Oven-baked Buffalo Cauliflower is a simple appetizer or a tasty side dish recipe.
Who doesn’t love all things buffalo-style? From buffalo chicken dip to buffalo hot wings and this buffalo cauliflower recipe too! This easy recipe is a family favorite snack (with a side of Blue Cheese Dressing)!
Why We Love This Snack
Fun fact: Of the thousands of recipes on my site, this is one of my Mom’s favorite recipes I’ve posted! She makes it all of the time.
- Restaurant fried buffalo cauliflower bites are always a favorite but baking them at home is so much healthier.
- We love the flavor of these wings (if you don’t like spice, try a mild buffalo sauce).
- I love buffalo chicken wings and but I love my veggies too! This is the best of both worlds.
- These can be oven baked or you can air fry them.
Ingredients for Buffalo Cauliflower
Cauliflower – We like fresh cauliflower for this recipe but frozen can be used. Ensure the cauliflower is washed and dried really well, additional moisture will keep the batter from crisping. Prewashed cauliflower florets to make it easy.
Batter – This recipe starts with a light coating of wet batter which is then gently tossed in bread crumbs. It’s made with simple ingredients milk, flour & seasonings.
Bread Crumbs – A sprinkle of bread crumbs gives these a little crunch.
How to Make Buffalo Cauliflower
- Prepare cauliflower: Prep the cauliflower by cutting it into bite-sized pieces. Ensure it is dry.
- Make batter: Stir the wet batter in a bowl or freezer bag. Toss the cauliflower to coat. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Bake until crispy: Bake the buffalo cauliflower wings until browned and crisp. Toss with buffalo sauce and bake a few minutes more.
Holly’s Tips
- Ensure the cauliflower is very dry after washing. You can use a salad spinner or shake it dry. I try to wash it the day before if I can.
- Toss the cauliflower in the wet batter and let most of the excess drip off, you want just a light coating.
- Add additional seasonings to your liking including paprika, lemon pepper, smoked paprika.
- Line the pan with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Gently add some of the buffalo sauce to the cauliflower, you don’t want them saturated with sauce or they will get soggy.
- If some of your friends/family don’t like spice, leave a few aside when adding buffalo sauce and season with salt and black pepper instead. Serve them with your favorite dips.
Serving Suggestions
These make a great snack on game day but can also be served in place of roasted cauliflower too.
Buffalo cauliflower bites call for sides of celery and carrots, but, why stop there? Serve with some avocado ranch dressing, or your favorite yogurt or sour cream based dip.
You sure can! Be sure the frozen cauliflower is thawed, drained, and dabbed dry or the batter will not crisp. Frozen cauliflower will be softer than fresh.
Yes. Place a single layer in the air fryer basket and air fryer at 350°F for 5 minutes and 400°F for an additional 5-7 minutes.
More Buffalo Snacks You Need
Oven Baked Buffalo Cauliflower
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower washed and dried
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- pepper to taste
- ⅔ cup Panko bread crumbs
- ⅔ cup buffalo sauce (see note below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and discard the core.
- Combine milk, flour, oil, garlic powder, and pepper in a large bowl. Place batter and cauliflower in a large zippered bag and gently toss until cauliflower is coated.
- Pour cauliflower into a large strainer, letting any excess batter drip off. You want just a light coating of batter. Sprinkle with Panko breadcrumbs and gently toss.
- Place on a foil-lined pan and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently toss with buffalo sauce. You want the cauliflower coated but not soaked.
- Place cauliflower back on the pan and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender-crisp.
- Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
Notes
- Note: You can purchase store-bought buffalo sauce or mix ⅓ cup melted butter with ⅔ cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot). Whisk until combined.
- Ensure the cauliflower is very dry after washing. You can use a salad spinner or shake it dry. I try to wash it the day before if I can.
- Toss the cauliflower in the wet batter and let most of the excess drip off, you want just a light coating.
- Gently add some of the buffalo sauce to the cauliflower, you don’t want them saturated with sauce or they will get soggy.
- If some of your friends/family don’t like spice, leave a few aside when adding buffalo sauce and season with salt and black pepper instead. Serve them with your favorite dips.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
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Buffalo Sauce Recipe from a Buffalonian:
I saw your recipe for buffalo sauce and thought you and your followers might enjoy my recipe. I grew up in Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo, and Buffalo wings are our thing!
