These Buffalo Cauliflower Wings are made with ONLY 10 main ingredients and are the perfect for Game Day Snacks and Appetizers, and any occasion!! It’s crunchy and crispy on the outside and the perfect texture on the inside. To top it off, the buffalo sauce is a sweet and spicy kick that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser! Learn how to make these in HALF the time!!
It’s that time of year (all year to be honest) where I profess my undying love for all things cauliflower. These cauliflower cauliflower wings have continued my love affair. The spicy, crispy, sweet and savoury notes on this is out of this world!
Notes on Ingredients
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! 🙂
Hot Sauce: It’s important to use a hot sauce that you like. It should also be suitable to your taste buds. Vinegar based hot sauces tend to blend perfectly with the melted butter so those are highly recommended.
Vegan Butter: Any Vegan butter works. Adding vegan butter aids in reducing the heat of the hot sauce.
Maple syrup: Adding this small amount of maple syrup also works to reduce the spiciness of the hot sauce and adds a lovely sweet kick.
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?
How to Make Buffalo Cauliflower Wings (Step by Step)
This recipe uses easy to find ingredients to produce big flavour notes. The process involves standard dredging. There are step by step photos that can aid you along the way.
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. While wings are baking whisk sauce ingredients together.
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. Bake for 5 mins. Remove, cool slightly and enjoy!
Expert Tips and FAQs:
When 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!)!
Although it isn’t recommended, it is possible to use frozen florets if it’s all you have/can find. To do this, the florets have to be completely thawed, then oven dried before you use it. To ensure that they are completely dry, bake them at 350°F for 5-10 mins. Pat dry after removing, then proceed with the recipe!
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.
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!
Serving Suggestions
These cauliflower wings pair well with my vegan ranch dressing. It’s the perfect way to cool some of that sweet heat.
The wings go great with chopped veggies such as celery or carrots.
More Vegan Game Day Snacks
As game day approaches, these cauliflower wings are must on the table. It works as a stand-alone or a treat to pass around to the family. The best part is that these cauliflower wings work perfectly with the other “wings” I have on the blog.
You can make a platter with your family by adding the following:
- BBQ Cauliflower Wings
- Lemon Pepper Cauliflower Wings
- Crispy Cauliflower Tacos with Chipotle Crema
- Sticky Spicy Sesame Cauliflower Wings
To find even more me approved cauliflower wings to mix and match, you can look through all my cauliflower recipes!
WHAT I USED FOR THIS RECIPE:
Enjoy friends! If you make this Buffalo 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!
Buffalo Cauliflower Wings (Vegan)
These Buffalo Cauliflower Wings are made with ONLY 10 main ingredients and are the perfect for Game Day Snacks and Appetizers, and any occasion!! It’s crunchy and crispy on the outside and the perfect texture on the inside. To top it off, the buffalo sauce is a sweet and spicy kick that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser! Learn how to make these in HALF the time!!
Ingredients
Cauliflower Wings
- 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 vegan milk (unsweetened) any kind works
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten-free breadcrumbs works too) seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
Sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar based hot sauce such as Franks hot sauce, or any kind
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
To Serve With: The Dip (Ranch Dressing)
Instructions
Instructions
Cauliflower Wings
- Preheat oven to 450°F/230° C.
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone baking sheet or greased foil (I highly recommend a silicone baking sheet).
- 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 whisking together.
- 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. Bake for another 5 minutes for the sauce to soak into the wings.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately with a cool vegan ranch dressing (cooling agent is essential!). Enjoy!
Sweet Buffalo Sauce
- While the wings are baking, in a small pot over high heat, mix all the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 to 3 minutes, which helps to bring out more flavour notes of the ingredients. Remove from heat. Allow it to cool before putting it on the wings.Taste a little bit to decide if you need more sweetener to balance out the heat; if so, add a tablespoon at a time until your desired heat. Please note that especially depending on the hot sauce you use, these wings are HOT so take caution!
NOTES
Expert Tips and FAQs:
When 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!)!
Although it isn’t recommended, it is possible to use frozen florets if it’s all you have/can find. To do this, the florets have to be completely thawed, then oven dried before you use it. To ensure that they are completely dry, bake them at 350°F for 5-10 mins. Pat dry after removing, then proceed with the recipe!
