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.
BEST EVER
Ugh, these are seriously my favorite. I definitely go towards the upper end of the cooking times here in the Midwest to get them crispy. Love this recipe!
I didn’t 100% follow the recipe. I added 1tbsp of garlic. I also added a little onion powder ( a few shakes of it) this umami seasoning from Trader Joe’s and cayenne to the batter.
I also used all purpose gluten-free flour ( bob’s mill) so my cauliflower “wings” we gluten free and vegan. I cooked it in the air fryer 400 degree for 15 mins. It was nice and crispy.
I made the sauce with vegan butter and veganhot sauce. . Can’t remember the name of the brand. It has an owl on it.
Uh oh I should have read the reviews first! I just finished dipping my Cauliflower in the batter hopefully it will some crisp.. will post my results
Ok I followed the recipe exactly and I put my oven on convection bake at 450 looked at them and took them out when they were crispy so maybe about 5 min extra each time I put them in put you need to know your and watch them occasionally while baking
I had the same problem with trying to get these to crisp. The seasonings used are all sound, but I think the batter may need tweaking slightly. Water is the enemy of crispiness so it’s probably not the best ingredient in batter for a vegetable that is already over 90% water in and of itself.
Try this:
– Preheat oven to 200/180 fan. Line baking tray with parchment paper and add a good glug of oil. Add tray to oven while you prepare the cauli.
– Place florets in a bowl and dust with cornflour/cornstarch and seasonings, herbs etc. Shake to coat.
– In another bowl, whisk together 5 tbsp of milk and 5 tbsp of yoghurt (dairy or non-dairy) You may need more tbsps for a large cauli, you can easily scale up the amounts by keeping the same ratio of milk to yog.
– Whisk the milk and yoghurt to a pancake batter consistency and add some minced garlic. Stir.
– Place florets in batter. Dust with more cornflour and stir to coat.
– Optional – sprinkle breadcrumbs over and stir to coat. It should be a sticky mess by now with everything adhering to the cauli.
– By now the oil should be hot enough, so carefully remove the tray and add the florets in a single layer, making sure they have space between them. The first handful of florets should sizzle a little when placed on the tray.
– Bake, turning at least once. Your batter should be crispy after 15-20 mins. You can leave them for longer but more than a little browning will be rather bitter. Bitterness and brassicas? No thank you!
I personally like to serve them at this stage and dip them into favourite sauce, but go ahead and brush the sauce on before another 10 mins in the oven if you like a baked sauce layer.
– Tip: Schwartz recently released a New York Buffalo seasoning which works very well when added to the batter.
Keep stirring!! It will work, you just have to keep going. Also I cook it longer to get it more crispy! Love this recipe. I don’t change a thing, better than chicken. So good!!
A++ Recipe thank you so much. first time making these cauliflower wings ever, turned out amazing. I tripled the amount of cumin/paprika/black pepper In the batter, for anyone reading this and they came out very flavorful. Also I did one cup almond milk instead of half cup of water half cup of milk, and Added 2 tbsp or so bbq sauce to the batter. Makes The batter less liquid-Y. Baked for around 50 min at 420 (flipping a few times and of course tossing them in the “butter“ + hot sauce halfway thru), and they turned out very tender with a light crisp. I recommend turning on the “broil” setting during the last ten minutes, helps to crisp from the top vs the bottom of the oven. All in all, good stuff and simple no weird ingredients. Sorry for the essay, I just LOVE this and wanted to give a positive comment!!!! It’s inspiring me to keep a little recipe book And put this in as the first entry.
My colleague and I had a nice day off away from the juveniles that have been driving us crazy and I told Karen, my colleague, that we must immediately try this exquisite recipe since we are both pregnant (planned double pregnancies) and wanted to spice it up a little
I told Karen, no ma’am we ain’t using the ketchup today. Thankfully she agreed and we proceeded to make it although we had some problems during the interaction with the cauliflower. Karen almost broke her new nail set for July 4th which has a beautiful American flag design. Anyway, we did not achieve crispness which is why I gave it a low rating. But Karen loved them since she has a loose tooth and is better for her. In all, nice experience with the colleague but we will stick to asking the maid to do it next time. Thank you.
This is great feedback thanks Cindy
Loved this! Not sure why others had a problem with the thickness of the batter, it was very thick for me. I added cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and onion powder to the batter so kicked up the spice. Also used fat free oat milk and that worked out well. I agree these are not “crispy” though-not sure how one would accomplish that. But these were insanely delicious. I had to stop myself from eating the entire tray!
broil for last 10 minutes for crispiness?
I think my batter was too thick and I coated the cauliflower to heavy. They ended up kind of gummy. I might try again and not coat them with so much batter.
I LOVE this recipe!! I followed it exactly, and it worked out really well. Only advice I have is to make half the buffalo sauce and half the batter stuff before making the entire thing. Doing this helped me avoid making too much.
Same here it was like water.
So I had to add a ton more flour.
they are currently cooking so I hope they turn out well. but I wanted to add about the measurements because I think something’s off. Even in the pictures it looks drippy.
Really loved these!!
Not particularly crispy but very tasty.
Used a small cauliflower as was only feeding 2 of us.
Do you know if these would keep and be able to be reheated?
Made a sweet spicy korean sauce (gochujang, honey and sugar hehe) these were delicious however I couldn’t get them very crispy either… I used an organic gf plain flour and coconut milk, any tips? Thought perhaps I had them too crowded so they steamed instead of crisped?
Could i use coconut milk in place of almond/soy milk?
Can I use almond or coconut flour? I can’t find regular all purpose flour anywhere!!
Was absolutely perfect.
Delicious!!! I had 2/3 of a cauliflower left over from another recipe and thought I’d give this a crack. Used smoked paprika as I love it, and gram flour as that’s what I had in the cupboard in these covid-19 days when flour is in short supply…and siracha as that’s what I had in (dialled back a bit). Thanks so much – really enjoyed it.
I loved these , Used spicy catsup , next time I will use plain catsup with my own spices added
Delish! Loved this recipe!!! Followed exactly as written and I love the cumin in the dry mix! Thanks.
These came out perfect! Made exactly as recipe stated. Delish!
I made this but added a tsp of poultry seasoning (McCormick) and it tasted just like my favorite wings from work. Crazy good! Thank you!
This is an amazing recipe. I’ve made it 5-6 times and it’s a huge hit with everyone who tries them, even non-vegetarian/non-vegans. Thank you so much for sharing this!
I don’t use the full suggested amount of butter. I find less than 1/4 cup still turns out awesome. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing recipe. Made these today .so scrumptious. 😋👍
do you have the food values of this recipe per 100 gm please, thanks
Just added the macros! they are not in weight but per serving which is 1/4th of the recipe.
do you have the food values per 100 gm of this recipe please
Delicious!
I used my air fryer and they are delicious! I never thought to batter the cauliflower! That is a game changer!
This is a regular football and party snack for us. Delicious recipe, thanks for sharing!
Awes
Sounds incredibLe. Cant wait to try ut!
If you like super saucy wings, try baking them in the sauce and tossing them in the left over after you’re done!! Game changer
I had these from a food truck And want to make Them MYSELF.i have the nylon baking sheets that I use when I MAKE DESSERTS. Could I use Those instead of the oil or Parchment paper?
Absolutely! they also work great 🙂