Buffalo Cauliflower Bites taste so much like traditional chicken wings, but are a healthier low carb vegetarian version.
Tender cauliflower baked to perfection in hot sauce is perfect for game day too!
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites are surprisingly addictive. I’ll admit, cauliflower has not been one of my favorite foods, but much like beets, broccoli, and squash, I have grown to like it throughout my adult years. After I made this recipe, I would actually dare to say that I loved it. Many traditional favorites like mac n cheese, bread sticks, “rice“, and mashed “potatoes” have been made with cauliflower.
Much like with these cauliflower buffalo bites, this tender white vegetable tends to take on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with. So, if you’re like me and are not crazy about the taste of cauliflower, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when you make this buffalo cauliflower.
I really wasn’t sure how this recipe for cauliflower buffalo wings was going to taste. After all, there are no chicken wings. And how good could anything be when you swap something as wonderful as a chicken wing with a vegetable like cauliflower? But, I found myself having to hold back because I just wanted to keep eating more!
Tips for making and serving these cauliflower buffalo bites:
- I have made my buffalo cauliflower a couple times. Be sure to make sure the florets are on the larger side. If they are too small, they will be mushy. The larger chunks allow the buffalo cauliflower bites to brown nicely while still maintaining some texture.
- Serve the buffalo cauliflower warm. They are still good at room temperature, but serving them warm will make your mouth water.
- I paired my spicy and flavorful buffalo cauliflower bites with a rich and creamy blue cheese dressing as well as some cool, crisp celery sticks that helped mellow the heat from the hot sauce. Overall, it made for a healthy-ish low carb snack. I’m not going to lie – I love a good chicken wing. But, when you think about all that delicious skin that makes the chicken wing so wonderful, replacing it with something like cauliflower is often a good choice.
- This snack would be a huge hit at any game day celebration. You might want to have a second batch on standby ready to put in the oven.
- The cauliflower buffalo “wings” are easy to stab with little wooden toothpicks. Otherwise, no utensils needed!
Kitchen tools used to make cauliflower buffalo bites:
Glass nesting bowls: Every good recipe requires a good set of stackable nesting bowls. This is the set I bought and I love them! Well made, great price, sturdy – perfect!
Baking Sheet: I’ve been using this one for years. I love that it’s made in the USA, the sides are high enough to keep anything from spilling over, and it’s warp resistant.
Flexible Measuring Cups – My sister and I first found these at a cooking class and we thought they were just the best invention. Any time you are measuring and/or pouring liquid, these are simply the best to have on hand. They make a great gift for your favorite cook, too!
Watch me make these tasty Buffalo Cauliflower Bites here:
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
These Buffalo Cauliflower Bites taste so much like traditional chicken wings, but are a healthy vegetarian version perfect for a light snack.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup 5ml jar hot sauce (I prefer Frank's Red Hot)
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Heavily grease baking sheet with butter. Divide cauliflower into bite sized chunks.
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In a large bowl, combine flour, water, olive oil, garlic powder and salt until well combined. Add cauliflower and gently toss to coat each piece evenly. Transfer coated cauliflower to prepared baking and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven.
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In large bowl, combine hot sauce and melted butter. Add partially cooked cauliflower and gently toss to evenly coat. Return cauliflower to baking sheet and continue cooking for an additional 20-25 minutes, turning once, until pieces start to turn golden brown.
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Remove from oven and serve warm with blue cheese dressing and fresh celery sticks.
Followed recipe TO THE LETTER. (I’m annoyed by people who “modify” recipes and then complain about them in the reviews.) However… results were NOT AT ALL like the photos above. The whole thing was a soggy mess, not the perky crispy bites I expected. And we’re a family that LIKES cauliflower already, so it was a big disappointment. *sigh*
Shoot. I’m so sorry to hear that! Not sure if difference in oven temp or quality/quantity/moisture of cauliflower played a part? Krissy
Okay… we served this almost exact recipie at the restaurant I work at last year; we had some trouble with it. Like some others said they can have a tendency too come out soggy. It’s wierd because sometimes they came out amazing and others soggy with all the same steps taken. We ran it on the menu for 7 months with variable success before finally deciding too fry them to order after par-baking them. If your not concerned about the “healthy” factor ; frying will guarantee you crispy bites every time.
I think the “soggy” problem might be related too individual moisture content or maybe the size of the flourettes but we never could identify the exact problem.
For a non vegan option consider adding an egg for a firmer batter, I recommend smaller flourettes and parchment paper instead of pan grease for consistancy..
These are also amazing with curry instead of buffalo by the way. Good luck all.
Oh no! I recently made the recipe- followed everything exactly as stated as well- and had great results! I’m a vegetarian in a home of carnivores and THEY LOVED THEM! I agree with Krissy that maybe it was another varying factor she mentioned above?
I made these tonight. They were yummy! I was worried about the above comment however, mine turned out really good. I put them on broil for the last minute. Absolutely delicious.
Excellent, thanks for letting me know! Krissy
These look delicious and I will definitely give them a try. Thanks for mentioning what kind of hot sauce you use so that I don’t kill my husband while attempting to keep us healthy. Lol! One time I used slightly too much Tabasco….haaaaa! How was I to know? ?
Why didnt you use chicken?
haha!
First I just want to say that these tasted pretty awesome.
However, I’m still extremely dissappointed. They turned out much soggier than what yours look like and I’m not sure if all of the pieces are edible because of this (some look like the batter didn’t even cook right). So, sadly, I will not be making theses again. Which is a shame because what I did Olean of them were really tasty.
I’m not sure where “olean” came from but that was meant to be eat.
Shoot. Sorry to hear that! Not sure how to make them dryer other than to shake off any excess liquid before cooking and to allow ample air flow (ie don’t crowd them while cooking). Krissy
Could you use frozen cauliflower?
I’ve only used fresh. I have no idea if frozen would work. If you try it, will you come back and let me know?
Hi!
Mine turned out awesome!!! Not soggy, and broiled for the last 2 minutes, as someone else suggested and used FRANKS buffalo wing sauce… YUMMY
Thank you 🙂
followed recipe exact…they are amazing!!! made them numerous times now 🙂
I used Quinoa flour instead of white flour. Also used 1/2 T of garlic and 1/2 T of poultry seasoning. Yummy!!
I’ve never tried quinoa flour. Sounds fantastic!
Tried your recipe but turn out soggy thus replaced the cauliflower with tempeh and omitted the flour. I also reduced the oven temperature.
Works out well.
Thanks for trying again. I love the substitution recommendations!
I just made these today for lunch … delicious! My florets may have been a bit too large, so next time I will cut them up smaller and maybe keep them in the oven for a few extra minutes after the sauce has been put on to make them crispier.
I love them! I also broiled them for a few minutes after and they were absolutely delicious. Even held up for next day snacking 🙂 I think you can only expect so much crispiness from the oven, but I would definitely make these again 😍