These vegan buffalo cauliflower wings are gluten free, baked (not fried!) and belong at every football party. They have a crispy breaded coating and a spicy buffalo sauce with a (not so) secret ingredient to take it to the next level.
This time of year I’m always craving buffalo flavored anything. Buffalo chicken wings, buffalo dip, and these vegan buffalo cauliflower ‘wings’.
Something about buffalo sauce just screams football to me, and with the Superbowl right around the corner, I thought now would be the perfect time to share one of my favorite recipes!
This cauliflower is battered in a gluten and dairy free rice flour based batter, baked until crispy, and then tossed in a spicy, three ingredient buffalo sauce and then dipped in ranch dressing. Try my buffalo tofu wings or vegan buffalo mac and cheese next!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make
- Gluten Free
- Vegan
- Air fryer friendly
How to make buffalo cauliflower wings
In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, almond flour, arrowroot starch, salt, garlic powder, and non-dairy milk until a batter forms. We’ll be using three types of flour for this recipe, but I’ve listed a few substitutions at the bottom of this post.
Chop the cauliflower into large florets and add to the bowl. Larger florets work best for this recipe because they hold their shape better and don’t crumble as easily.
Mix until well coated, then toss in the breadcrumbs. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
If there is any leftover batter, brush it over any pieces that need more. You ideally don’t want too much extra batter that falls onto the baking sheet because it will pull off the cauliflower when it’s done baking. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
When the cauliflower is done, let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a bowl and coat with the buffalo sauce.
Transfer back to the baking sheet and bake for about 10 more minutes until crispy. Serve immediately with ranch dip. The cauliflower itself is spicy, but the ranch dip really helps to cut some of the spice.
How to store and serve
I love serving buffalo cauliflower with a side of carrots and celery sticks to help balance out the spice!
Unfortunately, cauliflower wings don’t store very well. I recommend serving these as soon as possible to ensure the crispiness is still there.
If you have leftovers, you can reheat in the oven or air fryer for 5-10 minutes to get some crisp back.
Air fryer instructions
You can easily make these buffalo cauliflower wings in the air fryer. Follow all instructions as usual, but air fry at 370 for about 10-13 minutes or until crispy, then toss with the sauce.
It helps to fry in a single layer, so you may have to do two batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
Buffalo Sauce vs. Hot Sauce
The ingredients in traditional hot sauce is more or less just hot peppers, salt and vinegar. Buffalo sauce on the other hand has melted butter and often has Worcestershire sauce mixed into it to give it its distinct flavor.
Buffalo sauce is cayenne pepper based and has a different flavor profile and color than traditional hot sauce. It’s more orange, rather than red.
True buffalo sauce is preferable for this recipe because of its distinct flavor, but if you only have or can only find regular hot sauce, that will be just fine. You can add melted butter to the sauce to add more of a buffalo flavor.
Substitutions & Variations
FLOUR. The almond flour can be subbed for more rice flour. I like using almond because it almost gives more of a bread like coating, but rice flour is much less expensive and works very well.
The arrowroot can be subbed for tapioca starch or corn starch. If you have none of these, more rice flour will work as well.
RANCH. The ranch in the buffalo sauce is optional but helps to make the sauce thicker and creamier and helps it stick to the cauliflower better. You can easily leave it out, but it will look a bit different than the pictures show.
SPICE LEVEL. To make the recipe spicier, sub the vegetable broth for more buffalo sauce.
I added the broth because I have found buffalo cauliflower recipes in the past were just so spicy I could hardly eat them. You want the spice, but you also want to enjoy what you’re eating!
For a low carb or keto option, you can use all almond flour and omit the rice flour, breadcrumbs and arrowroot.
Try these next!
- Baked Tofu Burrito Bowl
- Gluten Free Baked Falafel
- Baked Peanut Tofu
- BBQ Cauliflower Wings
- Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos
Be sure to follow along on on instagram and subscribe to my email list for more recipes and updates. Leave a comment and rating below if you try this recipe and let us know how it turns out!
Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Cauliflower:
- 1 large head cauliflower 6 cups chopped
- ¼ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca or arrowroot starch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup plain non-dairy milk
- ⅔ cup gluten free plain breadcrumbs can sub regular
Sauce:
- ½ cup buffalo sauce or hot sauce
- ¼ cup vegetable broth*
- ¼ cup dairy free ranch* plus more for dipping see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, almond flour, arrowroot starch, salt, garlic powder, and non-dairy milk until a batter forms. You want the batter on the thicker side, but if it seems too thick, thin it out with a bit more milk as needed.
- Chop the cauliflower into florets and add to the bowl.
- Mix until well coated. Toss in the breadcrumbs until well coated.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If there is any leftover batter, brush it over any pieces that need more.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Whisk together the buffalo sauce, ranch and vegetable broth. The vegetable broth is only there so the cauliflower isn't too spicy. If you prefer more spice, just use more buffalo sauce instead of the broth.
- When the cauliflower is done, let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a bowl and coat with the buffalo sauce.
- Transfer back to the baking sheet and bake for 5-10 more minutes (or more if your florets were larger) to crisp it up.
- Serve immediately with ranch dip.
Amy says
this was so good! I actually used her cashew cream recipe instead of the ranch and it turned out great!
Bala says
Awesome dish! Made this as an accompaniment to the tofu scrambled dish along with a tomato soup. A hearty brunch. Great recipes! Thanks and keep those vegan recipes coming!
Claire Cary says
omg sounds like the perfect brunch! Happy to be a part of it!
Edith Garcia says
Super excited to try these for Super Bowl!!!
Claire Cary says
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
JoAnn says
Yum, do you have a vegan ranch dressing recipe?
Claire Cary says
I do not at this time! The buffalo ranch I suggested is not vegan, but most grocery stores I have come across have plenty of vegan ranch options 🙂