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.
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!
Serving Suggestions
These cauliflower wings pair well with my vegan ranch dressing. It’s the perfect way to cool some of that sweet heat.
The wings go great with chopped veggies such as celery or carrots.
Nutrition
Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
by Jessica
Recently started to my transition into adapting a vegan lifestyle. When I came across this recipe, it had to be the first vegan dish I made. …1st time was good. 2nd time was better. I already like cauliflower but man the THIRD week in a row I made these, it SMACKED!!! Thank you for this bomb recipe. It has really encouraged me to try new things & look forward to giving vegan recipes a try.
Going to try the tacos in the near future!
6/5
Hi Sierra,
Oh I’m SO happy to hear this!! I just made a new flavour today – sweet and sour, so can’t wait to share that! You’re so welcome and thank you again for your incredibly kind words!!
God, this is delicious. Turns out there’s not vinegar based hot sauce in German supermarkets so I used spicy barbecue sauce instead. I needed more than the amount in your recipe but it was soooooo delicious. Thank you SO much for saving me from a desolate, cheer- and wingless life (kidding, it’s actually pretty great, but still, spicy wings!!!).
Haha! Thank you Ruth we’re so happy that you enjoyed our cauliflower wings! Thats interesting about the hot sauce options in German Supermarkets, Spicy BBQ sounds like a great choice in substitutes.
I just made these for my husband and I, and we both absolutely loved them! They’re crispy, but “meaty”. We do like spicy food, so we might just be used to eating it but they were a perfect amount of spicy. Amazing recipe! Would recommend.
Hi Morgan. We’re bursting with smiles at this comment thank you for your kind words! We’re glad that both you and your husband enjoyed them!!! Thanks so much again for your comment!
I made the buffalo wings, gluten free, and they were yummy! I made the mistake of using an olive oil spray ??♂️. They were kinda soggy, I was thinking of next time broiling them.
How do you toast your bread crumbs?
Hi Ryan,
I’m so happy to hear and yes, no to olive oil, it just doesn’t work here for some reason and will definitely cause that sogginess.
I toast my breadcrumbs in my toasted oven. I spread them out and toast them like I would a slice of toast. Makes it very close to panko breadcrumbs. I hope that helps!!
These Cauliflower “wings” were outstanding! We were surprised at how chewy and crispy and wonderful. I would recommend to everyone!
Hi Kim,
Aww thank you so much that means so much!!
Omg I found this recipe on pinterest and made them for a family picnic….. Wow! They were such a hit, very spicy but so so good.
I did change the recipe a little by adding some fig, onion and balsamic jam to the maple hot sauce and some gluten/dairy free corn flakes into the bread crumb and it was so good.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Cassia,
Aww I’m so happy to hear that!! That jam sounds divine and like the corn flakes idea! You’re so very welcome!!
Did you use frank’s buffalo sauce or frank’s red hot sauce? I have the frank’s buffalo sauce already in my fridge 🙂
Hi Hayley,
I used the hot sauce. It looks like the buffalo sauce has all the additives in, so if you’d rather use that you definitely can use it in place of the entire sauce! My sauce has a little bit of a sweet and spicy so you can amp it up the way you desire! I hope that helps, and that you enjoy!!
Thank you! I’m making these next week for a party. Will let you know how they turn out 🙂
I used a large head of cauliflower and 1.5x all the batter and sauce ingredients. These were sooo spicy but good. I’m glad I served them as an appetizer though!
Awesome Haley! We’re really smiling at this review. Thanks so much for reading!
We loved this! I made this tonight and shared it with my husband and a friend . None of us like the vinegar style hot sauce, BUT, it was great in this recipe. We agreed this recipe is a keeper! Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Kirsten,
Thank you SO much!! So happy to hear that – you’re so welcome!!
This is the best vegan cauliflower wings recipe I’ve tried. Served as an appetizer at a dinner party with many non-vegans and everyone loved them. I served with daiya vegan blue cheese and ranch dressings. So good! thank you,
Thank you so very much Mary!! You’re so welcome!!