This Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower recipe uses a few simple ingredients and couldn’t be easier to make. It's a healthy and delicious vegetarian alternative to buffalo chicken wings, and perfect for serving at your next game day party along with ranch dressing and carrot and celery sticks.
Before roasting, the cauliflower florets are coated in a seasoned buttermilk batter. Once baked, finish by tossing with our homemade buffalo sauce, made with hot sauce, brown sugar, and butter.
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Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower
If you are looking for a healthy game day or Super Bowl snack, these baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites are where it’s at. We coat the florets in buttermilk batter seasoned with paprika, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper just before baking. This keeps them slightly crisp on the outside so that once they are tossed with buffalo sauce they can still hold their own.
Serve with extra wing sauce, ranch dressing, ranch dip, and plenty of carrot and celery sticks for an easy appetizer that even meat lovers will gobble up. You can make this a part of an entire vegetarian party spread, or serve alongside regular buffalo chicken wings.
Key Ingredients
Homemade Buffalo Sauce Ingredients
- Hot Sauce - This recipe is formulated for Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, but you can use your favorite kind. Keep in mind you may need to adjust the amount of sugar slightly because all hot sauce's have different levels of heat.
- Brown Sugar - you can use either light or dark brown sugar for this homemade buffalo sauce.
- Butter - either salted or unsalted will work great. It just depends on the flavor you are going for.
Cauliflower Bites
- Cauliflower - cut your cauliflower into bite-sized florets.
- Buttermilk - you can use buttermilk, or substitute an equal amount of whole milk mixed with 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.
- Flour - all-purpose flour works great. Or, for a gluten free version you could use almond flour.
- Seasoning - this recipe calls for a combination of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. As always, you can adjust the seasoning however you would like.
Topping Ideas
- Blue Cheese Crumbles
- Parsley
- Ranch Dressing
- Ranch Dip
How to Make Buffalo Cauliflower
- Make the homemade buffalo sauce. In a medium-size saucepan, add the brown sugar, butter, and hot sauce. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil the sauce for 1 minute, then set aside.
- Mix the buttermilk batter. In a large mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the cauliflower florets and use tongs to coat the cauliflower. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the underside of the cauliflower is golden. Use tongs to flip the cauliflower and then bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is golden.
- Serve. Remove from the oven, toss with the buffalo sauce, and stir until coated. Transfer to a serving platter and top with blue cheese crumbles and fresh parsley. Serve warm with ranch or blue cheese dressing or your favorite dip. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to bake this Buffalo Cauliflower recipe in a 400 degree oven. This way, the cauliflower will bake quickly without charring the outside too much.
The baking time depends on how large your florets are and how much you are baking at once. In general, if you are baking buffalo cauliflower in a 400 degree oven, it should take a total of about 25-30 minutes to cook. You will want to flip the cauliflower over about halfway through cooking.
Yes! If you would rather use your favorite buffalo sauce from the store, just substitute about ¾ of a cup.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator: while best eaten the same day they are made, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: you can re crisp the buffalo cauliflower in the oven or a toaster oven.
Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients
Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- ½ cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablesoons Butter
Cauliflower Bites
- 1 head Cauliflower cut into bite-sized florets
- ½ cup Buttermilk whole milk plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice will work too
- ½ cup All-Purpose Flour or almond flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Toppings
- 2 Tablespoons Blue Cheese Crumbles
- 1 Tablespoon Chopped Parsley
- ½ cup Ranch Dressing
Instructions
Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- In a medium-size saucepan, add the brown sugar, butter, and hot sauce. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil the sauce for 1 minute, then set aside.
Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the cauliflower florets and use tongs to coat the cauliflower. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the underside of the cauliflower is golden. Use tongs to flip the cauliflower and then bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is golden.
- Remove from the oven, toss with the buffalo sauce, and stir until coated.
- Transfer to a serving platter and top with blue cheese crumbles and fresh parsley. Serve warm with ranch or blue cheese dressing or your favorite dip. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Vegetarian Appetizer Recipes
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Pesto Pinwheels
- Cheese Fondue
- Cheddar Queso Dip
- Popovers
- Brie Bites
- Puff Pastry Twists
- Whipped Feta
- More Vegetarian Recipes
- More Appetizer Recipes
These Cauliflower Buffalo Bites are a little spicy, super flavorful, and a perfect easy appetizer for vegetarians or anyone else that loves buffalo sauce. They're simple to make and taste great served with ranch and blue cheese dressing.
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