Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Meatballs
These vegan Buffalo cauliflower meatballs will be a hit at your next party, but they’re excellent for weekday dinners and meal prep too! Spicy, tender, and full of flavour, you’ll think of endless ways to put them to use.
Consider this Buffalo cauliflower meatball recipe the happy marriage of my Vegan Meatballs and Buffalo Cauliflower Wings. It’s a match made in heaven, friends, and we’ve been making these tender, delicious meatballs for years now! I borrowed the base of my Quinoa Cauliflower Burgers, rolled it into meatball form, and bathed them in spicy Buffalo sauce. (“Bathed in Buffalo sauce” might just be my 4 favourite words in the English language.)
Why These Buffalo Cauliflower Meatballs Are Spicy Perfection
If you love recipes like Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip and Cheesy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings, you’re going to be a BIG fan of these vegan Buffalo cauliflower meatballs too. Here’s what makes them so irresistible.
- Wholesome ingredients. No fake meat here! The roasted cauliflower is magnificent and mimics the usual chicken in Buffalo meatballs, and quinoa adds a lovely texture and protein. Breadcrumbs and vegan egg replacer bind it all together.
- Awesome flavour. Roasted cauliflower, garlic, and onions add deliciousness to the meatballs themselves, then pan-frying adds another layer of flavour. And then there’s the Buffalo sauce! Spicy, tangy, and perfect for taming with a drizzle of Vegan Ranch.
- So many serving options. You can enjoy these vegan meatballs alone, in a hoagie sprinkled with Vegan Feta or blue cheese, on toothpicks for a game day appetizer, or with Cauliflower Rice or quinoa in a meal bowl.
Notes on Ingredients
Let’s get cooking! Here are the ingredients you’ll need for vegan Buffalo meatballs. Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
For the Vegan Meatballs:
- Cauliflower – Roasted cauliflower is tender and has an almost nutty flavour to it, which makes these meatballs so much more delicious than using raw cauliflower.
- Cooked quinoa – Learn more: How to Cook Quinoa.
- Breadcrumbs – Use gluten-free breadcrumbs to make these meatballs gluten-free.
- Egg replacer – I like to use my fave egg replacer from Bob’s Red Mill. You could also use Flax Eggs, but I would remove a tablespoon of water per flax egg to make them better binders.
- Red onion – If you happen to have yellow onion on hand, that’s fine too.
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic
- Coconut oil – Or another oil you like to cook with.
For the Buffalo Sauce:
- Hot sauce – Frank’s Red Hot is the classic choice for Buffalo recipes.
- Vegan butter – I like to use my Vegan Butter recipe.
- Garlic powder
- Maple syrup – Just a touch for sweetness to balance the heat.
How to Make Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Meatballs
Now that you’ve got your ingredients ready, it’s time to make some meatballs!
- Make the sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a pan set over medium-low heat. Warm, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is smooth.
- Roast the cauliflower. Drizzle the florets with oil on a sheet pan and roast for 15 to 20 minutes at 450ºF.
- Rice the cauliflower. Add the cauliflower to a food processor and pulse until it’s well-chopped. Measure out a cup for the recipe. (Use the rest for meal bowls or as a side dish!)
- Make the meatball mixture. Return the cauliflower to the food processor with all the rest of the meatball ingredients except the oil. Pulse to combine.
- Form the meatballs. Roll the mixture into tight balls that hold together.
- Cook the meatballs. Melt the coconut oil in a pan set over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until nicely browned on all sides.
- Make them saucy. Lower the heat and pour in the sauce. Roll the meatballs around the pan until they’re all coated, then serve.
Tips for the Best Vegan Buffalo Meatballs
I’ve got a few additional pointers to help you make sure this recipe turns out perfect!
- Make your own breadcrumbs. I never buy them! When my homemade Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread or bakery bread goes stale, I freeze it. Then when I’m ready, I toast it to thaw and pulse it into breadcrumbs in my food processor. The flavour and texture is so much better than store-bought.
- Mince the onion and garlic well. You want the onion and garlic to be evenly distributed throughout the meatball mixture so it flavours them evenly.
- Compact the meatballs when you roll them. Use gentle pressure rather than rolling the meatballs loosely. This way, they won’t fall apart when you’re cooking them in the pan.
Serving Suggestions
Here’s some inspiration:
- Transfer the meatballs to a crockpot with the sauce and turn on the keep warm setting. Serve with toothpicks for a party.
- Make a sub by stuffing the meatballs into a hoagie roll with an extra drizzle of sauce, ranch, and vegan cheese.
- Layer them into meal bowls. Use the extra cauliflower rice as a base, then add in the meatballs, Kale Slaw, and drizzle ranch over the top.
- Make a Buffalo cauliflower meatball pizza by spreading the sauce over Pizza Dough, then adding vegan mozzarella and crumbled meatballs. Drizzle with Buffalo sauce and ranch before serving and add some chives or sliced green onions.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Transfer the Buffalo cauliflower meatballs and sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the meatballs with the sauce, in an airtight container or freezer bag. They’ll keep up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- To reheat: Warm up the meatballs in the microwave or in a skillet set over medium heat.
More Vegan Meatball Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make these vegan Buffalo meatballs, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Buffalo Cauliflower Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted cauliflower, instructions below; 120g
- 1 cup cooked quinoa, 137g
- 1 cup breadcrumbs, 100g
- 2 Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacers OR flax eggs, if flax eggs, less one tablespoon of liquid per flax egg
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced, 114g
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1g
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt, 4g
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil, 20mL
Buffalo Sauce
- ½ cup vinegar based hot sauce, such as Frank's hot sauce, 120mL
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, 14g
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 3g
- 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup, 30–45mL
Instructions
Buffalo Sauce
- Mix all the ingredients together other medium low heat in a sauce pan until completely incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
Vegan Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C. Cut the cauliflower’s stem off, and cut into even-sized florets. Drizzle the cauliflower with maybe a teaspoon of oil. Roast the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes in the oven. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- In a food processor, add the cauliflower and pulse it until it’s completely riced. Remove from the food processor. You only need 1 cup of this for this recipe. You can use the rest for a cauliflower rice recipe
- Add the 1 cup of riced cauliflower and all the other meatball ingredients EXCEPT the coconut oil. You can pulse them or mix them together until they form into a tight ball, combining everything. You want to ensure they are so mixed together that you’re not seeing individual cauliflower or quinoa florets, it’s all one big mixture. That’s how you’ll ensure the meatballs will hold together!
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium high heat. While it’s heating, use a tablespoon measurer to form one raw meatball and shape into a ball with your fingers. You can place them on a plate while the oil heats.
- Add one meatball to test the oil. Cook on one side for about 1-2 minutes, turning on all sides onto fully cooked inside and out, about 4 minutes. You can add as many meatballs as can fit in the pan without overcrowding it, cooking them all for about 4-5 minutes turning on each side, to cook them through.
- Lower/turn the heat off. When the heat has cooled down, add in the sauce. You want to do this because if the pan is too hot, the sauce will spew and the heat can be dangerous while so hot.
- Coat the meatballs in the sauce and then remove the pan from the stove. Serve the meatballs and enjoy!! You can enjoy these vegan meatballs alone, in a nice hoagie or with cauliflower rice or quinoa on the side, you know, for a double down. You could even have them on toothpicks as an appetiser at your Super Bowl party!
Notes
- Refrigerator: Transfer the Buffalo cauliflower meatballs and sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the meatballs in the sauce, in an airtight container or freezer bag. They’ll keep up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- To reheat: Warm up the meatballs in the microwave or in a skillet set over medium heat.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
