BBQ Cauliflower Wings (Only 9 Ingredients)
By Jessica Hylton -
- Updated
BBQ Cauliflower Wings made with just 9 ingredients are the perfect cauliflower wings for Game Day Snacks and Appetizers, and any occasion! They’re crispy, crunchy and coated in a saucy bbq sauce with just a few ingredients. Learn how to make these in HALF the time!!
Cauliflower Queen is back again with another Cauliflower recipe! Let me tell you – these BBQ Cauliflower Wings are LIT! They’re saucy, crispy, crunchy on the outside and the perfect texture on the inside.
They’re the kind of cauliflower wings perfect for game night (football anyone?), an incredible appetizer, a side dish or even a fun dinner!
If you’re new around here (or maybe just haven’t explored my older content) you have to check out the rest of my cauliflower content too! I have 10 ways to transform cauliflower, but also all my favourite cauliflowers. Lemon Pepper Cauliflower Wings, Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Wings, General Tso Cauliflower Wings…!! Just to name a few.
Notes on the Ingredients:
These ingredients couldn’t be easier. Your standard dredging dip, which you can follow the process via the step by step photos below or the video in this post!
Cauliflower: If you’re using a large cauliflower head instead of medium, definitely double it! It’s hard for me to guess the size of yours, so size up your ingredients accordingly! 🙂
BBQ Sauce: the highlight of this dish! You can use your favourite sauce (makes it so easy to prep!) or you can make my strawberry bbq sauce. I promise you’ll love it! Either way, these things will taste phenomenal.
Flour, breadcrumbs: these work perfectly any version of these ingredients! Regular or gluten free flour or breadcrumbs – the choice is up to you.
Vegan milk: For the vegan milk, any kind will work. If you want the best battering result, might I suggest a thicker one like soy milk or cashew milk?
Seasonings: if you have a favourite combo of bbq seasonings, feel free to add them in!
How to Make BBQ Cauliflower Wings (Step by Step):
Using a knife, remove florets from the cauliflower (aka cut off the leaves and don’t use the stems). Chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces to resemble the size of the wings.
In a bowl, whisk the flour, vegan milk and sea salt, ground black pepper and garlic powder in a bowl to make the batter. If the batter is too thick, feel free to thin it out with some more milk and vice versa.
In a separate bowl, place the breadcrumbs. Line it up beside the batter bowl and the cauliflower (for a dredging station). Toss the cauliflower in the batter mixture (you can add them all at once), using a spatula or spoon to coat them all.
Transfer them to the breadcrumbs (you can do this in two or three batches) to coat completely.
Then place onto the baking sheet, giving each wing enough space. Repeat until all of the wings are coated. Bake for 22 minutes. Remove from oven.
Toss the wings in the sauce (I like to use a spatula to move them around to get properly coated) then using tongs or a spoon, remove and place back on the baking sheet OR brush the bbq sauce onto each wings. Bake for another 5 minutes for the sauce to soak into the wings.
Remove from oven and, and garnish with scallions! Eat immediately – enjoy!
Expert Tips & FAQ:
When you’re cutting the cauliflower off of the stem, don’t make them too small. Think: hand held wing-like pieces! You can even leave a bit of stem on at the end to hold on to!
BTW, and it’s a big by the way, I completely hacked my own recipe! You don’t have to dip each cauliflower wing in individually (like I used to in the past). Like in the video, you can just toss them all at once! It saves SO much time and energy (and you get to eat them faster!)!
If you have a very thick bbq sauce that can spread, definitely thin it out a bit with some water.
If you can’t have it, you can skip the cornstarch. But it does make the cauliflower extra crispy and crunchy by drawing out any excess liquid!
I highly recommend using a (affiliate link) silicone baking sheet for this. Nothing sticks to it, and it’s so easy to clean! This is the (affiliate link) one I use.
Related Recipes:
- Lemon Pepper Cauliflower Wings
- Mango Habanero Cauliflower Wings
- Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
- Bang Bang Cauliflower Wings
- Roasted Strawberry BBQ Sauce
Enjoy friends! If you make this BBQ Cauliflower Wings, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
BBQ Cauliflower Wings
BBQ Cauliflower Wings made with just 9 ingredients are the perfect cauliflower wings for Game Day Snacks and Appetizers, and any occasion! They're crispy, crunchy and coated in a saucy bbq sauce with just a few ingredients. Learn how to make these in HALF the time!!
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of cauliflower (if using a large head, you may need to double the batter and sauce quantities)
- 3/4 cup flour (all-purpose gluten free flour or regular all purpose flour)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vegan milk any kind works
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs seasoned with salt & pepper gluten-free breadcrumbs works too
- 1 1/2 cups bbq sauce (barbecue sauce) storebought or try my homemade recipe
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F/230° C.
