Baked, crispy, and saucy, vegan buffalo cauliflower wings with tahini ranch. These homemade hot wings couldn’t be easier. A head cauliflower, torn into florets, and covered in (vegan-friendly) cornflakes and spices. To make this recipe a little more wholesome, the wings are baked and then tossed with a simple buffalo sauce, before baking once more. Best part? There’s no need to pre-boil the cauliflower. There’s no deep frying involved. But they’re still incredibly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve and dunk them in the simple tahini ranch. These vegan wings are so delicious, you’ll have them on repeat all year long.

These vegan cauliflower wings…

have a crunchy coating
packed with so much flavor.
are perfect for game day and for the super bowl.

Ingredients for vegan buffalo wings recipe

Cauliflower: Duh! A medium-large-sized cauliflower.
Cornflakes: Not all cornflakes cereals are vegan, so double-check before purchasing. I used the Kellogg GoFree range as that one is vegan-friendly!
Dried spices: Garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika powder, cayenne powder, salt and black pepper.
Flour: All-purpose flour is needed to create the thick batter to coat the cauliflower florets with. The thick slurry helps coat and stick to the cauliflower before coating it with the dry ingredients. Gluten-free flour will work too!
Non-dairy milk: Oat milk, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk etc. Use whatever you have at home!
Hot sauce: Like the classic buffalo wings sauce, you’ll need to use Franks hot sauce.
Vegan butter: Salted or unsalted! Depending on what you use, be sure to adjust the amount of salt in the overall recipe.
Olive oil: As these vegan wings are baked, not fried, you’ll need a few tablespoons of olive oil to coat the coated cauliflower florets. You could also use avocado oil if you prefer!

Making the crispy cauliflower wings

First, cut the medium cauliflower head into florets, then cut and tear it into small-medium wing-sized chunks. For the larger florets, you’ll have to cut them into half, or even quarters to achieve the perfect size. Then, simply cut off the excess stalk, we want the ends to be shorter to make them resemble wings better. Do not throw away the offcuts!! Simply freeze and throw into your smoothies.

And, of course, if you’re not extra like me, you can leave the stalk just as is!

Make the wet batter by simply whisking together all-purpose flour, water, a tiny pinch of salt and black pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside. Next, crush the cornflakes into crumb-sized pieces. There are two ways of doing this. You can either add the cornflakes to a food processor and pulse or you can use the back of a measuring cup and crush them. The small, crumb-sized crushed cornflakes allow the coating to stick better to the cauliflower florets. In a large bowl, combine crushed cornflakes, garlic powder, onion granules, smoked paprika, salt and black pepper.

Dunk the cauliflower in the wet, and then transfer into the dry. With clean hands, sprinkle and gently press the coating onto the cauliflower.

Place the breaded cauliflower florets onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, in a single layer, and brush the top of the nuggets with a generous amount of olive oil. Bake the vegan wings for 20 minutes.

All about the spicy buffalo sauce & tahini ranch dip

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Just like the real thing, the vegan wings are going to be tossed in a buffalo sauce before baking. And to do that, we need to make the vegan buffalo sauce first. To do so, simply combine Franks hot sauce with melted vegan butter. You can melt the vegan butter in the microwave, or in a small saucepan over medium heat. For extra spice, mix in a little cayenne pepper.

After 20 minutes, the cauliflower wings will be crispy and golden all over. Pour the buffalo hot sauce mixture over the crispy cauliflower florets. I like to reserve 1 tbsp or so of the sauce to put over the freshly baked vegan wings, but it’s optional!

Give everything a good mix together. At this point it might look like the vegan wings are soggy, but don’t worry! Once they bake for the final time, the crispy coating will soak up all of the sauce, and once again, become crispy! This will take around 15-20 minutes to achieve. And just like that – you have a delicious, homemade vegan cauliflower buffalo wings.

The best way to serve the cauliflower buffalo wings is with a simple homemade vegan ranch dressing. In a food processor add tahini, lemon juice, miso paste, maple syrup, salt, black pepper, garlic power, onion powder, dried parsley or oregano. Give it a whizz together. Add in a little water at a time to thin out the sauce, until it reaches the perfect dipping consistency.

Once you try this vegan buffalo cauliflower wings recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram – I can’t wait to see your images!!

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