Spicy Vegan Cauliflower Buffalo Wings (Gluten Free)

Not only are these vegan cauliflower buffalo wings delicious as a snack or a side dish, but they also contain a massive 7g of protein per serving. 

This recipe completely transforms cauliflower from a humble vegetable to a deliciously spicy, crunchy treat. 

If you like spicy food, you’ll adore this recipe. And even if you don’t like spicy food, you can still make this recipe by replacing the hot sauce with some milder condiment.

Here’s an interesting fact about Cauliflower.  Cauliflower is very high in protein.  Most people wouldn’t think of cauliflower as a good source of plant protein, but it is ranked 14th in the top sources of plant protein. 

Even more surprisingly, cauliflower actually contains more protein per calorie than beans, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, and peanuts which people normally say are some of the best sources of protein. 

Maybe this will make you think differently about including more cauliflower in your diet. 

Each serving of these buffalo wings gives you a whopping 7g of protein.  You could even eat the entire batch as a complete meal to get 28g of protein which is pretty incredible.

Something else very impressive about this recipe is that is almost contains your entire recommended intake of Vitamin C for one day, just in one serving.  Who would have thought cauliflowers could pack such a nutritional punch?

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This recipe and all recipes on my website are suitable for the special diets, vegan, plant based, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, free from refined sugar, and vegetarian.
• This recipe contains 108 calories per serving.
• This recipe contains 7g protein per serving.
• This recipe contains 90% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C per serving
• This recipe is made extra tasty by the addition of buffalo hot sauce and BBQ Seasoning.
• I have simplified this recipe by limiting the number of ingredients and using everyday ingredients such as cauliflower and chickpea flour.

Ingredients

Ingredient Substitutions

• Cauliflower: You can replace the cauliflower with broccoli. 
• Soy Milk: You can replace this with a milk of your choice.
• Chickpea Flour: You can replace the chickpea flour with any flour of your choice.
• BBQ seasoning: You can replace it with paprika if you don’t want to make my seasoning blend.
• Frank’s Buffalo Sauce: You can replace Frank’s sauce with any hot sauce of your choice, or if you want to opt for a milder taste, you could just use ketchup or any other condiment that you like the taste of.  This will change the consistency slightly, so you might want to bake it for 1-2 minutes more to keep the cauliflower crispy.

The Structure Of A Plant Based Plate

Each of the recipes I create fits into my Plant Plate System.  This system incorporates 5 food groups into every meal. 

The 5 food groups are 1) Plant Protein, 2), Leaves, Fruit, And Veg, 3) Aesthetic Additions, 4) Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates, and 5) Taste

This recipe adds plant protein to any dish.  It falls under the “vegan protein” category on the Plant Based Plate and is not a complete meal.

The diagram below helps you visually see how this element features on a Plant-Based Plate.

Click here to discover more about my Plant Plate System and some of the benefits of eating this way.

Here’s how this recipe is structured according to the Plant Plate System.  

Adding each ingredient to the following categories helps you to easily see how to make substitutions.  It also lets you know the exact reason why the ingredient is in the recipe. 

Plant-Based Protein

• Cauliflower
• Soy milk
• Chickpea flour

Leaves, Fruit & Veg 

• Cauliflower

Aesthetic Additions

• none

Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates

• Cauliflower

Taste 

• Buffalo Sauce
• BBQ Seasoning

Recommended Equipment

Here are the main kitchen equipment tools I have used to create this recipe.

How To Make This Recipe

• Cut the cauliflower into florets and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
• Bake the florets in an air fryer or oven.

What To Serve With Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

Here are some of my favorite things to serve with this recipe: 

• Easy Vegan Meatloaf With Mushrooms And Oats
• Homemade Vegan Crunchwrap Recipe
• Easy Vegan Gluten Free Black Bean Meatballs (3 Ways)
• Vegan Ranch Dip

For more options, see all of my best vegan, gluten-free carbs side dishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Store Leftovers

This recipe keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.  Defrost it before using it. Reheat it by warming it up in the oven or air fryer.

More Tasty Plant Protein Recipes

This recipe is part of my plant protein series.

If you’re looking for easy, plant protein side dishes, check out some of my other recipes:

• Creamy Edamame Guacamole (No Avocado, Vegan)
• Soft Silken Tofu ‘Egg’ Scramble with Black Salt (Vegan)
• Smoky Tempeh Bacon (Air Fryer, Oven, Vegan Gluten Free)

You can see all of my vegan protein recipes here.

Recipe

Spicy Vegan Cauliflower Buffalo Wings (Gluten Free)

Katherine Kyle

Not only are these vegan cauliflower buffalo wings delicious as a snack or a side dish, but they also contain a massive 7g of protein per serving.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Leaves Fruit & Veg, plant protein, Side Dish, Snack, Vegetable Sides

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 108.5 kcal

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Oven

Ingredients

  

• 1 Head (600g) Of Cauliflower
• ½ Cup (120ml) Soy Milk
• 60g Chickpea (Gram) Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Of My Homemade BBQ Seasoning Or ¼ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika, ¼ Teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder, ½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder, And ½ Teaspoon Onion Powder
• ¼ Cup (60ml) Frank’s Buffalo Sauce, Hot Sauce, Or Ketchup

Serve With

• Vegan Ranch Dressing

Instructions

 

• Cut the cauliflower into florets.
• Mix the milk, chickpea flour, and BBQ seasoning together in a bowl.
• Add the cauliflower to the bowl and mix until the cauliflower is fully coated.

Air Fryer

• Spray the air fryer basket with oil spray.
• Add the cauliflower to the air fryer. Spray the cauliflower with oil spray
• Bake at 190C / 380F for 15 minutes or until golden.
• Use a pastry brush to coat with Frank’s buffalo sauce, other hot sauce, or ketchup.

Oven

• Line a baking sheet with parchment (greaseproof) paper.
• Add the cauliflower to the sheet and spray with oil spray.
• Bake at 190C / 380F for 20 minutes or until golden.
• Serve with ranch dressing.

Notes

Storage: This recipe keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.  Defrost it before using it. Reheat it by warming it up in the air fryer or oven.

Nutritional Information: The nutritional information is for one serving of the cauliflower buffalo wings, not including any dips or other serving suggestions. 

Now it’s your turn to make magic with food.

• Author
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Katherine Kyle

BSc, PGCE, Certified Vegan Nutritionist at Magical Life Of Fruit

I help busy people make tasty, simple, plant-based, gluten free meals that are so filling that they don't need to snack at all.

When I switched to a vegan diet I lost 56 pounds (5 dress sizes) and all areas of my life were dramatically transformed.

Going vegan totally gave me my life back, saved me money, boosted my confidence, increased my energy, and helps me maintain a healthy weight.

Read my story here.

I have helped millions of people to do the same through my two websites,
GreenThickies.com and MagicalLifeOfFruit.com.

Send Katherine a message on Instagram,or email.

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