Roasted Whole Cauliflower in Air Fryer

This air fryer roasted whole cauliflower is a very easy vegan Thanksgiving dinner recipe for the whole family. Made with a homemade bell pepper basil pesto recipe.

I cooked a whole cauliflower in the air fryer and I LOVED it!!

This cauliflower is all kinds of delicious and almost effortless. The secret to its deliciousness is the homemade red bell pepper pesto.

This roasted whole cauliflower head can be served for Thanksgiving and all year round!

Tips for making it

• Use a small whole head of cauliflower. Mine was a 3lb cauliflower which came out to just a little more than 2.5lbs after I removed all the outer leaves.
• My cauliflower took 50 minutes in mine. Adjust the cooking time to your cauliflower size and air fryer model. The longest time can be about 75 minutes. My preferred cooking method is to make an air fry cauliflower.
• Make sure you get the pesto into all the nooks and crannies of the cauliflower. Don’t be afraid to use a turkey baster, if you have to!!!
• A radical way to do this would be to submerge the whole cauliflower into a bowl filled with the pesto. Keep it submerged overnight. Cover the top with a plastic wrap and then place the bowl in the refrigerator, overnight.
• I HIGHLY recommend using marinated cauliflower. Marinate for about 8 hours to overnight.
• Tuck tiny unsalted butter pieces at the bottom of the cauliflower before you cover it with wrap. When you are ready to cook it, it will melt slowly and make the thick heart of cauliflower very tender.
• If you don’t want to cook it in the air fryer, you can cook it in your oven. Preheat it to 320°F and then cook the cauliflower for about 1hr 20min. Broil it for about 7min to get that crispy top.
• You can use regular pesto instead of using my red bell pepper pesto. Or, try my arugula pesto, scallion pesto, or cilantro pesto.

Why make it in the air fryer?

• The air fryer cooks the whole cauliflower in a shorter time than the oven. An average cauliflower will take about 85 minutes in the oven whereas in the air fryer, it will take about 60 minutes.
• It uses less oil than when it’s cooked in the air fryer.
• The air fryer will get into more of the nooks and crannies of the cauliflower than the oven can.
• Unlike the oven, there is no need to preheat the air fryer.
• The oven uses more electricity to cook the cauliflower than the air fryer. Besides, why turn on the whole oven for just one small cauliflower, right?
• The air fryer can be put in the garage or the patio while it’s cooking the cauliflower. You can’t put the oven outside, lol!
• You can use your oven to cook other vegan Thanksgiving meals like Blueberry crumble, fingerling potatoes, or roasted green beans.

🧽 Handy Tip: Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper to make the cleanup process easier. Cooking an air fryer whole cauliflower can be quite messy.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Cut the bottom of the cauliflower. Remove any leaves and stems.
2. Place the cauliflower in a large bowl and top down. Start by adding the pesto at the bottom of the cauliflower and let it flow into the inside of the cauliflower.
3. Turn it over and drizzle the remaining pesto on the top of the cauliflower.
4. Tuck small butter pieces at the bottom of the cauliflower.
5. Get a plastic wrap piece (about 16″ x 12″) and wrap the cauliflower head.
6. Put wrapped cauliflower in a bowl and refrigerate overnight (8 hrs).
7. When ready to cook, lightly butter a baking dish using melted butter.
8. Unwrap the cauliflower and place it in the baking dish.
9. Top it with about 1 cup of the basil pesto. Use a basting brush.
10. Place the baking dish in the air fryer basket.
11. Replace the basket in air fryer and set it to 320°F (160°C) for 50 minutes or until fork tender.
12. At about the 25-minute mark, remove the basket and baste it with the remaining 1/2 cup of bell pepper pesto. Put the cauliflower back in the air fryer and complete the cooking process.
13. Once it’s completed cooking, immediately turn up your air fryer temperature to 350°F (176°C), drizzle with a little olive oil and cook for 5 minutes or until the outside has just turned crispy, based on personal preferences.
14. Remove from the air fryer and let it cool for 2-3 minutes. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) Cut into steak sizes and serve immediately. Alternatively, you can sprinkle sesame seeds too.
15. Use a sharp knife to cut steak sizes.

👩‍🍳 Substitution tip: Don’t like pesto, marinate your cauliflower with an oil mixture that has garlic powder and onion powder.

Storing leftovers

This is one of those rare recipes I make that can be refrigerated or frozen! Shocking, right?

To refrigerate it:

• Pour about 1-2 Tbsp worth of the pesto on top of the leftover cauliflower. The more cauliflower you have left over, the more pesto you will need.
• Wrap the cooked whole cauliflower in a plastic wrap or use a new shower cap.
• Place the cauliflower in a glass bowl, preferably, over a plastic bowl.
• Close the lid and place in the vegetable crisper.
• Use within 7 days of refrigerating.
• Put it in the air fryer (320°F for about 15 minutes).

To freeze it:

• Place the remaining roasted cauliflower in a zip-lock or freezer -friendly bag.
• Pour some of the pesto in the bag (1-2 Tbsp).
• Then, press the bag to remove any air in it.
• Seal the bag as tightly as possible with no air in it.
• Lay flat in the freezer.
• When you are ready to use it, put it in the air fryer (320°F for about 25 minutes). For best results, do not thaw the cauliflower.
• Use it within 3 months of freezing.

Answering your questions

How to serve it

• Sauteed vegetable tops – Tops from vegetables can make a delicious side dish to serve with whole cauliflower.
• Easy potato dishes – There are so many potato side dishes that you can serve with it.
• Brussels sprouts pilaf – This is a super easy dish to make and it’s a healthy side dish.

Want even more healthy meals? These healthy dinner recipes are easy to make and good for the soul.

A few vegan Thanksgiving air fryer recipes!

• Candied sweet potatoes
• Sweet potato drop biscuits
• Blueberry galette
• Potato nibbles
• Sweet potato casserole tartlets
• Air Fryer hasselback sweet potatoes
• Miso glazed vegetables

I can’t believe how much my life is easier because of this device. Discover some of my favorite Thanksgiving air fryer recipes and your life will be simpler too.

Want to see some of the other delicious ways to use cauliflower? Try cooking the whole cauliflower in an Instant Pot.

Want even more healthy recipes? I have a collection of the easiest healthy recipes you can make all year round.

For my air fryer roasted whole cauliflower recipe, I used my favorite (Affiliate link) COSORI Max XL.

Sauces to flavor the cauliflower

• Cauliflower roasts great when flavored with chermoula sauce. It’s made with fresh herbs and a little oil.
• Love a little nutty flavor? This peanut satay sauce makes the cauliflower taste so delicious.
• Tahini is a perennial favorite of mine! I love to flavor my cauliflower, other vegetables, and even pasta with it.
• Tzatziki is one of my favorite Mediterranean sauces. It’s easy to make using plant-based yogurt or Greek yogurt. It makes the cauliflower very soft.

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