Soft and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, these Baked Cauliflower Wings are so close to the real deal it’s hard to believe!
This recipe is a great substitution for buffalo wings and can be made gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian. Dip in ranch or blue cheese for even more added flavor.
They are baked to make them a little healthier and easier on the waist-line. I haven’t tried frying these yet, but when I do I will update this post.
Now the key to make these wings crispy on the outside is by dipping them in a flour/water batter. I’ve also added some spices to the batter to give the wings extra flavor!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Healthier Alternative: The cauliflower wings are baked instead of fried, making them a healthier option with a lower calorie count.
- Saucy Goodness: The buffalo sauce adds a spicy and tangy kick to the cauliflower wings. The drizzling of the sauce midway through the baking process and the final toss in the sauce ensures that each piece is evenly coated with the delicious buffalo flavor.
- Vegan-Friendly Option: The batter can be easily adapted to a vegan version by using water, almond milk, or soy milk, making it perfect to those who follow a plant-based diet.
- Simple Preparation: The recipe involves straightforward steps, from whisking the batter to coating the cauliflower and baking.
Ingredients Needed
- Cauliflower: Provides the main vegetable base for the “wings,” offering a hearty and versatile substitute for traditional wings.
- Water: Used in the batter and buffalo sauce, contributes to the consistency of the batter and helps create the buffalo sauce.
- Milk (or alternative like almond or soy milk): Forms part of the batter; for a vegan version, choose a plant-based milk.
- All-Purpose Flour (or gluten-free rice flour): Essential for the batter, creating a coating that crisps up during baking.
- Spice up the batter with Garlic Powder, Cumin, Paprika, Salt, and Ground Pepper.
- Frank’s Red Hot Sauce: The key ingredient for the buffalo sauce, providing the classic tangy and spicy flavor.
- Butter (or vegan substitute like Earth Balance Buttery Spread): Used in the buffalo sauce for richness and flavor; choose a vegan option for a plant-based recipe.
How to make Baked Cauliflower Wings
This batter can be easily made vegan by using water or almond or soy milk instead. Whisk the flour, spices, milk, and water until little to no lumps appear.
First, dip the cauliflower into the batter, in batches.
Be sure to drain as much batter as possible off the cauliflower before placing on the pan. I poured my entire batch in at once and all the extra batter stuck together while baking.
After the cauliflower is fully coated, place it on a greased sheet pan.
After the cauliflower has cooked for 20 minutes, remove it from the oven.
Then, drizzle buffalo sauce on your baked cauliflower wings and return them to the oven.
Last, bake the cauliflower wings for another 20 minutes or until they are crispy.
Expert Tips
- Shake off excess batter from the cauliflower for a balanced coating.
- Taste the buffalo sauce and adjust the spice level to your liking before tossing with the cauliflower.
- If going vegan, choose plant-based milk and butter substitutes for the batter and sauce.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper or grease well to prevent sticking and simplify cleanup.
Storage Tips
Refrigeration: Store any leftover baked cauliflower wings in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They can typically last for 2-3 days.
Reheating: To reheat, use an oven or toaster oven to help maintain the crispiness. Avoid using the microwave, as it may make the wings soggy.
Freezing: While cauliflower wings are best enjoyed fresh, you can freeze them for longer storage. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet until frozen, then transfer to a freezer bag.
Reheat from frozen in the oven, allowing a bit more time than the original baking.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve these baked cauliflower wings as a gameday appetizer!
They are perfectly paired with cool ranch and blue cheese dressing.
Recipe FAQs
What are vegan cauliflower wings?
Vegan cauliflower wings are a plant-based alternative to traditional chicken wings. Instead of using chicken, cauliflower florets are coated in a vegan batter, baked or fried until crispy, and then tossed in a flavorful sauce, often inspired by classic buffalo wing sauce. The result is a dish that mimics the texture and flavor of traditional wings but is entirely plant-based.
Can I use frozen cauliflower for this recipe?
I do not recommend using frozen cauliflower for this recipe. Fresh cauliflower will ensure that the wings don’t get soggy and will give you more control over the size.
