These Baked Cauliflower Wings with buffalo sauce are spicy, packed with flavor, and perfect to bring to parties! Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. They’re the perfect vegan appetizer that can be made gluten-free as well.
Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
These cauliflower wings are easy and way healthier than the non-vegan fried version. Baking the wings makes them less greasy, but they still come out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
I’m so excited to share my favorite game-day appetizer. Growing up, I’d always eat wings and pizza with my dad as we watched football (or soccer as the Americans call it). I’m not a huge sports girl, but I always loved going to parties for food. Specifically the wings, pizza, and chips with dip!
Cauliflower is not chicken, obviously, but the texture and flavors are still delicious. Every time a non-vegan family member or friend tries these wings, they’re obsessed and sometimes surprised it’s cauliflower. It’s fun showing people vegan food is amazing.
Crispy Cauliflower Wings Ingredients:
- 1 head of cauliflower: About 4 to 5 cups of florets, cut into small bite-sized pieces you can evenly coat in batter (not so small that it’ll crumble apart).
Batter Ingredients for Cauliflower
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened plant milk: Soy is my preferred milk of choice. It resembles dairy milk the most when baking because of its high protein content. I always keep a carton in my fridge.
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour: If you’re gluten-free, swap this out for a gluten-free flour. Add 1-2 tablespoons extra if the batter is too wet. The longer the batter sits, the thicker it will get.
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast: This gives a cheesiness to recipes without the dairy! It adds so much flavor to any savory dish. I use this one: Bragg Premium Nutritional Yeast Seasoning.
- 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
Vegan Buffalo Glaze
- 1 tablespoon of vegan butter, melted
- 1/2 cup of Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
How to make Gluten-Free Cauliflower Wings:
- Instead of using 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, use a gluten-free version such as chickpea flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour. I recommend these:
- Chickpea Flour: This gave it a delicious crispy crust! Get it here: Stone Ground Garbanzo Bean Flour.
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: This is a great gluten-free substitute for all baking. Get it here: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
How to Make Vegan Cauliflower Wings
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit or 230 degrees Celsius. Chop the cauliflower into florets. Make sure the pieces are not too small because you will be dipping each piece into the batter. Making them too small will have the cauliflower crumbling in the batter and not create “wings.”
Cauliflower Wings Batter:
In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour (or gluten-free substitute), 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, and spices: 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of onion powder, 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
Then pour in 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of soy milk into the bowl of dry ingredients. A thick batter will form. If the batter is too wet, add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour. Over time as the batter sits, it will thicken up as well.
Dip your cauliflower pieces into the batter, fully coating all the sides. Tap each floret on the edge of the bowl to get rid of excess batter. Place each floret on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or use a reusable non-stick baking sheet. I’ve been using this one for years and I get it here: Amazon Basics Silicone Mats.
Bake for 30 minutes, then while baking, mix 1/2 cup of Franks Hot Sauce and 1 tablespoon of melted vegan butter. Once the timer goes off, remove the wings from the oven and coat all the pieces in the butter hot sauce mixture with a basting brush. Cover the top and bottom of the wings with sauce. Then place the wings back in the oven for 25 minutes or until it looks crispy and slightly blackened.
Once you remove them from the oven, add leftover wing sauce on top if you want really saucy wings. If you want them to stay really crispy then keep the extra sauce on the side for dipping. Topping the wings with some green onion and chives is also delicious if you have that on hand. Serve some vegan ranch or blue cheese dip on the side, and let me know in the comments what your favorite dip is!
How to store leftover cauliflower wings:
If you actually have some leftovers after your game day party, the best way to store these cauliflower wings is in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The best way to reheat them is either in an air-fryer or in the oven because this will make them crispy again. You can microwave them, but they will only get hot and not retain the crispiness they once had.
More vegan appetizers:
- Spinach Artichoke Rolls: Spinach artichoke bread rolls are the perfect appetizer. Easy to make, delicious, and sure to please any crowd. If you love spinach artichoke dip, you’ll love these rolls!
- Fall Harvest Salad: Enjoy the autumn season with this delicious Fall Harvest Salad! This festive salad has honey crisp apples, pecans, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and an easy dijon vinaigrette. A perfect side for Thanksgiving!
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole: This Green Bean Casserole is the ultimate side dish for Thanksgiving. It’s creamy, crunchy, and carnivore approved! I’ve made this vegan green bean casserole for my family for four years, and they all say it’s the best side at Thanksgiving and are always surprised that it’s vegan.
Video on How To Make Buffalo Baked Cauliflower Wings
I’d love to see your recreations if you give this Buffalo Cauliflower Wings a try. Also, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @Marias.Munchies & #MariasMunchies
These baked cauliflower wings with buffalo sauce are the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer to serve at game day! Easy to make and uses under ten ingredients.
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Baked Cauliflower Wings (Buffalo Style)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Baked Cauliflower Wings with buffalo sauce are spicy, packed with flavor, and perfect to bring to parties! Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. They’re the perfect vegan appetizer that can be made gluten-free as well.
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped (about 4–5 cups of florets)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour*)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup water
Buffalo Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
- ½ cup of Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 Fahrenheit (230 C), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable baking sheet.
- To a large bowl, whisk together soy milk, water, all-purpose flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. (Add 1-2 tbsps of flour if it looks overly runny. It should be the consistency of pancake batter)
- Dip each cauliflower floret into the batter and evenly coat it. Tap the floret on the side of the bowl to remove the excess batter and place it on the baking sheet. Evenly spread out all the pieces.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- To make the Buffalo glaze, mix melted vegan butter and Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce in a medium bowl.
- After baking for 30 minutes, coat the wings in Buffalo sauce with a basting brush and flip them over.
- Put them back in the oven for an additional 25 minutes.
- They’ll look crispy and slightly blackened. Let them cool for a couple of minutes before serving it alongside some vegan ranch dip.
Notes
Gluten-Free Flour Options:
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: Appetizer
⭐️ RATE THE RECIPE ⭐️ and share any suggestions or feedback in the comments below. Have questions? I will post your question and respond quickly. Your feedback is valuable because it helps me fine-tune the recipe and help others!
