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 SteakÂ
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
(click stars to vote)
Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower
Servings: (makes about 18 - 20 florets)
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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 black 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.
Catrina says
Would coconut flour work instead of all-purpose or gluten-free flour?
Sam Turnbull says
I've never tried it, but I think it should work fine.
Megan Jolic says
OMG!!! I've made buffalo cauliflower before but NOTHING like this!!! AMAZING! My daughter (vegetarian) said, "mom, this is my new vegan chicken!" I LOVED it plain & with the sauce. Thank you for the suggestion to drizzle the buffalo sauce to keep the cauliflower crispy. I can not wait to make this again!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Megan! Thrilled you and your daughter loved it so much, thanks for the lovely comment 🙂
Irene Horvath says
Sorry to highjack this post but I am not able to see how to start a post of my own?? I love this recipe!! We have tried it out on friends and family and they all rave about it. To make it gluten-free we subbed the flour with cornstarch. It worked very well. Thanks for all you do for us!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! So thrilled you love it so much, Irene 🙂
Dagmar Millan says
Have you made this in the air fryer?
Sam Turnbull says
Nope! I don't have an air fryer, but I am sure they would work fine.
Stephannie says
These were Yum-mazing! My hubby and 10yo daughter devoured them. He actually said, "We never have to have fried chicken again." Awesome recipe. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Can't get a much better review than that! Awesome, thanks Stephannie 🙂
Megan Feller says
This has become my go-to buffalo cauliflower recipe. I love the crispiness (and extra nutrients) added from the cornflakes. I cook mine a little over half the time, then coat them in the buffalo sauce, and then return them to the oven for the rest of the cook time. This way they get totally covered in flavor, but stay crisp. I eat these by themselves, on pizza and in wraps with Kale and Vegan ranch, so yummy!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you love them, Megan, and what a great tip 🙂
Cal says
Finally got around to making these. I'd made other versions of cauliwings and didn't think much of them. Wow! These are special and will take them to my next beer club meeting.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you enjoyed them so much, Cal 🙂
Heather Moreau says
Can I do this with frozen??
Sam Turnbull says
Frozen cauliflower is usually pre-cooked, so I wouldn't recommend it.
Doey says
I made mine from frozen cauliflower and they’re good! They defrosted when I rinsed them with water. My cauliflower wasn’t pre-cooked though. I also experimented with a sample of broccoli, carrot and baby marrow but they weren’t nearly as nice as the cauli ones.
Sara says
I made these yesterday for the playoff games. We recently switched to the plant based life and we were amazed with this buffalo cauliflower! Better than a chicken wing. My husband asked me to make them again today. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! You're most welcome, Sara. So happy you loved them so much 🙂
Chris says
Wow, these are good!!!!! Just made them for the NFC Championship game! SO GOOD! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome! So happy you enjoyed them!
Richard W. says
Addictive! I think I've lost count of how many times I've made this in the last couple of months and have been (slightly) embarrassed to realize that after I've gone back for thirds I've nearly eaten the entire recipe by myself.
But then there was the time I was short on cauliflower... I did have some fresh okra I'd picked up on sale, though, so I thought I'd give it a try. If you enjoy fried okra, like I do as a good Southern (California) boy, this recipe makes a fabulous version! Same recipe and technique, with okra slices about 3/4th of an inch thick or so. I have also started adding about 1/2 teaspoon of celery salt in place of most of the regular salt. Adds a bit more depth of flavor, I think.
Thanks for this recipe and your website, Sam!
Richard W. says
Oh, and I put the cornflake mixture in a bag and add the cauliflower and/or okra to it and shake to coat. Easier and better coating.
Chris Goerlitz says
Good idea about the bag!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So thrilled you love the recipe so much, Richard. And great idea about the okra!
Daisy says
I made this recipe and it was awesome!
Sam Turnbull says
Perfect! Glad you loved it, Daisy 🙂
Lisa says
These were AMAZING!!! I never tried the cauliflower "buffalo wings" before because the recipes looked ridiculous... These were absolute perfection! Will be making them on the regular!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved them so much, Lisa 🙂
Wanda says
Hey Sam! Tried this a couple days ago and the family loved it. Half of us are not hot-sauce types, (foolish, I know), so I substituted BBQ sauce and I have requests to make it again.
I have 3 questions regarding the chia seeds. Your photos and YouTube show the chia seed/water mixture kinda reddish brown. Mine was black, as I only know about black chia seeds. Were you using flax in the video/pics? And is there a different color of chia seed? And lastly, when you say "ground" chia, my food processor blades don't grind them up any more than the tiny little bits they already are, so do you buy an already-ground variety or do you have some trick to grinding them for this recipe, as well as others, such as the bbq veggie burgers? That one is today's experiment and I just realized the same question applies. Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Wanda! So happy you enjoyed. Yes, I was using ground white chia seeds (which tend to look more brown than white), either kind will work however. You can buy pre-ground, most stores carry it, or if you have a high-powered blender, it will be strong enough to grind them. Enjoy the burgers!
Wanda says
Thanks, Sam! "Ground white chia seeds" going on the shopping list right now for future use! And the burgers were terrific, btw. I got the consistency a little too pasty, but OMG, the flavor was incredible. I know exactly what to do next time to get that corrected and can't wait to eat them again. Thank you again! You've changed my life.
Fitmom1017 says
Omg I made these yesterday for my husband and I as we watched football! These were absolutely delicious and you couldn't even tell it was cauliflower! I made them into wraps just so we could be a little full from eating them. I used vegan spinach wraps with kale as our lettuce the cauliflower wings vegan ranch dip and vegan shredded cheese. It was delish!!! I can't wait to make these again!
Sam Turnbull says
Love the idea of wraps. Thrilled you loved them so much!! 🙂
versha says
made this today it was super easy and very very tasty.. Amazing reciepe
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled you love it, Versha 🙂
Jen says
I found your blog a couple of months ago and loved the name. Of course I tried a few recipes and was amazed by the flavor and simplicity of the recipes.
This recipe is a keeper- used panko bread crumbs and covered it with gochujang sauce. Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Jen! SO happy you are loving my blog and recipes 🙂
Ali says
Absolutely AMAZING buffalo cauliflower recipe!!! I've tried several other vegan versions and this one is now my husbands favorite meal that I make. Just hands down perfect!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy to hear that 🙂
Sarah Brown says
Unbelievably delicious. I made these one evening, and the next day my boyfriend made a triple batch. Not to take to any event or anything. He just ate all of them. It was really impressive and he was super happy and did a little dance.
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe! X
Sam Turnbull says
Bahahaha! I love that story. What better review can you get then cauliflower making your boyfriend dance!? 😉
Anne says
These were absolutely amazing! My husband and I were raving as we ate it. I made the blue cheese dressing to go with it and the whole combo just added to it. Thank you!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you and your husband loved it, Anne 🙂
Srivani says
You posted this about 1-2 days after I made another version. I finally made your version and it's AMAZING. My husband just couldn't stop raving about these; and my 4-year-old daughter loved the coated cauliflower (sans hot sauce). Instead of corn flakes, I used an organic flake cereal with corn, flax, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth... great substitute! Another hit, Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So thrilled you and your fam love yet another one of my recipes, Srivani! I wonder how many "comments of the day" are yours now? Haha
Courtney Farmer says
My husband and I LOVED these. They were made as is with the flax option and we only had grapeseed on hand to fry with -- they were devoured during the Astros game. We made your blue cheese dressing and it is a new staple for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! Thrilled you loved them so much, Courtney 🙂