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Looking for the best crispy buffalo cauliflower recipe? You’ve come to the right place! These oil-free, baked buffalo cauliflower wings are perfectly crispy and truly addicting! They make for a delicious vegan appetizer for football games, parties, and potlucks. These buffalo cauliflower bites are great in wraps and salads, and delicious by themselves. They’re especially tasty dipped in your favorite vegan ranch, vegan blue cheese, or hummus. Mmmmm!
What Makes This the Best Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe?
Firstly, I love this buffalo cauliflower recipe because the outside truly turns out crispy thanks to the breadcrumb coating. I like these healthy, gluten-free breadcrumbs made with chickpeas for some added protein.
While some restaurants offer buffalo cauliflower as a meatless appetizer option, many times the batter contains eggs and/or milk.
Not these buffalo cauliflower wings! They contain no milk or eggs and are perfectly crispy on the outside! They’re a great healthy vegan snack loved by people of all diets.
I’ve made buffalo cauliflower dozens of times over the last few years. I am happy to share that this is the best version I’ve tried to date!
This crispy buffalo cauliflower bite recipe is vegan, oil-free, and easy to make. I enjoy making these for family and friends because I love seeing how much meat-eaters enjoy them too. One commenter on Pinterest even said these were mistaken for real buffalo chicken bites! While I can’t promise that you will think the same, I can assure you this will become your favorite cauliflower recipe 😉
Crispy buffalo cauliflower bites are a delicious, nutritious, and cruelty-free alternative to traditional boneless buffalo wings. They are filled with flavor, have the perfect texture, and you wouldn’t even know they’re made with a vegetable. Win, win, win!
What Sauce Goes Best With Cauliflower Bites?
After trying many brands, I’ve finally found my go-to vegan buffalo sauce. I love this buffalo sauce because the ingredients list is completely simple and clean, whole 30 approved and paleo, and truly the best tasting buffalo sauce I’ve come across. I always go for the medium buffalo flavor, but this brand carries a hot buffalo flavor as well if you are braver than I am! If spice isn’t your thing, you can also find a mild buffalo flavor.
As far as a dipping sauce, I personally prefer more buffalo sauce (anyone else!?) But my family and friends love this vegan blue cheese. If you like, vegan ranch goes well with these crispy buffalo cauliflower wings, too!
Is Buffalo Cauliflower Healthy?
Cauliflower is not only a diverse veggie to cook with, but it is also a nutrient-dense powerhouse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, consuming powerhouse fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. One large head of cauliflower is an excellent source of fiber, potassium, antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, and more. Another win!
Now that I’ve convinced you that you absolutely have to try these crispy buffalo cauliflower bites, I know you’ll love this easy and delicious recipe.
The best part? These buffalo cauliflower wings make the best leftovers, and turn out almost more delicious and crispy the second time around! Simply pop in the oven or toaster oven at 400° for 20-25 minutes and they taste as good as (or better) than new.
If you like vegan recipes with a kick, you will also love my easy zesty vegan tacos!
Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower cut into florets
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk or other plant-based milk of choice
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 1/4 cup buffalo sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper together until well-combined. Add soy milk and mix until well-combined to form batter. In a separate bowl, add breadcrumbs.
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and coat completely in the batter.
- Once coated in batter, dip the cauliflower florets into the breadcrumbs until completely coated.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400°, flipping cauliflower bites halfway through.
- Carefully remove cauliflower bites from oven and coat in buffalo sauce. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, once again flipping halfway through.
- Optional: Broil for 2-4 minutes on high for extra crispiness.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and celery sticks. Enjoy!
Most importantly, don’t forget to pin the recipe for later!
Okay this sounds like the perfect SuperBowl snack! My husband Ryan is already requesting them!😁
Definitely perfect for the Super Bowl! I hope you and Ryan love them 🙂
Have you tried making these in an air fryer.
Hi Terri, I personally have not. But I had a Pinterest user message me to let me know that she did. She said they turned out great!