Buffalo Cauliflower Wings with Ranch Dip

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings with Ranch Dip

Crispy, oven-baked buffalo cauliflower wings served with a homemade vegan ranch dip. We love this recipe because cauliflower works beautifully for buffalo wings. When roasted, it produces this sweetness that complements the buffalo hot sauce (homemade too!) perfectly.

This recipe is part of the vegan comfort food (perfect for Netflix & Chill) series.

General

• Creates: 4-6 serves
• Dietary: V | VG | NF | can be made gluten-free
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into small bite-sized florets
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plant-based milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, more if needed
• 1 cup buffalo or hot sauce*
• To garnish: sesame seeds, spring onions, sprinkle of paprika
• To serve: vegan ranch dip (or any other dips), vegetable sticks (carrot, celery, cucumber)

Buffalo Hot Sauce

• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper, adjust to taste
• 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup or date syrup

Vegan Ranch Dip

• 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp plant-based milk
• 1 tbsp fresh dill
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 4-6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp maple syrup
• Salt, to taste

Directions

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Make the buffalo cauliflower wings first so you can bake them in the oven while making the buffalo hot sauce and vegan ranch dip.

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2. Heat up a pan over low-medium heat. Toast the spices (garlic, onion, cumin and paprika) for a few minutes until fragrant. Stir constantly to avoid burning. They shouldn’t stick to the pan if the heat is low enough but if they do, splash in some water. Turn off, remove from heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
3. Transfer the spices to a mixing bowl. Combine the flour, milk and water. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.
4. Dip the cauliflower florets into the batter and coat it entirely. Shake off any excess batter. Then dip the battered cauliflower into the panko breadcrumbs. Place the cauliflower on the baking sheet with a good space between each one (don’t stack them on top of one another).
5. Repeat until all of the cauliflower is used up. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the hot sauce and vegan butter together. Adjust to taste if needed. Stir to combine.
7. When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and brush hot sauce over them. Toss the cauliflower if needed to coat all the sides.
8. Bake the cauliflower again for 15-20 minutes.
9. Garnish with sesame seeds, spring onions and a sprinkle of paprika. Serve immediately with vegan ranch sauce.

Buffalo Hot Sauce

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients together and stir.
2. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let it cool.
3. Pour into a bottle or jar and serve with the buffalo cauliflower wings!

Vegan Ranch Dip

1. Place all the ranch dip ingredients except the herbs into a blender or food processor. Blend until combined.
2. Add in the herbs and pulse until they’re chopped.
3. Dip with the buffalo cauliflower wings!

Notes

*For the buffalo/hot sauce, we’ve included a recipe above if you’d like to make your own. Otherwise, feel free to store-bought buffalo/hot sauces such as Frank’s hot sauce. Just remember to also add in the vegan butter which will help the sauce coat the cauliflower better.

Additional notes:

• Cooking method: we bake them for a healthier alternative but you can also air-fry them if you have an air-fryer.
• Crispy texture: this recipe is best served immediately for a crispy texture. If needed, re-heat in the oven for about 10 minutes or place them in the air-fryer.
• To make it gluten-free: use GF flour and omit the breadcrumbs.
• To make it nut-free: use a nut-free plant-based milk

How to Make it Whole Foods

At Embody Nourish, we promote a plant-based diet that comprise mainly of whole foods. This means no oil (even ‘healthy’ oils such as coconut or olive oil), refined or processed foods. However we understand that this ideal is not yet mainstream so we strive to accomodate everyone while encouraging small changes.

You can make this vegan buffalo cauliflower wings recipe whole foods by:

• Using whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose.
• Omitting the breadcrumbs.
• Making your own buffalo hot sauce. However, we were really happy with the ingredients listed in Frank’s hot sauce so we don’t mind using it regularly.
• Making your own vegan ranch dip instead of a store-bought one.
• Instead of maple syrup, we recommend using date syrup or yacon syrup (according to our research, both are healthier especially the yacon syrup). Although this is the case, we don’t use yacon syrup regularly in our recipes because it’s hard to source.