Vegan buffalo cauliflower that's crispy, flavorful and incredibly healthy! These wings are baked in the oven with a secret ingredient for the perfect texture.
It's crazy how easily you can use wholesome ingredients to give that perfect crisp! You're going to want to double this up because they go fast.
This post was originally published on November 6, 2017.
The addiction to these vegan cauliflower wings is legit. Once you start popping them in your mouth, you'll just keep on going. Except to stop and dip in my vegan ranch dressing. They go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Ingredients
Not sure if we should call these cauliflower wings, buffalo cauliflower, vegan "chicken" wings or what. But I do know that the flavor and crunch will hit the spot hard.
The ingredients you need to make vegan buffalo wings are:
- Cauliflower
- Vegan buffalo sauce
- Cornmeal
- Bread crumbs (gluten-free if needed)
- Hemp seeds
- Almond Flour
- Soda Water
- Baking Powder
- Seasonings
How To Make Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower
It's a pretty simple process for making this crispy buffalo cauliflower, here are the steps:
- Make the batter.
- Mix the crispy coating.
- Coat the cauliflower pieces in the batter then in the coating.
- Put on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake, coat with sauce, and bake some more.
- Dip and enjoy!
What to Serve With Cauliflower Wings
I love eating these vegan buffalo wings right from the pan with some Vegan Homemade Ranch Dressing, but when I take a moment to act like a grown adult, I put them together as a full meal with so many other things!
Pair them with any of the following appetizers or side dishes for a game day spread, party, or fun family dinner:
Recipes to Make With Healthy Buffalo Cauliflower
These wings are also perfect to use as a part in other recipes. These are some of my favorite ways to use them:
- Over a salad - pair with crisp greens, carrots, celery, tomatoes, avocados, and Vegan Ranch Dressing.
- Crispy buffalo cauliflower tacos - or simply fill soft tortillas with the cauliflower chicken wings and your favorite toppings.
- In a wrap - stuff your favorite burrito size tortilla with these wings, greens, and lots of crisp veggies!
- Buffalo Wing Sliders - I have a recipe for these in my Vegan Burgers and Burritos cookbook!
Tips for Cutting Cauliflower
So you have a head of cauliflower but no idea of how to cut it, never fear, I'm here!
- Start by removing the big leaves along the bottom.
- Wash the cauliflower, then shake out the excess water.
- Make one large cut through the head down the center, from top to bottom.
- Now you can cut the florets up into chunk size pieces.
- I prefer to keep my pieces a bit larger unless I'm making them for kids, in which case I'll cut them to nugget size.
- To get the look of a real buffalo wing, you want to include some of the stem.
Preparation tips
- Put the coating in a shallow baking dish, or a zip-top bag for a shake and bake option.
- You can add a small drizzle of oil to the batter if you want. It is definitely not needed but can add an extra crispness to the final product.
- The key to these crispy oven baked wings, is in the batter and coating. The soda water helps fluff up the batter, which helps keep on the crispy outer coating.
- Regular water can be used if you must avoid soda water, but the texture will change.
- The combination of cornmeal, breadcrumbs and hemp seeds gives the perfect amount of fat for that fried feel, plus crispness.
- You can use almond flour if you don't want to break out the hemp seeds, but I love the whole food fat hemp seeds give.
- Make sure the cauliflower wings are not touching on the baking sheet, the hot air needs to reach as much surface as possible.
Storage and Reheating Tips
These vegan buffalo wings are best served fresh. But, if you don't eat them all (like in case you lost all sense of taste for a hot minute), you can save them for later.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- The best way to reheat these is to pop them back into the oven! You can heat them in the regular oven or even in your toaster oven.
- An air fryer can also be used to reheat leftover buffalo cauliflower.
- You don't want to microwave or they will get mushy and soft. And we allllll know how I feel about soft mushy things.
How to Prep Vegan Buffalo Wings Ahead of Time
Honestly, this isn't the best prep ahead food. You really want this nice and fresh, especially the batter since the fluffiness in the soda water goes away after some time.
