I know you're going to love the fresh vibrant flavours and textures of this air fried romanesco cauliflower with green salsa. It's still got a little crunch but is soft enough to eat easily and the slightly charred edges of the florets add a touch of bitterness too. So so good!

I love air fried broccoli and air fried cauliflower so when I got my hands on a romanesco cauliflower recently I knew I had to try it in the air fryer. Those pretty green romanesco florets were so easy to cook in the air fryer in just over 10 minutes. It's definitely something to try soon.
I haven't put lots of flavours on the romanesco before air frying it. I just coated it in a little olive oil. After it's cooked, you can just eat it like that as a delicious green vegetable side dish. But, if you drizzle over some of the green salsa it makes it even more tasty and is perfect as a warm salad. I actually ate it with falafels, wraps and hummus! But, it would even be delicious as a side with a hot curry! By the way, speaking of curry, if you want more ideas for romanesco, I've also made a nutty roasted romanesco curry which is an equally delicious way to eat romanesco!
Ingredient notes for air fried romanesco
Do check out the recipe card further down the post for full ingredients list. But, to make this recipe you'll need:
- Romanesco cauliflower - Although I have used a romanesco for this recipe, they are not always easy to find and you could also make this recipe using a regular cauliflower or even broccoli.
- Olive oil - I used a light olive oil to coat the romanesco before air frying. However, you could use any vegetable oil.
- Za'atar - Za'atar is a spice blend made up of dried herbs, sesame seeds and sumac. It adds and extra layer of flavour but it's not essential.
- Lemon - I like to add a squeeze of lemon after the romanesco has been air fried. If you don't have fresh lemon juice, feel free to use bottled lemon juice.
- Fresh herbs - I used a mixture of parsley and coriander leaves. If you only have one or the other you can still make it. The flavour will be slightly different but it will still be great on the romanesco.
- Garlic cloves - I like to add fresh garlic to the salsa but you can use lazy garlic if you want.
- Lemon - Because the salsa has lots of lemon juice in, I definitely prefer to use a fresh lemon rather than bottled lemon juice for this. It just tastes more natural.
- Extra virgin olive oil - I think a good extra virgin olive oil is best for the salsa.
- Chilli pepper - I like to add a little heat. This time I used a green chilli pepper and it wasn't too hot but you could add a hotter chilli if you want! I always leave the seeds in too but feel free to remove them if you don't want too much heat.

How to make air fried romanesco with green salsa
Again, do check out the printable recipe card futher down the page too!
First, just chop the romanesco into equal sized florets. They need to be equal so they cook evenly. Coat them in a little oil and then put them in the air fryer for about 12 minutes at 200C. Give them a toss a couple of times so they cook evenly and so you can check they are not getting over cooked.
While the romanesco is cooking you can make the green salsa. Just put everything in a food processor and blitz. Make sure to taste it afterwards and add extra lemon juice or seasoning if you feel it needs it.
When the romanesco is cooked, sprinkle over the za'atar if you are using it and squeeze over a little lemon juice. Then serve with the salsa.

What can you do with the leftovers?
Any leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to three days. I like to eat the leftovers cold but you can reheat it if you want.
What can you serve with air fried romanesco?
I think air fried romanesco is a great side dish with all kinds of main meals. Serve it with a roast dinner or as side with pie or baked pasta. It goes with so many things.
Can you adapt the recipe?
Yes! Use cauliflower instead of romanesco. You can also air fry cabbage wedges and serve them with the salsa too.
The salsa itself is easily adaptable to whatever fresh herbs you want to use up. You can add more or less garlic or chillies too.
What if you don't have an air fryer?
Don't worry! You can also roast the romanesco. It will take about 20 minutes in the oven at 200C.

Recipe

Air Fried Romanesco with Green Salsa
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ Romanesco cauliflower cut into equal sized florets
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon za'atar optional
- ¼ lemon juiced
Ingredients for the green salsa
- 10 g parsley
- 10 g coriander leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 chilli pepper
Instructions
- Cut the romanesco into florets, coat in a little oil and cook in the air fryer for 12 minutes at 200℃. Depending on the size of the florets you may need to cook them for a little longer.
- Put all the salsa ingredients in a blender and blitz. Season, taste and adjust any quantities of ingredients if necessary.
- Sprinkle the za'atar over the romanesco when serving and squeeze over the extra quarter of lemon too. Drizzle the green salsa over the romanesco as well or keep it on the side as a dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
More air fryer recipes you might like
If you like this then do check out some of my other vegetable air fryer recipes:
- Air fried butternut squash with harissa
- Air fried harissa sweet potato wedges
- Spicy air fried mushrooms
- Air fried carrot salad
- Spiced air fried beetroot
You might also like my collection of easy air fryer recipes!
Keep in touch
Do let me know if you make this air fried romanesco or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.
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