Easy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Easy buffalo cauliflower wings are baked — not fried — and deliver all of the flavor of fried buffalo chicken wings in a lighter, but equally tasty appetizer or main dish!

If you are looking for some great starter ideas using delicious Buffalo flavors, look no further! Try my recipes for Buffalo Mac and Cheese Cups, Blue Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, and Buffalo Popcorn Chicken. 

Remember when buffalo flavors were only for chicken wing joints? Then it somehow got into that buffalo chicken dip that everyone started serving at parties and then that kind of branched into buffalo-flavored everything, THEN people decided that cauliflower was the bees’ knees so that started to become a key ingredient to swap for meat with buffalo sauce and now here we are.

For those times though when you want to go meatless or you’re hosting a friend or family member who has diet restrictions this buffalo cauliflower is perfect!

Why This Recipe Works

Perfect vegetarian option – Looking for something meatless but yet still tasty? These cauliflower wings ARE IT. Brimming with flavor and texture, you’ll never even miss the meat!

Easy – How easy are these buffalo cauliflower bites to make? You can get these done start to finish in just 35 minutes with minimal ingredients! So. Easy. Yet so tasty!

Versatile – If you’re looking for small bites, this baked cauliflower with buffalo sauce is perfect. However, if you’re looking for a larger piece of cauliflower, then you can slice the head into “steaks” and cook and sauce it as directed.      
Keto-friendly – Whether you’re on a Keto diet or just watching your carb intake, these buffalo cauliflower wings would make a perfect addition to your diet.

Here’s How You Make It 

Prepare the cauliflower

1. Turn the oven on to 450 degrees to preheat and prepare a baking sheet.
2. In a bowl, combine the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Then, add the milk and stir.
3. Now dip the cauliflower bites into the milk mixture, turn them to coat completely, shake off any excess milk, then arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Put the buffalo cauliflower in the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Turn the cauliflower pieces over with a fork, then put back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

Prepare the sauce

1. While the cauliflower cooks, make the buffalo wing sauce by combining the butter, buffalo wing sauce, and honey in a medium saucepan, bringing it to a boil over medium heat, stirring and cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
2. Remove from heat.

Putting the buffalo wings together

1. Finally, brush the buffalo sauce all over the baked cauliflower, bake them again for another 10 minutes. Serve fresh with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Expert Tips

• To break down the cauliflower, simply cut off the stem and start to break the cauliflower down into smaller pieces, whatever size you prefer, but remember to make them all roughly the same size so they’ll cook all at the same time.
• Depending on the size of your cauliflower pieces, you’ll need to bake them about 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees on a greased baking sheet. 
• Remove the buffalo cauliflower from the oven when they begin to look tender-crisp and a tad brown around the edges, but before they turn too brown all around. 
• For extra crispy buffalo cauliflower wings, broil them for the last 2-3 minutes of the final cooking time.

What is Buffalo Sauce?

Buffalo sauce, so the story goes, originated in Buffalo, NY. It is typically made of a mixture of hot sauce, vinegar, butter, and Worcestershire sauce and maybe some seasonings, depending on the restaurant’s version.  Me, I skip all that work and just go ahead and use a pre-made Buffalo sauce like Frank’s Red Hot or something similar. I add the butter because it adds a richness and thickens just plain old hot sauce. Plus, I like to add that touch of honey to dial down the heat just a tad. That’s my (not so) secret ingredient. 

Serving Suggestions

Wondering what to serve with buffalo cauliflower? The possibilities are endless! When I serve this dish, it’s typically with some other apps and lighter, finger foods, because one of the best ways to eat is to make a ton of shareable dishes and get a bite of everything. That being said, here are some of my go-tos: 

• A simple tossed green salad, because you want to feel like you’re getting in all your veggies too right? 
• Baked Lemon Pepper Wings, to satisfy all your “real” wing-loving friends. 
• Looking for a dip that feeds a crowd but is really easy to put together? Then try this BBQ Chicken Dip! 
• Baked Coconut Shrimp are easy enough to bake alongside the cauliflower and both can be ready at the same time! 
• Queso Blanco? Yes, please! 
• Cowboy Caviar is so simple to toss together and even easier to gobble up, so you might want to double the recipe!

More Meatless Recipes You’ll Love

• Chickpea Curry
• Baked Garlic Parmesan Potato Wedges
• Baked Sweet and Sour Cauliflower
• Best Baked Cauliflower “Mac” and Cheese

Did you make this Easy Buffalo Cauliflower recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!