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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
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
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.
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.
This is the best buffalo cauliflower I have had, including at restaurants. The first time I made it according to the recipe except I just mixed the flour and milk in a bowl and stirred the cauliflower around in it to coat. Didn’t strain it and didn’t dirty a plastic bag. I wanted to reduce the gluten so this time I followed the recipe except I used homemade almond milk for the milk and substituted almond meal for the flour. They were still fabulous! Next time I will use gluten free panko to keep them both dairy and gluten free.
Nasty soggy mess……..beyond disappointing.
That is definitely disappointing Pam, I can’t say for sure what went wrong as most readers have had great success with this recipe.
This recipe serves 8.
I used brown rice flour, turned out great. Big hit here.
Great to hear Sandy! So happy it turned out great.
Can you use frozen cauliflower if you thaw it out then follow the recipe?
I haven’t tried it that way Paul. In theory it should work, but I don’t think it would get as crispy. If you try it please let us know how it worked out.
These were fantastic! I also had some left over and reheated them in the oven the next day. They reheat perfectly- nice and crispy on the outside- and you couldn’t tell they had been refrigerated over night.
That’s great to hear Kim! So happy these turned out great for you.
So yummy! You won’t miss the chicken. The cauliflower is a great combo with crunchy outside, and heat from the buffalo sauce.
I didn’t have panko crumbs so I crushed melba toast and some butter garlic croutons for topping, it worked out great. I will definitely make this again.
I’m wondering if anyone has tried this with gluten free flour…I use Better Batter for my gf recipes, but I’m thinking it might be pasty in this recipe. Looks so good though and so if there are suggestions for making this gf, I’d appreciate it! Thanks so much.
Wow!! Great recipe.
I am thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe Im!
Looking forward to trying new recipes
I hope you find many that you want to try Janis!
I make this dish all the time using your recipe and my husband and I love it!!! Always a go to. Today I decided to switch things up and toss the cauliflower in yellow curry sauce instead of buffalo. It came out great!!
Yummy idea Becca! So glad you both love it (this is my Mom’s all time fave recipe on the site)!
I’ve made this dish so many times using this recipe and I love it!!! Today I decided to switch things up and toss the cauliflower in yellow curry sauce instead of buffalo, turned out great!!!
So delicious! Would give more stars if I could. Added a little Cajun seasoning to batter and powdered Parmesan cheese to Italian panko crumbs. Also coated each floret individually. Refrigerating for a couple of hours or even overnight helps coating stay on while baking. Turned cauliflower over half way through baking. Dipped in my buffalo sauce after 15 minutes of baking and returned to oven for 5. Absolutely perfect! Thank you Holly
You’re so welcome! We love this cauliflower a lot too :)
I have tried SEVERAL buffalo cauliflower recipes and this one is BY FAR the best one…hands down. And that bite pic? It looks exactly like that. the process is pretty time consuming though. I just blame that on the ocd as I want every bite to be coated completely and was doing each floret indivually. lol I’m making it again tomorrow with some potato wedges and maybe some pan roasted asparagus. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE!!! DELICIOUS!!
YAY Moe!! This is my Mom’s fave recipe on my site too so I’m thrilled to hear you love it as much as she does!! :) Thank you!
I’m excited about making these. To keep the carbs low, what can I use to replace the Panko bread crumbs?
I can’t say for sure as I’ve only made this as written.
I am sure you can use the Italian bread crumbs.
Is it possible to leave the oil out of the recipe? What type of difference would it make?
Oil just helps it crisp. If you leave it out, let us know how it goes!
AMAZING!!
So glad you loved it!
Definitely a healthier alternative Amy. Enjoy!
This is such a tasty way to add more veggies to any day! I hope you love it if you try it Jennifer!
I was JUST telling my husband we should try a breaded cauliflower recipe! I bet he would absolutely love this. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Let me know how you like it Claire!
I love buffalo cauliflower, but have never breaded it. I will give this a try!
Let me know how you like it Anne!