Can I make the batter ahead of time?
It’s best to make the batter just before coating the cauliflower to maintain its consistency. If prepared ahead, give it a quick stir before using.
Looking for more healthy appetizers?
- Skinny Mini Shrimp & Guacamole bites
- Crispy Baked Coconut Shrimp
- Healthy Avocado Hummus
- Broccoli Cheese Balls (Low Carb / Keto)
- 3 Ingredient Baked Cheddar Cauliflower Bites
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower wings
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower, approx. 4 cups of florets
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk, for vegan: use water or almond or soy milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, can sub gluten-free rice flour
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1 cup Frank’s red hot sauce
- 1 tbsp butter, for vegan: use earth balance buttery spread
Instructions
- Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or grease very well with oil. Preheat your oven to 400-425 F depending on your oven.
- Wash and cut cauliflower head into bite-sized pieces/florets.
- Mix the milk/water/flour and spices in a medium mixing bowl (set aside the hot sauce and butter for later). Mix until the batter is thick and is able to coat the cauliflower without dripping.
- Dip the cauliflower in the batter. You can do this one by one or in batches. shake off excess batter before placing cauliflower on the baking sheet. Lay the cauliflower single layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, flipping the florets over halfway through to get all sides golden brown and crispy.
- While the cauliflower is baking, get your buffalo wing sauce ready. In a small saucepan low heat, melt butter and mix in hot sauce. Remove from the heat just as it starts to melt. Stir together and set aside.
- Once the cauliflower is done its first bake in the batter, remove them from the oven and put all the baked florets into a mixing bowl with the wing sauce and toss to coat evenly. Return cauliflower to the baking sheet and bake in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until reached desired crispness. Serve with ranch, blue cheese, or your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat leftovers in an oven or toaster oven to help maintain crispiness.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these with chick pea flour, result! No Franks Hot Sauce here in Oz so used Ozganics Chilli Sauce, result! Very yummy.
Thanks for the tips, Harry! 🙂
Harry, I buy Frank’s Red Hot Sauce regularly in Australia. It’s available at both Coles and Woolworths, and it’s delicious 🙂 That said, I haven’t tried this recipe yet, and your adaptation sounds great!
Amazing!!! made these for my sisters birthday and they came out flavorful, crunchy and delicious! Used 3/4 cup franks buffalo sauce and 1/4 cup franks hot sauce. I cooked them for 30 min before sauce then another 20 with sauce.
Love this recipe!! Sooo good! I can’t wait make them again!! Frank’s hot sauce is pretty hot though so I think I’ll adjust to 3/4 a cup!!
Not usually one to comment, especially not on a recipe web site, since I loved this recipe; I feel like it would be an injustice not to share how awesome it is!
Couple of tweaks I made:
– I saw on the comments people said the batter was runny, so I added a little less than 1/2 of a cup
– I saw another recipe on my phone, that added blue cheese crumbles – since I had it, I added it when mixing the sauce with the cauliflower.
– I added an extra 5 minutes and only flipped once (half-way through), since people were saying it wasn’t crunchy on the outside.
This recipe is spot-on! I’m usually a buffalo wing fanatic, and a meat fanatic. With this, I had a plate-full and a beer on the other hand, I didn’t miss anything!
I made these for Superbowl Sunday. I’m the only vegan (or anything close) in my family so I didn’t expect to have to share once the words “vegan wings” escaped my lips, but surprisingly a lot of my family members tried them and really enjoyed them (even my vegan ranch!)… Good thing someone brought salad, or I would have gone hungry! I read the comments about the wings coming out soggy, but I’m not about that so I made a few changes:
Firstly, I have a severe nut allergy and a sensitivity to soy so nut or soy milks are not an option for me. I subbed for rice milk from Trader Joe’s.
Second, I wanted some crunchiness in the wings so I added 1 teaspoon of corn starch to the dry mix before adding the water & milk. I intentionally made the batter really thick by using 1 cup of flour.
