These Crispy Baked Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Wings are the perfect appetizer for sharing or served as a main dish! They are super simple to make, baked to crispy perfection and spicy!
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Crispy-baked cauliflower smothered in a spicy vegan sauce makes for the most delicious snack or appetizer! But can be served as a main dish as well.
Spicy vegan buffalo cauliflower wings are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside and can be deep fried or baked!
Recipe Ingredients
Get your snack on with these vegan cauliflower buffalo wings- coated, breaded and baked until crispy! These cauliflower wings are then dipped in spicy homemade buffalo sauce and served with a dipping sauce of choice. I served mine with an avocado dressing but vegan ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing would be great as well.
- Cauliflower
- Unsweetened Plant Milk
- All Purpose Flour
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- Seasonings
- Homemade Buffalo Sauce
Ingredient Notes
This vegan buffalo wing recipe is baked to perfection then coated in a homemade vegan buffalo sauce that is spicy and super flavorful. This recipe is a staple in vegan cooking!
- Cauliflower: Star of the show! You could also use seitan or tofu.
- Unsweetened Plant Milk: The main ingredient in our wet batter. It's mixed with apple cider vinegar and a little bit of all purpose flour to thicken it. I used soy milk but almond milk or any other non-dairy plant milk will work.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: Battered cauliflower bites are rolled in to panko breadcrumbs to create a super crispy coating.
- Ground Cornmeal: Optional but delicious. Substitute with more breadcrumbs if desired.
- Seasonings: For flavor!
How to Make This Recipe
Break the head of cauliflower in to bite-sized florets. Be sure not to make them too small or they will overcook or burn. You need roughly 4 cups of cauliflower- save the remaining cauliflower for another recipe.
Mix together the wet ingredients by whisking together the unsweetened plant milk and apple cider vinegar. Allow to sit for a few minutes to curdle and become buttermilk. Then, whisk in the all purpose flour. Set aside.
Mix together the dry ingredients by adding the breadcrumbs, cornmeal and seasonings in a separate bowl.
Dip each cauliflower piece in to the wet mixture, drip off excess batter then coat in to the dry. I recommend using one hand for the dry and one for the wet so that the dry mixture doesn't get crumbly- this will make it harder for the batter to stick.
Place the breaded cauliflower florets on a parchment-lined baking tray and drizzle with avocado or olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes at 450F, flipping halfway. Once the vegan cauliflower wings are crispy and golden brown, toss in the buffalo sauce and bake for a remaining 5 to 8 minutes. Serve as a side dish, appetizer or main dish!
Is buffalo sauce vegan?
Hot sauce typically is vegan-friendly but traditional buffalo sauce is usually not. Typically, buffalo sauce is made with butter so it’s not vegan-friendly. Most brands and recipes contain Worcestershire sauce as well so it wouldn’t even be considered vegetarian.
But luckily, I have a recipe for Vegan Buffalo Sauce that is incredibly easy to make and delicious! It can be made in under 5 minutes with minimal ingredients that you probably have one hand- hot sauce, vegan butter and some seasonings.
If you'd rather have a store-bought buffalo sauce, I added a few vegan-friendly brands in that blog post that you can buy online or at your local grocery store.
Recipe Variations
These vegan buffalo chicken wings are crispy, spicy & such a classic vegan appetizer recipe! Enjoy these buffalo bites with a side of celery and carrots or on top of a sandwich, salad or in a taco.
This cauliflower wing recipe also happens to be super customizable!
Substitutions:
- Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs and gluten-free all purpose flour. Chickpea flour will also work.
- Make it corn-free: Omit the cornmeal and use more breadcrumbs.
Flavor Variations:
The options are endless! Don't want a spicy buffalo sauce? Try these other popular wing sauce ideas instead!
- BBQ: Vegan BBQ Wings using my homemade barbecue sauce made from tomato sauce and maple syrup or use your favorite store-bought bbq sauce.
- Honey Mustard: Vegan Honey Mustard would be delicious
- Honey Garlic: Use my Vegan Honey Recipe and toss with seasonings and lots of garlic!
- Sweet & Savory: Toss them in my Teriyaki Sauce for a sweet and savory wing or use the Sweet Chili Sauce from my Sweet Chili Tofu recipe.
- Lemon Garlic or Garlic Parm using Violife Parmesan Cheese.
Serving Ideas
Serve alongside celery and carrots with a side of vegan ranch, vegan blue cheese dressing or vegan aioli. Delicious game day appetizer and perfect party food. But can be served as a meal or side as well.
I love throwing these buffalo cauliflower bites on top of salads, on sandwiches, in wraps and by themselves!
You can serve these cauliflower wings on a pizza or on tacos.
Storage
These crispy baked vegan wings are best when served immediately. When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, they tend to get a little soggy after cooled. If you do have leftovers, I recommend reheating them in the oven 400F for 10-15 minutes. Just note that they won't be as crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
I love making vegan buffalo wings with cauliflower, tofu and seitan. Simply press a block of tofu and use the batter below or follow my tofu nugget recipe to make delicious tofu buffalo wings. As for seitan, I recommend using my chicken seitan recipe and using the breading below.
Not traditionally but I have a super simple and tasty buffalo sauce recipe.
They should be super crispy when they come out of the oven. To ensure they stay crispy, serve the buffalo sauce on the side.
No, this recipe isn't made with a thick batter like some cauliflower bite recipes are. If you don't want the panko crusted outside, follow the instructions for the cauliflower over on my buffalo sandwich recipe.
I personally haven't tried it but I won't recommend it unless they are completely thawed. I would assume that the cauliflower would become mushy faster.
More Easy Cauliflower Recipes
- Creamy Vegan Broccoli Pesto Pasta w/ Roasted Cauliflower
- Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich w/ Vegan Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Cauliflower Leek Soup
- Roasted Cauliflower Alfredo
Recipe
Crispy Baked Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Cauliflower roughly 4 cups
Wet Batter
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Plant Milk I used soy
- ½ tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
Dry Batter
- ½ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Ground Cornmeal or more breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Remaining Ingredients
- ½ cup Buffalo Sauce homemade or store-bought
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Break the head of cauliflower in to bite-sized florets. Be sure not to make them too small or they will overcook or burn. You need roughly 4 cups of cauliflower- save the remaining cauliflower for another recipe.
- Mix together the wet ingredients by whisking together the unsweetened plant milk and apple cider vinegar. Allow to sit for a few minutes to curdle and become buttermilk. Then, whisk in the all purpose flour. Set aside.
- Mix together the dry ingredients by adding the breadcrumbs, cornmeal and seasonings in a separate bowl.
- Dip each cauliflower piece in to the wet mixture and then coat in to the dry. I recommend using one hand for the dry and one for the wet so that the dry mixture doesn't get crumbly- this will make it harder for the batter to stick.
- Place each breaded cauliflower floret on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway. Once the cauliflower is crispy and golden brown, toss in the buffalo sauce and bake for a remaining 5 to 8 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
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