Listen, I get that eating baked cauliflower wings is still just eating cauliflower, but it’s way better for you, and it tastes great! There are a couple of different variations of making these, and I like to think this recipe is one of the more healthy options.
Baked Cauliflower Wings are not only VEGAN, but they are vegetarian as well.
You can bake these in the oven or use an air fryer. I prefer to use my oven as often as I can in the cooler temperatures to heat my home, so I don’t have to turn my heat up.
Buffalo cauliflower wings can be hot or as mild as you want to depend on how much hot sauce you want to use and what brand you choose to go with.
Some people do this in a multiple-step process, but I choose to do this in a one-step way to save time, space, and effort.
Contents
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Cauliflower
- 1/2 Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3 tbsp Avocado Oil (or oil of your choice)
- 1 Cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce ( or hot sauce of your choice)
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt
- Dash of Salt
- Dash of Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp ground Oregano
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Bread Crumbs
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
Kitchen Tools
Prep Work
Preheat the Oven to 415 degrees Farenhieght, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, cut the lemon in half, and chop the heads of the cauliflower away from the bottom stem.
It isn’t rocket science on how to cut the cauliflower; just cut the cauliflower pieces off, so it looks like the shape you typically see it in. Then, compare your cut pieces to what you see when it’s in your salads or other veggie side dishes.
Be sure not to chop the cauliflower too small, or the little crumbs will get everywhere, and they will be hard to combine with all the ingredients. You want the pieces to be medium to large in size so you can pick them up with your hand.
Directions
There aren’t too many steps to this whole recipe, and it can all be done with just a few short instructions.
Step 1: Place cauliflower chunks in a large bowl.
Step 2. Add in all dry ingredients.
Step 3. Add in liquid ingredients, including squeezing one-half of a lemon over the cauliflower.
Step 4. Use big spoons and stir all ingredients together.
Step 5. Pour cauliflower over parchment paper, and spread it out evenly.
Step 6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, flip and bake for another 10.
Step 7: Take out of the oven, and serve right away. ENJOY!
What can you serve with cauliflower wings?
If you are vegetarian, you can serve these with ranch; however, if you are vegan, you should serve these with Vegenaise Pesto Sauce! It is a much simpler alternative to making your own vegan homemade ranch.
Can you make vegan cauliflower wings crispy?
If you wish to make them crispier, you can coat the cauliflower pieces in an oil and flour mix, bake them for 20 min and then coat those in a buffalo sauce and lemon juice liquid bath. I am too lazy to do the two steep coating processes, but this will make them crispy like an actual chicken wing.
You can also coat them in flour, bread crumb combo!
How to serve buffalo cauliflower wings?
You can serve these as a light stand-alone meal for lunch or dinner, as an appetizer, or as a side dish.
What are some cauliflower buffalo meal ideas?
The base of these baked cauliflower wings can be great to put in lettuce wraps or throw them in with some rice as a spin on a Mexican bowl.
I love serving these alongside my beyond meat patties as an alternative to french fries or cauliflower tots.
Recipe Tips
- You can adjust the seasoning to the taste you love! I suggest adding more onion and garlic powder before you add more cumin or paprika because those are very potent and can ruin the recipe quickly.
- Start with 1/2 a cup of buffalo if you typically think buffalo sauce is spicy. You can always add more hot sauce but you can’t take it away.
- Try not to over bake the cauliflower or it will turn mushy on you, and it is better to undercook them than overcook them.
- Don’t try to use tin foil instead of parchment paper, the cauliflower will get stuck to it and it’s a real pain to get off. I learned this one from trail and error.
- If you want smaller cauliflower pieces to add to other types of dinner ingredients, cook the cauliflower first and then cut the pieces smaller.
- Use fresh cauliflower and don’t try to make this recipe from a frozen bag or it won’t cook and taste as fresh. Water from being frozen can also alter the way in which the dish cooks.