Crispy Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
Not a huge fan of veggies? Well, you’ll be begging to eat all your veggies this time around. Super crispy, flavorful, buffalo wing alternative sure to please you and your guests especially those who are vegan or health conscious.
I’ve tried many Cauliflower Buffalo Wing recipes and after extensive tweaking, came up with the following. In my experience, breadcrumbs result in soft and mushy florets. Parmesan cheese is essential to provide that extra crispy texture.
Feel free to subtitle with your favorite wing sauce but keep it medium heat. Anything too spicy and you end up tasting the sauce and nothing else. After all, it is just cauliflower. However, your brain will be confused and think its chicken!
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Crispy Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Cauliflower If you find a bag of Cauliflower florets, even better, saves you time
- 1/2 cup All purpose flour Can substitute almond flower
- 1/4 Grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Eggs
Mild Buffalo Sauce
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 3/4 cup Franks RedHot sauce
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Make sure oven rack is located in the top position. Preheat to 400 degrees.
- Cutaway green leaves and core out steam from Cauliflower head. Break apart cauliflower head into florets 2 by 2-inch size pieces. If they don’t break that small, simply cut to size. Trim stems from florets
- Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place a cooling rack/wire rack on top. Spray the wire rack with non-stick spray.
- Whisk two eggs in a bowl.
- Combine all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and black pepper in a new bowl
- Take each floret, cover in egg wash then use a spoon to cover in flour parmesan cheese mix. Once fully covered, give each a quick shake and place on wire rack. Continue till all florets are covered
- Place cookie sheet with wire rack and florets into the oven on the upper rack for 25 minutes
Mild Buffalo Sauce
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat a small pot on medium heat. Place butter in the pot and stir until fully melted. Add Franks Redhot sauce, black pepper, and garlic powder and stir till fully mixed. Leave on low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
- After 25 minutes, remove cauliflower from the oven. Cover each floret with sauce using a basting brush or a spoon. Once fully covered, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. About 2 tbsp. Place back in the oven on the top rack and set the oven to broil for 5 minutes or until you see signs of browning.
- Plate and serve with cut celery and ranch or blue cheese!
Notes
- Parmesan cheese is essential to provide a crispy texture. Do not substitute with other cheeses.
- The wire rack is also important to avoid a mushy result. You can get one at Walmart for a few bucks.
Nutrition
Calories: 370kcal Serving: 1/3 of the recipeFrequently Asked Questions
How do you keep cauliflower buffalo wings crispy instead of mushy?
Two things make the difference for us: Parmesan in the coating and a wire rack. We found breadcrumbs gave soft, mushy florets, while the flour-and-Parmesan dredge bakes up crunchy. We bake the coated florets on a sprayed wire rack over a foil-lined sheet, on the top oven rack at 400°F, for 25 minutes. Then we sauce them, sprinkle on about 2 tablespoons more Parmesan, and broil for about 5 minutes until they start to brown. Our Crispy Baked Wings use the same raised-rack idea.
Are these cauliflower wings vegan?
Not as written. The coating uses eggs and Parmesan cheese, and the buffalo sauce is made with butter, so this is a meatless recipe rather than a vegan one. The Parmesan is what gives these their crunch, so we don't recommend swapping in a different cheese. If you want to change the flour, the recipe card says you can use almond flour instead of all-purpose.
How spicy are they, and can I use a different wing sauce?
They're on the milder side. The sauce is 3/4 cup Frank's RedHot simmered with 4 tablespoons of butter, black pepper and garlic powder. You can use your favorite wing sauce instead, but keep it around medium heat. Anything hotter overpowers the cauliflower, and all you taste is the sauce. For another butter-and-Frank's sauce, try our Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce.
Can I use a bag of pre-cut cauliflower florets?
Yes, and it saves you time. Whether you start with a whole head or a bag, aim for florets about 2 inches across and trim off the stems so they coat and cook evenly. One head of cauliflower serves about 3 people as written.
Can’t believe how good these came out! Crunchy and the cheese made it delicious.