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
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.
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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!
These looks so wonderful for snacking on while also staying on the healthier side! Perfect after my weekend of overindulgence (oops!).
Definitely a healthier alternative Amy. Enjoy!
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!
What a great little snack. I’m trying to incorporate more veggies into my diet and this is such a perfect recipe to sneak in!
This is such a tasty way to add more veggies to any day! I hope you love it if you try it Jennifer!
I love buffalo cauliflower, but have never breaded it. I will give this a try!
Let me know how you like it Anne!