Cook up this crispy buffalo cauliflower for quick snack anytime. With a crispy coating, oven-baked cauliflower bites are delicious tossed in buffalo sauce.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Spicy, tangy, and perfectly crispy with that classic buffalo kick.
- Skill level: Super easy—just toss, bake, and enjoy!
- Time-Saving Tip: Use a big bag of pre-cut fresh cauliflower to make prep even quicker.
- Serving suggestions: Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping, and don’t forget the celery and carrot sticks!
Ingredient Tips for Buffalo Cauliflower
- Cauliflower: Fresh is best, but frozen cauliflower can be used as long as it’s thawed and patted dry. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces for the best results.
- Batter: This simple batter starts with milk, flour, seasonings, and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs for crunch.
- Buffalo Sauce: Buffalo sauce and hot sauce are different. Buffalo wing sauce is generally 2 parts hot sauce to 1 part melted butter. Use a bottle of store-bought Buffalo sauce (like Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce) or make your own and adjust the heat any way you like!
Holly’s Tips for the Best Buffalo Cauliflower
- For crispy bites, dry cauliflower well. Wash a day ahead, wrap in a kitchen towel, and refrigerate to absorb moisture.
- Let the batter drip from the florets, you just want enough to get into all the nooks and crannies.
- Don’t oversoak the florets with Buffalo sauce or they will get soggy.
- Line the baking pan with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Leftover baked cauliflower can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Reheat under the broiler or in the air fryer.
Did you make this Buffalo Cauliflower? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Buffalo Cauliflower
This Buffalo Cauliflower recipe is the perfect spicy and savory appetizer.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower washed and dried
- 1 cup milk any type
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- black 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. Cauliflower should be 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: 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 in a clean towel. Try to wash it the day before if possible.
- Toss the cauliflower in the wet batter and let most of the excess drip off, leaving just a light coating.
- Don’t add too much Buffalo sauce to the cauliflower, just toss until lightly coated.
- If some of your friends/family don’t like spice, leave a few florets aside when adding buffalo sauce and season them with salt and black pepper instead. Serve them with your favorite dips.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 124 | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 683mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 58IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Party Food, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Can you use frozen cauliflower for buffalo cauliflower?
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.
Can you cook buffalo cauliflower in the air fryer?
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.
This is so good.
I’ve been making Buffalo Cauliflower for quite a while. I came across this recipe and thought I’d give it a try to compare!
We loved it!!! Love the panko crunch! I brushed the Frank’s on rather than dunk because I really didn’t want them getting soggy. I also made a separate batch again, as is, only I added Josh Allen’s Buffalo spice to the panko mix. It’s spicy so for those that like their wings or Buffalo cauliflower to have some heat add that or cayenne or chili powder! It’s nice having a batch of each since my cauliflower was huge!! Thank you for the recipe, I think it’s replacing my current one!!
So yummy! My husband was skeptical until he tasted it, then he raved about them. I followed the recipe but did cook them a little longer for extra crispy exterior.
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 !