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone baking sheet or greased foil.
- Using a knife, remove florets from the cauliflower (aka cut off the leaves and don't use the most of the stems. You can leave a little piece on at the ends to hold on to). Chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces to resemble the size of the wings.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, vegan milk, sea salt, ground black pepper and garlic powder in a bowl to make the batter. If the batter is too thick, feel free to thin it out with some more milk and vice versa. In a separate bowl, place the breadcrumbs. Line it up beside the batter bowl.
- Toss the cauliflower in the batter mixture (you can add them all at once), using a spatula or spoon to coat them all. Transfer them to the breadcrumbs (you can do this in two or three batches) to coat completely, then place onto the baking sheet, giving each wing enough space. Repeat until all of the wings are coated.
- Bake for 22 minutes. Please ensure your oven is completely preheated and hot.
- While baking, prepare the ingredients for the sauce by heating & whisking together. If you’re using store-bought bbq sauce, you may want to sightly thin it out with some water. Heat it up in a pot on the stove, or a large bowl in your microwave until warm. Allow it to cool before putting it on the wings.
- Remove from oven. Toss the wings in the sauce (I like to use a spatula to move them around to get properly coated) then using tongs or a spoon, remove and place back on the baking sheet OR brush the bbq sauce onto each wings. Bake for another 5 minutes for the sauce to soak into the wings.
- Remove from oven and, and garnish with scallions! Eat immediately – enjoy!
NOTES
Expert Tips & FAQ:
When you’re cutting the cauliflower off of the stem, don’t make them too small. Think: hand held wing-like pieces! You can even leave a bit of stem on at the end to hold on to!
If you can’t have it, you can skip the cornstarch. But it does make the cauliflower extra crispy and crunchy by drawing out any excess liquid!
I highly recommend using a (affiliate link) silicone baking sheet for this. Nothing sticks to it, and it’s so easy to clean! This is the (affiliate link) one I use.
Nutrition
Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 189mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
by Jessica
Excellent recipe. Use a bbq sauce you like and you can’t go wrong. Parchment paper burned in my oven, so I’d skip it and just soak the pans after.
Thanks so much E. We’re so happy that you enjoyed it!
I am almost 2 months late…but I made these for the Super Bowl and they were a hit! They were super crispy and saucy. Everything you hope a good cauli wing will be. Highly recommend!
Haha better late than never! We’re so happy that you enjoyed it, thank you.
Hi. I don’t use vegan milk but I’m thinking that regular milk, at least lactose-free milk would work fine yes? This look great! Thanks.
Hi Deb,
Yes that should work! Hope you enjoy!
These bbq cauliflower wings are the BOMB. They are so easy to make and tasty! Cauliflower wings are made quite often in our home & I was glad that I stumbled across this recipe. Definitely will be making it again ☺️👍🏾
We’re so happy that you stumbled across this recipe and we were able to help.
Hi Jess
Love your food! It’s there a way to use frozen cauliflower for this? I often buy frozen to cut down on food waste bc I don’t always have time and energy to cook. Ty!
Thanks so much for reading Coco we totally understand. You can thaw completely by leaving on the counter, blotting dry or put it in the oven for 5-8 mins at 275 degrees to remove excess liquid. After that you can just follow the rest of the recipe. I hope this helps!
Hello Jessica, these bbq wings are yummy! Thank you for the recipe. I was wondering if you ever froze left overs and how they were once thawed and reheated.
Hi Eldonna! We’re so happy that you found these yummy. We recommend that you freeze pre sauced if you have to. Pop it in the air fryer or oven to re heat, then you can add the sauce. I hope this helps.
Can you use frozen cauliflower? Like get the steamables bag, steam them, cool them down, then coat, toss, and bake/airfry/deep fry?
Hi Jai! Thanks so much for your comment. You can definitely use frozen I would recommend spacing them out on a baking sheet putting them in the oven and drying them out a little first pat them dry with a paper towel of dish rag. After that you can treat it like raw cauliflower then. I hope this helps.
Hello! This was my very first try and cauliflower wings and I think I may have goofed. The cauliflower was nice and crunchy before saucing them but after I removed them from the oven, they were almost gummy. Any idea what I could’ve done wrong? I didn’t have a brush for the sauce so maybe I over sauced it..
Hey Andrea! It sounds like you might’ve put the sauce on it while the sauce was still hot. It’s a bit hard to help when I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong in since I’m not with you in the kitchen but that would be my guess! I hope it helps, you get to re-try and enjoy!!
Great! Look so impressive! Must try this recipe.
Thank you so much Malissa! We’re so happy that you like it!