I just dumped all my califlower into it and mixed it in. It worked out perfectly – all my califlower got an even coat.
The biggest tip to getting crunchy anything in the oven is making sure nothing touches, so all the califlower was spaced out evenly on my parchment paper.
My oven cooks hot so I baked at 425° F for 10 minutes on the first side, flipped them and did 15 minutes on the second side. Took them out and put them into the bowl of 3/4 cup of hot sauce mixed with Smart Balance margarine (I used a mixture of a few different kinds of hot sauces I had at home b/c we didn’t have Franks).
Instead of baking them for the last 20 minutes or so, I decided to broil them on low for about 15 minutes – I did 7-8 minutes on each side. I mostly just went by sight and judgment of color on this last part.
They are not crispy like something fried, but they do have that crunch on the outside and they are totally delicious. I was asked to make them again for one of my cousin’s birthdays coming up! #ScoreOneForTheCrazyVeganGirl
Has anyone tried making these in an air fryer? Curious how they would turn out. Could be nice and crunchy.
If you’re intent on using the batter, I’d suggest using either 3/4 or even 1/2 of a cup of flour. What the recipe calls for gets you a cake batter. You may even want to save yourself the cleanup (and calories) altogether and forego the batter all together — by the time I was eating these I’d wish I just brushed the cauliflower in a bit of olive oil, baked ’em with some onions, and then just tossed with buffalo sauce. I feel kinda yucky given how much flour I just ate with a modest portion of this :/ Also, probably don’t use parchment paper. Just bake straight on a greased tray. I feel like that’s how the browned edges were probably achieved.
I love these!! I’ve made them at least 5 times now. I noticed that if u really let the flour mixture drip off, they tend to cook better and not be so soggy. However, mine still are not crispy. But I still don’t mind! The flavor is fantastic. Thank u so much for a great recipe!!!
Thanks for this recipe! I’m surprised at how many negative comments there are. Hot sauce is too much for my family so we used BBQ sauce. After reading the comments about the oven temp I kept mine at 400. Some things I did differently was used 3/4 of a cup of flour, and I used parchment under my (oven safe) cooling rack and placed both on a cookie sheet. It allowed the extra batter to drip off and it wasn’t soggy.
I made these and I gotta say, the taste is very much there, nice and meaty. However the texture wasnt quite there with my batch. They came out soggy towards the end. I made a very improvised buffalo sauce out of sriracha and im wondering if maybe it was too thick? and moistened up the batter?
These were a big hit with all the family, meat-eaters and vegetarian alike – just serve with some homemade ranch dip because they are spicy! They didn’t turn out crispy for me, I think that’s because the batter was probably not thick enough but I made them a day ahead and reheated them in the oven which helped them crisp up a bit before serving. Am adding this to my list of favourite recipes to serve to a crowd / a few friends on movie night.
WOW! We recently had a deep fried version of this in a restaurant. I made this one exactly and
IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! My men loved it! I will make it again. Wasn’t crunchy, but next time I’ll broil it for a bit, see if that helps!
Okay so never again will I be skeptical about these. First time trying this and my husband and I are shocked at how good they were and how meaty. I will make these many many more times.
Why would people make such rude comments, especially when someone is out there sharing what seems to be a fabulous recipe.
Anyone with half a brain knows to check stuff out before it’s done and burnt. To adjust the temperature if you see it starting to burn. Never mind the directions- alter the method and flavours to your situation. It’s especially ture the first time you make a new recipe.
I loved the recipe but mine came were not crunchy. They ended up being watery. Any suggestions?
Hi I made these last night using a different hot sauce (as didnt have Frank’s) and it was very hot! We still ate them though and they were nice but I just noticed that your recipe bbc contradicts itself so I’m hoping you can confirm the process for me for next time. In the main body of your blog you say to ‘drizzle’ the sauce over the cauliflower before returning to the oven. Yet in the actual recipe further down you say to put the wings and the sauce in the mixing bowl and evenly coat before returning to the oven. Which way is the method that you did? Thank you 🙂
Just drop the cauliflower in the hotsauce and cover them. Then put them back in the oven . They will be fine. Made this recipe about 20 times. Delicious! No need for butter either. We usually eat them as verggies.