You are right with lots of butter makes this recipe taste best and that store bought doesn’t shine a light to home made. I can’t wait to try your Buffalo cauliflower! I am going to presume this is a 5-star recipe, because many of your recipes that I have tried in the past are. Thanks for sharing.
Buffalo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
3 tablespoons onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup Franks hot sauce (you were darn right about that! When it comes to buffalo sauce, Franks is king)
Instructions:
Melt butter in a pot on medium heat. Once melted, add onion and cook until translucent. Once onions are cooked, add garlic (Tip with garlic: you don’t want to cook it long because it will burn quickly-never walk away from cooking garlic. Once you begin to smell the garlic add the Franks). Now the trick here is to reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for at least 10-15min., stirring occasionally. The butter will separate, but it is easily reincorporated if you stir it again. Enjoy!
*Note: you can always turn up the heat to your sauce by adding any king of ground dried hot pepper to the sauce. Tobasco Chili pepper powder really add some heat, but Cheyenne works too!
Thanks for sharing your homemade buffalo sauce, Lisa. We have a similar one but will have to give your version a try!
I have tried a few other recipes, and this is by far the best. Crispy coating, soft cauliflower, easy to make! I like to use Buffalo Wild Wings Asian zing sauce, then toss some sesame seeds and green onions on top
Mine didn’t look anything like this !
After I batter the cauliflower, can I store them in the fridge for 3-4 hrs before baking ?
Hi Bruce, we haven’t tried that but it should work. My only concern would be the cauliflower losing their crunch sitting in the uncooked batter for that long.
These are great! I made a test batch just for me and had leftovers. I cooled them and then refrigerated. Today I reheated at 425 for about 10 minutes on a tray with non-stick foil and they were perfect. Good to know you can make the day before for a party.
How do I get them to not stick to the foil? I didn’t use the Buffalo sauce and just baked them with the batter and lost one side on almost all of them because they stuck to the foil.
Thanks!
I’m not too sure why they would stick. Make sure that they are coated and the panko is sticking well (so they are not too wet). You may want to try putting a bit of vegetable spray or olive oil on the foil paper or pan if sticking seems to be an issue.
Try using the non stick foil, it works wonder, nothing sticks
This was easy to make and fabulous. I only used one third a cup of Frank’s and it was perfect. Thank you.
You’re welcome, perfect Lori!
I Would Like to Know If There is a Recipe for Regular Breaded BAKED Cauliflower, No Buffalo’s Please,Just kinda Regular Tasty Batter Thank You, Bobby
I’d suggest making this recipe, and just leaving out the buffalo sauce! Here are a few more baked cauliflower recipes you may enjoy:
Excellent recipe! I made it for my lunch today and loved it so much that I’m making it again for dinner so my husband can try it! Very easy yummy
My Family loved this dish!
Just made this tonight for football game and was awesome! Used Sweet Baby Rays wing sauce to coat. Delicious!! Sharing with all of my Buffalo Bills fans!!
Amazing! Best battered and baked cauliflower recipe I’ve tried. I made it with general tso’s and served it over rice. Kids loved it too!
Made these last night and they were amazing! My husbands comment was “why would I ever eat chicken wings again”. So easy and delicious. I prepared them ahead of time and put them in the fridge for about 3 hours before cooking. This is our new go to pub food, awesome.
I’m not a huge cauliflower fan but this was delicious. My son ate THREE servings, commented that it’s better than buffalo chicken, and asked me to make it weekly. He normally doesn’t even like cauliflower. I served it with a little extra buffalo sauce and homemade blue cheese dressing on the side (1/2 c plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 c Mayo, squeeze of lemon juice and blue cheese crumbles). When you add the Panko crumbs, don’t over handle it or they won’t stick as well. Thanks for the great recipe!
Perfect! Next time I will add some honey, it was a little hot for this girl! I sliced the cauliflower into thick steaks before removing the stems. This allowed them to crisp up and not roll around the pan. I followed the recipe to a T, but I mixed the flour and milk in the Ziploc and squished to together. I added the Cauli and squished it again. It was Delish !