Dehydrated Cauliflower Popcorn is an addictive, healthy snack seasoned with flavorful spices that you won't be able to stop enjoying!
This original instructions for this recipe were for making Dehydrated Cauliflower Popcorn in a dehydrator. We still have the dehydrator recipe below plus now include instructions for making this recipe in an oven or an air fryer.
Dehydrated cauliflower is one of those overlooked treats but once you make it, it'll be on permanent rotation. And SPICED CAULIFLOWER POPCORN sounds just too good to pass up, right?!
Cauliflower Popcorn Ingredients
The ingredients and measurements are the same for a dehydrator, oven or air fryer.
- 1 head cauliflower
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked cayenne
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
How To Make Cauliflower Popcorn In The Oven
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Rinse the cauliflower and chop the florets into bites slightly larger than popcorn.
- Toss them in a large bowl with the coconut oil, hot sauce, paprika, smoked cayenne and ground cumin. Get them nicely coated with all the seasonings. If you need to, go ahead and add in a few more dashes of hot sauce.
- Place the cauliflower in a greased baking pan and bake, uncovered, at 400°F for 15-18 minutes or until tender. Mix halfway through.
How To Make Cauliflower Popcorn In An Air Fryer
- Preheat air fryer to 375°F.
- Rinse the cauliflower and chop the florets into bites slightly larger than popcorn.
- Toss them in a large bowl with the coconut oil, hot sauce, paprika, smoked cayenne and ground cumin. Get them nicely coated with all the seasonings. If you need to, go ahead and add in a few more dashes of hot sauce.
- Place the cauliflower in the basket. Don't overcrowd the basket and work in batches if necessary.
- Air fry for 9-12 minutes until golden brown. Toss halfway through and keep in mind the exact timing will depend on your air fryer.
If your air fryer has a dehydrate setting then you can dehydrate the cauliflower in an air fryer. Simply switch to the dehydrator setting, set the temperature to 175°F and air fry for 4 hours. I tested this dehydrator method with the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven.
Dehydrated Spiced Cauliflower Popcorn
I used smoked paprika and regular cayenne since that's what I had on hand. Delicious!
"Cauliflower dehydrates to crumbly little bites that are reminiscent of popcorn. Because of its mild flavor, you can introduce any flavors you’d like. I enjoy my snacks with a spicy kick, so I’ve used hot sauce along with chili powder, though you can adapt this to your own tastes." - Michael Hultquist, author of "The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook"
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked cayenne
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Rinse the cauliflower and chop the florets into bites slightly larger than popcorn. Toss them in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients. Get them nicely coated with all the seasonings. If you need to, go ahead and add in a few more dashes of hot sauce.
- Spread the mixture out onto a couple dehydrator trays and dehydrate for 8-12 hours at 130 degrees F, or until they are completely dried through. You can eat them when they are not completely dried, but they will be chewier. Drying all the way through will result in crunchier “popcorn”.
- Store in a cool, dry place in airtight baggies. Enjoy!
Notes
See article for making cauliflower popcorn in an air fryer or oven.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 799mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 8gSugar: 7gProtein: 6g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.
I love this dehydrated cauliflower recipe and I'm definitely a spice fiend. To the point that I maintain another website, Jalapeño Mania, where I share tons of recipes from other foodies and bloggers. My best contributor to that site (and favorite…shhh) is, BY FAR, Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Mike always delivers with solid recipes that are easy enough for just about anyone to make yet are off the flavor charts! I don't know him personally and have no skin in this game other than a love for spicy foods and recipes that make me glad to be alive.
Enter his new cookbook!
{Which is where this Dehydrated Cauliflower Popcorn recipe comes from.}
Mike has created so many exciting recipes using his dehydrator. And yeah, "exciting' isn't normally a word that comes to mind when I'm thinking about doing some dehydrating. But with stellar recipes like Sriracha Leather, Kiwi-Blueberry Leather, Steakhouse Beef Jerky and Wicked Veggie Chips, I feel that word truly works here.
So far, however, my personal favorite is the dehydrated cauliflower popcorn (officially called "Spiced Cauliflower Popcorn" in his book). It's healthy, spicy and so flavorful!
You can order Mike's book, "The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook", on Amazon among other places. You can even browse it in your local bookstores!
Try these Cauliflower recipes next:
- Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
- Buffalo Ranch Roasted Cauliflower Nachos
- Cauliflower Steaks with Chimichurri
- Garlic Herb Browned Butter Cauliflower
- Mashed Cauliflower
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Sausage Tortellini Soup (Freezer Friendly) - November 18, 2025
- Are Souper Cubes Worth It? (YES!) - November 15, 2025
- Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake (A Make-Ahead Holiday Favorite) - September 29, 2025
Rafi says
My cardiologist strongly advises me against eating coconut oil as it has more saturated fat than almost any other source. What oil would you suggest I use instead?
Nadine says
@Rafi, I just made dehydrated zucchini, the recipe called for olive oil, it was great and I didn't have to use very much oil. I'm going to try it with this recipe as my Dr says not to eat any coconut, it isn't good for my cholesterol.
Bill says
@Rafi, Mashup avacado and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Sue says
Can you spread the cauliflower popcorn on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and air-dry this in the oven on the lowest setting?
Kristy Bernardo says
Hi Sue, I'm not sure but I don't see why not.
Artie Skeeter says
This recipe has way too much hot spice in it. I have extra cauliflower from our garden and thought I would try it. Pretty much this popcorn cauliflower was inedible. Did you mean 4 teaspoons of hot sauce and not 4 Tablespoons? Yikes. Waste of a garden grown cauliflower. BTW the hot sauce I used is: "Tapatio" brand.
Kristy Bernardo says
Hi Artie, the recipe comes from a cookbook (see the post above). I've made it many times and love it! Sorry it didn't work for you.
Karen Zucconi says
@Artie Skeeter, I just put mine in now, so I haven't tasted it, but I think that the 4 Tablespoons is so that it will spread to all the pieces. That being said, I'm using Franks which is more tangy than hot.
Cheryl Matheson says
@Artie Skeeter, I just made this recipe and I used Frank's red hot and it was fine. A hotter sauce and I can imagine it would make a big difference. I also didn't use the full amount of cayanne. I felt mine could have been hotter
breslauer43 says
Hi! If I want to omit the hot sauce (not a fan of pre-made sauces) is there something else I could substitute it with? Thanks!
Julie says
Hi. Do you make this from raw or balance it first?
Kristy Bernardo says
Hi Julie, I'm not sure what you mean by "balance" but there's no need to cook it first.
Elaan Fugaro says
Probably an auto-correct for "blanched".
MG says
is the coconut oil supposed to be mixed with the cauliflower or spread onto the dehydrator sheets? mine is solid at room temperature... should it be melted?
Ashley says
Hi, have you tried frozen florets? Just curious if it would come out the same?
Kristy says
I'm sorry but I haven't tried them. Please let me know if you do!
Jennifer says
Where does the sugar in the nutrition information come from? Is it the hot sauce you use or from dehydration? Just curious since I'm trying to cut as much sugar from my diet as possible.
Kristy says
I'm not sure as the nutritional information was provided by the book's publisher. I would guess that it comes from the hot sauce used.
Autumn Boulton says
How many servings does this make? Or how much per serving I guess I am asking?
Bubba Mustafa says
Ok, been on a cauliflower kick lately; this and mashed.
This snack is SO good, and its like jerky, so adjustable.
Heck, think jerky marinades!