Super bowl is coming. Do you a have veg friendly appetizer to serve? If not, now you do. Let me introduce you to cauliflower buffalo “wings.” They are spicy, crispy, and messy just like the original chicken wings, but without those questionable fatty/stringy ligament parts. I really don’t like meat, but sometimes I miss the sauces that tend to accompany meat. Barbeque sauce, hot sauce, honey mustard, I can’t put all of this on tofu. In comes cauliflower to save the day!
This recipe is vegetarian, but can easily be made vegan by subbing the buttermilk for water or dairy free milk. The key to make these buffalo bites good is letting them get nice and crispy in both rounds of cooking. I found several recipes online, and most of them only call for a 5- 10 minute cook the second round. Not enough time at all, give them a good 20 minutes and a little broil too if they aren’t browning up.
These wings are spicy. What do spicy foods help us with? In case you missed it find out here. Because they are so spicy you are going to need a nice creamy dipping sauce to stop your mouth from burning. This dipping sauce is simple, healthy, and delicious! Definitely make the dip, it’s also great with veggie sticks, potato chips, and probably regular chicken wings too. Don’t buy bottled salad dressing. I’m not a bleu cheese fan, but if you are into the moldy stuff go ahead and throw some bleu cheese crumbles on top!
- 1 head cauliflower cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup All-Purpose flower
- 1-2 tbsp milk to thin batter as needed
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp minced onion (dried, optional)
- ¾ cup hot buffalo sauce
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 5-6 oz. container plain greek yogurt
- 8 oz. light sour cream
- 2 tbsp fresh minced dill
- 2 tbsp fresh minced chives
- juice from half a lemon
- ¼ tsp salt
- fresh black pepper to taste
- bleu cheese crumbles (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- In a large bowl whisk together the buttermilk, flour, and spices until smooth.
- Place the cauliflower in the bowl and toss to coat. Shake excess batter off before placing on a large rimmed cookie sheet.
- Place cauliflower on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.
- Combine the buffalo sauce and the melted butter in a small bowl.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and pour buffalo sauce mixture on it. Stir gently to fully coat cauliflower.
- Return cauliflower to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. If not browned, broil for 2-3 minutes. Let cool slightly, serve warm.
- Combine sour cream and yogurt in a medium bowl.
- Add minced herbs and spices. Stir until blended.
- Refrigerate at least one hour to let the flavors develop.
This is so good, so much better for you than those veinly scarry boney things. I also loved the dipping sauce as well. Can’t wait to have it again!