I wasn’t sure whether I should post this recipe because buffalo cauliflower has pretty much made its way around the interweb at this point, but I decided I should for three reasons:
- Not everyone reads food blogs as obsessively as I do, so you might not know about this yet.
- This recipe is different from most I’ve seen online.
- Ben declared this something he would “eat every single day for lunch,” which is very high praise.
When I first heard about buffalo cauliflower, I was more than a bit skeptical. I used to consider myself a bit of a buffalo wing connoisseur. Growing up, buffalo wings were my favorite part of every sporting event. When I was in high school, two of my girlfriends and I would go for Girls’ Night Out every couple weeks, and we often had dinner at Chili’s, where I would order the Boneless Buffalo Wings every single time. And in college, I adored Wing Tuesday at Buffalo Wild Wings. Buffalo wings cleary held a big place in my heart.
I really didn’t think buffalo cauliflower could ever compare to the chewy, saucy deliciousness of a well-prepared wing. But boy, was I wrong.
I’ll admit, my first couple attempts were not hugely successful. I followed recipes I had seen online, and they just didn’t do it for me. Either the cauliflower ended up soggy, or the batter wasn’t nearly flavorful enough, resulting in nothing but a sad, frail ghost of the buffalo wings I remembered from long ago.
Fueled by the desire to recreate the majesty of the buffalo wing, I threw out every recipe I had seen and got to work in the kitchen. And I gotta say… this is the recipe for buffalo cauliflower. It tastes amazing, and even the texture is shockingly similar to those buffalo wings of old.
Prepare to be wowed.
Buffalo cauliflower
- 1 medium head cauliflower (broken into florets)
- 1 1/4 cups flour (any kind – I used all-purpose)
- 2 heaping tsp paprika (smoked paprika would be amazing in this, but I just used sweet)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion flakes
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (any kind – I used oat milk)
- 1/3 cup buffalo sauce for batter (I used Frank's Red Hot)
- 1 1/2 cups buffalo sauce for drenching
- Preheat oven to 230 C/450 F.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a fork.
- Form a well in the dry ingredients and add the non-dairy milk and buffalo sauce, then stir to combine. The batter should be relatively thick, but pourable. Add a splash more non-dairy milk if needed.
- Toss the cauliflower florets with the batter, really making sure each floret is well-coated.
- Spread the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet (I recommend lining with aluminum foil), and place in the oven.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes. You want the cauliflower to start crisping up, so there should be some darker brown spots, and the florets should be golden overall.
- Flip each floret, then continue baking for about 8 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place the baked cauliflower florets in a large bowl.
- Pour the remaining buffalo sauce over the cauliflower, making sure each floret is well-coated.
For an accompaniment, I threw out any notion of ranch or bleu cheese dressing and instead created a brand new creamy cashew tahini sauce. Its mellow flavor and slight sweetness totally compliment the spice of the wings. In fact, this sauce is amazing no matter what it’s combined with! We’ve been eating it on everything from roasted beets to veggie spring rolls lately.
Creamy cashew tahini sauce
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked for 2-8 hours)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp white miso
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
-
Drain the cashews and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add the water and process until relatively smooth.
-
Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
The combination of this buffalo cauliflower and cashew tahini sauce is amazing in any form. Try it as a salad:
Or Ben’s favorite: in a wrap for a quick, portable lunch:
I can’t wait to make this for the Super Bowl next year. Or for a game night at our place with friends. Or for… you know, any random Wednesday afternoon!
Yum-o.
Playful Rooted 
Leave a comment