These were fantastic!! Live in Denmark so we don’t have much hot sauce but used Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce and they turned out great. My family couldn’t believe it wasn’t meat!
Started the oven at 220 C (425 F) but ended up turning it down as they got brown too fast..
Loved these.. they turned out fantastic. .I used a gluten free pizza dough mix that was essentially rice flour.. I used water only and no milk and added a tiny bit of chili powder..and used a basting brush to coat the pieces with the Buffalo sauce.. I skipped the butter and used olive oil….everyone went nuts for these and my hubby is already offering to go and buy some more cauliflower. .lol.. thanks for a great find! !
Yikes!!! these were toooo hot. It took a while to make since they cook for 50 minutes. they would have been great if they hadn’t been too hot. we had to throw them out. i used a different hot sauce than Frank’s hot sauce so that could be why.
These were good but no where in the recipe does it say where to add the cumin or the garlic powder. I didn’t realize I hadn’t used them until they were done. Plus mine never browned,.
Spices = cumin and garlic.
Lisa, look at #3. SPICES
Reserve the right for a later review.
Where is the recipe????)
The problem with burning could have been caused by using a rack too close to the top burner. Just an idea that maybe should try middle rack. I haven’t made them yet but it’s all on the grocery list right now!
I have made these a few times now, something I did a little different that paid off pretty well, I added 2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, as well as a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of curry powder to the dry mix, it makes a subtle but noticeable difference.
These are so good! I’ve made them twice and they’ve been devoured both time! My only complaint is that they don’t get crispy. I don’t know where I’m going wrong I’m pretty sure I’m following the instructions exactly.
Not all stoves cook at the right temperature, regardless of what your temperature dial is set at. If you burn a lot of things in the oven, your oven cooks too hot. If you find your food is not always cooked through, then it does not cook hot enough.
Next time I need to make the batter thinner, but I sure made a tasty mess though! Any idea how many calories are in it?
This is the 3rd time I am making these. They are to die for, so absolutely delicious and hot! Everybody loves them. Great recipe!
I have a question can toy use olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter or vegan margarine ?
I made this last night and it was SO good! I’d half the batter dip next time, there was a good amount left over plus it was thick (not as pictured) so I’d water it down a bit too. I baked at 450 for 20 min. then only for 10 min. when I put it back in because it was starting to burn around the edges. I’d eliminate the butter altogether, I used olive oil instead but mistakenly added it to the batter instead of the sauce and it would’ve been fine without it.
Yes, you can!
Sounds good.
I have been looking for a recipe like this to replicate one I love at a local vegan restaurant. Omg I made these tonight and they were devoured by my family in 5 mins. I made 1 head of cauliflower and should have made two. The batter would have lasted me for 2. After I tossed them into bbq sauce and earth balance (I didn’t use the hot sauce) I baked them again for 10 mins. 20 would have been too much. My gas oven gets pretty hot. Rave reviews from all including me! (I used almond milk and gf flour).
Don’t bake them at 450° especially for 20 to 25 minutes! 400° works a lot better because they don’t burn.
Shannon, your oven is probably not calibrated correctly. You should check your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer that you can buy cheaply at any hardware store. Ovens can be off by as much as 75 degrees if not properly calibrated and this could explain why your cauliflower burned so badly. It’s definitely not the recipe because we made it following the instructions and it came out perfectly.
Love cauliflower but dont know what to do with them. This certainly is an amazing recipe. will try it! xx
RUDE
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. We’ve made it a few times at 450 and it’s never burnt.
I made a double batch last night at 450 degrees and mine barely browned, and certainly didn’t burn. I’m sorry yours didn’t turn out as they are delicious.
I devoured them!!
Love these
I made these tonight, this is the best recipe yet.
I have tried at least 5. Crunchy and flavorful.
Delish !!
Thank you for sharing