However, there are a few things you can do to prepare in advance to make the process day of a bit shorter:
- Make the outer coating and keep in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Wash, dry, and cut the cauliflower. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Make the homemade vegan buffalo sauce (or buy store bought). The homemade recipe will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month!
Common Questions
There are many ways people create a non wing wing. Some use seitan (not a fan), others use veggies, and some use tofu. For me, my top choice in both texture and flavor is... CAULIFLOWER.
Cauliflower really doesn't have much flavor as it is, so it's a great vehicle for loads of flavor. It really holds onto sauces and when dressed up in a crispy coating, it crisps up perfectly with a great texture.
Traditionally, buffalo sauce is a combination of hot sauce and butter, along with some other spices and seasonings. It’s pretty easy to create a vegan version by simply using vegan butter.
But of course being me, that was too easy. So I created a homemade buffalo sauce without butter!
First off you need to wash it. Then, cut away the leaves and stem. Then cut or break apart the florets into your desired size.
Not using the batter and crispy coating combo can result in baked cauliflower wings that are soggy. Also, make sure to bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at the recommended temperature.
The best ways to reheat cauliflower wings is in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer.
More Vegan Cauliflower Recipes
As you can see with this cauliflower wings recipe, cauliflower is one of those great versatile ingredients that can be made into anything! There's no reason for it to be boring. Try out these other plant based cauliflower recipes to keep things interesting:
Healthy Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (medium-size)
- ¾ - 1 cup vegan buffalo sauce , or any cayenne pepper hot sauce like Franks
CRISPY COATING:
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- ¾ cup bread crumbs (gluten-free if needed)
- 6 tablespoon hemp seeds or almond flour , grind the hemp seeds for best results (see notes)
- 6 teaspoon dried parsley
- 6 teaspoon garlic powder
BATTER:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup vegan buffalo sauce , or any cayenne pepper hot sauce like Franks
- 1 cup sparkling soda water
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- drizzle oil , optional (see notes)
Serve with:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C).
- Slice the cauliflower into large slider-size pieces. Or cut into nugget size if making for kids.
- Make the crispy coating by mixing together the cornmeal, bread crumbs, ground hemp seeds (or almond flour), parsley and garlic powder, then place it in a shallow baking dish. You can also put it into a large plastic bag for the shake and bake option.
- Make the batter by combining the almond flour, buffalo cayenne pepper hot sauce, water and baking powder in a bowl until fully mixed. Add a drizzle of oil if you’d like. See notes for kid friendly batter.
- Using one hand for the batter and one for the coating (this helps avoid clumping of the coating), dip each cauliflower piece in the batter then place in the coating dish and cover with coating. Place each piece on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Make sure to evenly spread out the pieces.
- If using the plastic bag, simply place the batter coated cauliflower into the bag and shake to coat in the topping. It should all fit but do it in parts if need be, just make sure to only use half of the coating so that it doesn't all get wet.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and drizzle about ½ cup (120 ml) hot sauce on top of the cauliflower pieces, trying to coat the top sides well. Using a pastry brush can help.
- Flip them over and drizzle the rest of the hot sauce on top of the other sides, trying to coat them well. Put them back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until they’re crispy.
- Serve fresh!
Notes
- You can use almond flour instead of hemp seeds to make is easier, but I like the final texture the hemp seeds give because of their natural oils.
- I use a fine grained almond flour, but because this isn't a baked good, any almond flour would work.
- You can add a small drizzle of oil to the batter if you want. It is definitely not needed but can add an extra crispness to the final product.
- This makes about 30 pieces, depending on how small you cut the cauliflower. Serving size is about 5 pieces.
- To make these kid friendly, for the batter, use 1 cup milk of choice, 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 cup almond flour. Whisk well. You can also add some of the parsley and garlic powder into the batter if you want too. Don't drizzle it in hot sauce part way through baking, simply bake for 30-35 minutes. Other than that everything else is the same!
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Layna
hey love! what can i use in replace of soda water?
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Lanya! You can skip it and use regular water but the carbonation help the batter texture and helps with a crispier end result so just keep that in mind.