This is the easiest ever Buffalo Cauliflower recipe – these delicious baked bites are a healthier vegetarian alternative to buffalo wings.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour – use almond flour or cornstarch to make this appetizer gluten-free.
- Garlic powder – onion powder would also work here.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Cauliflower – this is crucial to the recipe. Make sure to choose a head of cauliflower that’s firm to the touch and tightly closed.
- Buffalo sauce – use any bottled variety of your choice or make your own homemade buffalo sauce.
- Butter – the butter will help cut the buffalo sauce. Feel free to swap it out for your favourite butter substitute or leave it out altogether (although the flavour will be stronger).
How to make Buffalo cauliflower
Step 1: Combine the flour, garlic powder and water.
Preheat oven to 500 F. In a large bowl, combine flour, garlic powder and water.
Step 2: Toss the cauliflower in the mixture.
Add cauliflower, tossing to combine.
Step 3: Add to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 4: Bake the cauliflower.
Season with salt and pepper, then bake for 15 minutes.
Step 5: Toss in the sauce.
Meanwhile, mix buffalo sauce and butter together. When cauliflower is done, pour sauce overtop and gently toss to combine. Bake another 10 minutes.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with buffalo cauliflower
If you are making this buffalo cauliflower recipe for a party, you can serve it with more of your favourite game day sides! Here are some side dish and serving ideas:
- Dipping sauces like ranch, blue cheese, nacho sauce, sauce, Buffalo sauce or hot sauce
- Crockpot buffalo chicken dip
- Sliced veggies like carrot sticks, celery, cucumbers or radishes
- Chili cheese fries or loaded In n Out fries
- Cowboy caviar
Frequently Asked Questions
Buffalo sauce is a combination of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, butter and seasonings. It’s easy to make your own, but there are lots of options on the market for just purchasing a bottle. I personally like using the Frank’s Red Hot variety but you can use any bottled variety of your choice to go with this buffalo cauliflower recipe!
You can easily adapt this recipe for a variety of diets. To make the recipe gluten-free, use almond flour or cornstarch instead of flour. To make it dairy-free, use your favourite butter substitute like margarine instead of regular butter.
If you're not a big fan of spice, you can use extra butter to cut the spiciness of the buffalo sauce.
You can definitely give it a try! I personally haven't tried making buffalo cauliflower in the air fryer, but I would suggest cooking it for about 10 minutes per side at 400° Fahrenheit.
This buffalo cauliflower recipe is best made fresh, but if you're prepping it for a party or gathering, you can bake the cauliflower and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stick it back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes so they get nice and crispy again, then serve!
Storing and reheating
Without a doubt, these buffalo cauliflower bites are best straight out of the oven. However, you can store them in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days in an airtight glass container.
To reheat this buffalo cauliflower recipe, put the florets back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes to maintain that nice crispy texture. If you reheat them in the microwave, the batter on the cauliflower will get soggy even if they still taste great.
If you have extra buffalo cauliflower, you can use it in lots of other dishes like as a filling for tacos, in a pita, crumbled on a pizza or as a salad topping.
Freezing this recipe
You can definitely freeze this buffalo cauliflower recipe! Let the cauliflower cool completely then place the florets on a baking sheet in the freezer in a single layer without any of the pieces touching to keep them from sticking together. After an hour, you can put them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat your buffalo cauliflower from frozen in the oven for 15 minutes at 375° Fahrenheit.
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Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into leftovers.
- This is the buffalo sauce I use.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe {5 Ingredients!}
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp garlic or onion powder
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2/3 cup buffalo sauce
- 3 tbsp melted butter
To serve (optional)
- Ranch dressing
- Blue cheese dressing
- Chives, chopped
- Carrot sticks and celery
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 F. In a large bowl, combine flour, garlic powder and water. Add cauliflower, tossing to combine.
- Add florets to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, then bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix buffalo sauce and butter together. When cauliflower is done, pour sauce overtop and gently toss to combine. Bake another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve with dressings and veggies of choice. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Kathy says
Can you use frozen cauliflower?
Taylor Stinson says
I wouldn’t recommend it as it would probably just be soggy and wouldn’t crisp up.
Laura says
Delicious and easy- mid-day snack with a spicy zing!! I made in the oven but next time I’ll use the air frier. I plan to substitute white flour to reduce carbs!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Zahra says
I wonder if these would work in the air fryer! Do you do any air fryer friendly recipes? Recently got one and I’m obsessed! Love all your recipes.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Zahra – I’m sure they could be cooked in an Airfryer! I have a couple other Airfryer recipes on my site that you can search for in the search bar 🙂