This air fryer cauliflower with Indian spices is a delicious, spicy side dish that goes with almost any meal. It’s ready for dinner in minutes.

Air Fryer Cauliflower Recipe
We’ve been on an aloo gobi kick for the past few months. I found a great recipe in this Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. I’ve been making it regularly and buying a whole head of cauliflower each time we make it. Then, a couple of days later, we use the rest of the cauliflower in a stir fry or steam it to have with brown rice and spinach. But one day I decided to try putting the rest of it in the air fryer with some Indian spices to see how that would turn out. Wow! This air fryer cauliflower with Indian spices is delicious. It makes a spicy side dish that goes with lots of things.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower – Cut up half a head of cauliflower or use pre-cut florets.
- Olive oil – use just enough to coat the florets.
- Turmeric – adds flavor and color.
- Garam masala – a popular blend of spices used in Indian dishes.
- Salt – adds some depth and flavor.

Garam masala is a blend of spices commonly used in many Indian dishes. The word “masala” means spices. This spice blend is convenient to have in your pantry because it saves you the time of combining lots of different spices. Different brands of garam masala will vary in the spice content, but the brand that I use contains cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.
Making Air Fryer Cauliflower
1 – Cut the cauliflower into florets
- Cut about half of a head of cauliflower into florets.
- (Optionally) Use a bag of pre-cut florets found in the produce section of the grocery store.
2 – Season the florets
- Coat the cauliflower florets with just enough olive oil so the seasonings will stick to them.
- Tip: Using a pump-spray oil dispenser makes it easy to coat the cauliflower florets before seasoning.
- Sprinkle the spices and salt on the florets.
3 – Cook the seasoned florets
- Spread the seasoned cauliflower florets on your air fryer tray.
- Cook for 18 minutes on 400 degrees Farhenheit, stirring half-way through.

When they have finished cooking, the cauliflower florets are crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Serving Air Fryer Cauliflower
As a side dish, this air fryer cauliflower with Indian spices goes with lots of things. It’s shown here alongside some steamed zucchini and shrimp and scallops with lime glaze.

This air fryer cauliflower is also really good as a veggie in a grain bowl.

Other Vegetable Side Dishes
Here are some other vegetable side dishes that you might like:

Air Fryer Cauliflower with Indian Spices
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces cauliflower florets about 1/2 of a head of cauliflower
- ½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
- Cut about half of a head of cauliflower into florets.
- (Optionally) Use a bag of pre-cut florets found in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Coat the cauliflower florets with just enough olive oil so the seasonings will stick to them.
- Sprinkle the spices and salt on the florets.
- Spread the seasoned cauliflower florets on your air fryer tray.
- Cook for 18 minutes on 400 degrees Farhenheit, stirring half-way through.
Notes
- Using a pump-spray oil dispenser makes it easy to coat the cauliflower florets before seasoning.
Nutrition

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