or condiments you wish.

Before you start battering the cauliflower, set the air fryer to 400 F so it can heat up, and spritz some cooking spray in there, too. Now combine the flour, cornstarch, garlic, onion powder, paprika, and salt, then stir in the water until the mixture is fairly smooth.

Put the cauliflower pieces into the batter, then stir them around until they're covered with the stuff. As Vergara tells us, "The most important step is to evenly coat the cauliflower in the batter," although she also cautions, "Be sure to allow any excess batter to drip off before placing it in the air fryer basket. If you don't, the cauliflower will have a gummy texture." (She uses a slotted spoon to aid with this step.)

Once you have your cauliflower battered but relatively drip-free, go ahead and put the pieces in the air fryer basket. Leave some space between the florets so they don't steam — you may need to work in batches so this is possible. Cook the first batch for 10 minutes, then take the pieces out and turn them over. Brush the exposed side with Buffalo sauce, then cook for another 10 minutes. Take them out and turn them over again to brush the other side with sauce. Just 3 more minutes in the air fryer ought to set the sauce, although Vergara says you could eat them now if you can't wait any longer.

Stuff the air-fried cauliflower into the taco shells and add the lettuce, tomato, and scallions on top. Drizzle over some ranch dressing, blue cheese, or other preferred dressing if you like, then tuck into your tacos tout de suite.

If you won't be using up all 8 tacos at once, any unused cauliflower can always be refrigerated. Vergara recommends re-heating the veggies in the air fryer before assembling fresh tacos, although this time it will only take 5-8 minutes to get hot and crispy.