My Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings are so easy and delicious! Just cauliflower florets coated in a crispy spiced crust served with hot buffalo sauce and a side of Vegan Blue Cheese Dip. Oh, hi there good lookin'. I know exactly what you got cookin', and I like it, I like it a lot. Hot dang these are good little dudes. I made sure of that for you by testing them three times, just to be sure, for testing purposes only, clearly.
There is just something about eating with your hands, sauciness dripping down your arm, flavour punching bar food deliciousness that I just NEED every now and then. The need is real. I love diving into a plate of ooey gooey nachos, snacking on crispy baked French fries, feasting on a giant BBQ pulled jackfruit sandwich, OMG getting so hungry, I just love it all.
Then this happened. And by this, I mean Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings. Now I've had cauliflower wings or bites in various different ways, and they are delicious, but these crispy buffalo cauliflower wings just went from delicious all the way up to why am I not eating these every day, good. Yeah, I know, it makes me really excited too.
How did I make them so different, you ask? My super-secret (internet published) technique is that instead of just a simple flour batter, I went another step and coated them in a spice cornflake crust. The result: crispy (but not fried), spiced, addictive, buffalo sauce, must...not...eat...the entire plate. Can't resist!
Common Questions:
Can I freeze Buffalo Cauliflower Wings?
Yes, you can, Though, it takes a few steps. First, wait for them to cool and then place them on a baking sheet and cover with foil. Ensure they are not touching and then place them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, take them off of the tray and place them in either a sealable freezer bag or an air-tight container and put back in the freezer.
What else can I serve with Buffalo Cauliflower Wings?
In addition to my Vegan Blue Cheese Dip you can serve them with celery sticks or carrot sticks or if you are looking for a dip other than blue cheese, check out my Creamy Garlic Dip here.
To Make Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings:
Add the corn flakes and spices to a food processor. Pulse several times until the corn flakes are broken down, but still have texture. This is where the crunch comes in so don't turn it to powder!
Take three large bowls:
In bowl 1: Add the all-purpose flour.
In bowl 2: Mix together the chia (or flax) and water.
In bowl 3: Add the cornflake mixture.
Now rinse your cauliflower florets so they are wet. Take a handful at a time and drop them in the flour and toss to coat.
Next drop them in the chia mixture and toss to coat.
Finally, toss them in the corn flake mixture.
Lay them out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake for 20 t0 25 minutes until crispy and cooked all the way through. You can test doneness by piercing a floret with a knife to see if it's tender all the way through.
To Make the Buffalo Sauce:
Simply mix melted vegan butter with the hot sauce. You can pour the buffalo sauce directly on the cauliflower, but it will soften the crust. If you want to keep your Buffalo Cauliflower Wings super crispy, simply serve the buffalo sauce on the side and dip as you go.
My Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings pair perfectly with my Vegan Blue Cheese Dip.
These crispy buffalo cauliflower wings are...
- Crunchy on the outside
- tender on the inside
- flavor packed
- spicy
More delicious cauliflower recipes you might enjoy:
Vegan Butter Cauliflower
Everything Bagel Cauliflower Steak
Maple Mustard Cauliflower Salad
Quick Roasted Cauliflower
If you try this recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon Appetegan!
Sam Turnbull
Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower
Ingredients
Bowl 1:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (or all-purpose gluten-free flour blend)
Bowl 2:
- 2 tablespoons ground chia or ground flax
- ¾ cup warm water
Bowl 3:
- 4 cups corn flakes
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the rest:
- 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- ½ cup franks red hot (or other similar hot sauce)
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F (200C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Grab three big bowls. In the first bowl, add the flour. In the second bowl, mix together the chia and water. For the third bowl, add the corn flakes, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse several times until broken down, but there is still some texture. Pour the corn flake mixture into the last bowl.
- Rinse your cauliflower florets so they are wet. Take a handful at a time and drop them in the flour and toss to coat. Next drop them in the chia mixture and toss to coat. Finally, toss them in the corn flake mixture. Spread them out on the parchment paper lined baking sheet so that they aren't touching. Repeat with all of the florets until you have used up all of your ingredients.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and crusty, and the cauliflower is tender all the way through. You can test doneness by piercing a floret with a knife to see if it's tender all the way through
- To make the buffalo sauce, simply mix the melted vegan butter with the hot sauce. You can pour the buffalo sauce directly on the cauliflower, but it will soften the crust. If you want to keep them super crispy, simply serve the buffalo sauce on the side and dip as you go.
Dee says
Would love to know if there’s a way to convert this to air fryer for extra crunch? Had fried Buffalo cauliflower at a restaurant and been craving it ever since!
Sam Turnbull says
For sure, you can use a calculator such as this one to estimate the temp and time. 🙂
Patricia G says
Enjoyed the crispiness of the coating butI would prefer the cauliflower to be more soft. Does it mean cooking it for longer, io at a lower temperature? Also I found the chia mix with water was pretty clumpy even after much stirring. think I might use aqua faba the next time. Not as nutritious but I think might work better.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes just cook it longer, you can also try cutting your cauliflower florets into smaller pieces.
Emma C. says
Really delicious. So unusual. Can't believe how filling they are too. I made the all the sauces including my own mayo, next time I think I should make the sauces first, as I slightly over-cooked it while I was making all the sauces so am not sure I achieved exactly the right crispness or it could be that I don't have a food processor so the cornflakes weren't the right grind? Amazing recipe though. Thank you for sharing :-))
Falon says
Amazing! I did add panko and seasoned the flour the same as breading. I also sprayed it good with non stick cooking spray before I put in oven for 20 minutes . Honestly they came out amazing! Make sure there not to big. Takes longer for them to cook.
Gwen Card says
Sam - these we're absolutely amazing!! Hands down THE best crispy cauliflower recipe I've tried (and there have been a few). I chose not make the buffalo sauce this time as I was really craving just the 'crisp' but definitely will try for the next time(s). For fun, since I had a few large white button mushrooms to use up I thought I'd use the extra mixture to coat them ... bake them for the same amount of time ... so-o-o-o-o good, also! Cheers to you!
Silver says
Wow!!! This recipe is epic! Halfway through my pregnancy I found myself unable to digest gluten and really missed cauli wings, the brown rice flour version simply did not do it for me... but your recipe is better than the white flour version I craved so much. Thank you Sam 🙂 I've been making this recipe every week for a month now and my tiny bebe dances in my womb each time I eat it because it's so satisfying and leaves me feeling wonderful.