Best Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
These Wings Prove That Cauliflower Is The New Chicken
Vegan, vegetarian, or just trying to eat less meat? Then you have already figured out that cauliflower is the new chicken. From these tasty cauliflower ‘wings’ to cauliflower fried rice, and cauliflower pizza crust, you can’t find a more versatile vegetable! And these Best Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings are delicious!
Buffalo wings have been a long-time staple on restaurant menus. It’s becoming more common to find a cauliflower version alongside the traditional chicken wings. Like their chicken counterparts, cauliflower wings are often battered and deep fried, then covered with wing sauce, and served with ranch or blue cheese dressing. Despite being a relatively simple dish, it’s amazing how much they differ from place to place.
Quest for the best cauliflower wings ever
In my quest to make the best Buffalo Cauliflower Wings ever, I try them almost every time I see them on a menu. (I call it research!). And I have created an easy, delicious recipe that will rival any restaurant version.
These cauliflower wings make a great snack or appetizer. My husband and I even enjoy them as an entree, paired with a big green salad. We have a large cast iron pan that makes for great crispy wings. I preheat the pan while the oven heats up and pour the battered florets into the hot pan. Hear the sizzle!
For this recipe, I use unflavored soda water in the batter. I have tried both beer and non-dairy milk, but I find the soda water makes for a thicker batter consistency. It holds to the florets better and makes it crispier than the milk. The beer created the right consistency, but, because the dry ingredients include a lot of flavor, the beer did not add anything to the taste.
I like these, a lot. Which means I like to eat a lot of them. I bake these cauliflower wings instead of frying to keep them relatively guilt-free. They come out of the oven crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I serve them with some additional wing sauce, and blue cheese crumbles. I hope these are the best baked buffalo cauliflower wings you will ever try!
These are best made fresh and eaten right away.
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Best Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Equipment
- Large cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper more or less to taste
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unflavored soda water can substitute beer or non-dairy milk
- 1 medium head cauliflower
- 1/4 cup wing sauce of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Place oven safe pan (cast iron preferred) or rimmed cookie sheet in oven to preheat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, and salt.
- Stir in soda water until combined.
- Break or cut cauliflower in to florets, 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces.
- Toss cauliflower florets in batter until evenly coated.
- When pan is heated, spray with non-stick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Arrange battered florets in the pan so they are not touching.
- Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven, flip and brush with 1/2 of the wing sauce.
- Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, brush with remaining wing sauce, and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Broil for the last minute or two for a crispier wing.
- Serve with additional wing sauce, blue cheese crumbles, ranch dressing, or dressing of your choice.
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