Cauliflower is an amazing alternative to chicken when you are craving Buffalo chicken wings but want to keep it vegetarian or vegan. When baked it becomes tender but remains firm, and pretty well replicates the texture of chicken. These Buffalo cauliflower wings are delicious! The crispy coating of sesame seeds and panko breadcrumbs holds a sticky, glossy sauce, while the cauliflower inside retains some bite. You’ll wolf them down and you’ll want to mop up the sauce too.
This recipe uses butter and dairy-based milk, but simply replace with coconut oil and a plant-based milk respectively, and you can make this vegan really easily.
Buffalo wings have to be served with a cooling dip. A creamy, rich ranch dressing goes perfectly. It couldn’t be easier to make: just whisk together some sour cream and mayonnaise with a few extra herbs and cupboard ingredients and you’ll have an awesome homemade ranch dressing. Make the dressing vegan with a vegan mayo (which is really easy to find) and a plant-based crème fraiche or yogurt.
Serve as a starter (probably enough for 4-6) or gorge as a main course. You’ll probably never make chicken wings again!
~Dom Eats!
The cauliflower batter recipe is adapted from Happy Vegan Christmas (Karoline Jönsson).
Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- 500 g Cauliflower approx one regular sized cauliflower
- 200 ml Milk
- 150 g Flour
- 1 tsp Garlic Granules
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper ground
- 100 g Panko Breadcrumbs
- 50 g Sesame Seeds
Buffalo Sauce
- 150 ml Buffalo Wings Sauce
- 75 g Butter
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
Ranch Dressing
- 120 ml Sour Cream
- 120 ml Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp Chives finely chopped
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 1 tsp Onion Granules
- 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper ground
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
Cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 210°C and prepare a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
- Break the cauliflower into florets about 5-6cm in width.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, flour, paprika, garlic granules, salt and pepper until smooth. Tip in the cauliflower and toss until all the florets are well coated.
- In a bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds. One floret at a time, shake off the excess batter from the cauliflower, coat it in the breadcrumb mixture, and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Put the buffalo wings sauce, butter and maple syrup in a small saucepan. On a low heat, stir until the butter has melted and combined with the sauce. Transfer to a pouring jug.
- Place the baked cauliflower into a large bowl. Slowly drizzle over the sauce, turning the pieces over to ensure everything is covered. Because the breadcrumbs will soak up the sauce quickly, it is best not to pour over the sauce in one go – otherwise you'll get bits which are not covered.
- Serve warm with ranch dressing.
Ranch Dressing
- Simply whisk together all the ingredients.