Whether you’re in need of an appetizer that adds a lot of pizzaz to your party, or you just want a new (and spicy!) way to enjoy your vegetables, this addicting Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower with Vegan Ranch dip is a delicious way to go.
Why this Recipe Works:
- Made with oat flour, this cauliflower coating is filled with nutrients. It also sticks to the cauliflower wonderfully, and doesn’t peel off like some other coatings do. Note: all purpose flour, gluten free all purpose flour and wheat flour will also work, if that’s all you have on hand!
- By making your own buffalo sauce, you can control what goes into it (and the spice level) without any questionable ingredients.
- The easy vegan ranch dip also works wonderfully as salad dressing!
When to Serve this Dish:
- This cauliflower is great to serve as an appetizer at any gathering, but I especially love to serve it on game days.
- If you’re looking to spice up your dinner menu, this cauliflower is awesome as a side dish, OR, in some corn tortillas to make buffalo cauliflower TACOS!
If you like this recipe, then you’ll love some of my other appetizers as well, such as my Lighter Guacamole,my Sun-dried Tomato Hummus with Crunchy Salt & Pepper Pita Chips, and my 15-Minute Vegan Pumpkin Chili.
How to Make Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower with Vegan Ranch:
1. First, preheat your oven to 450°F/230°C. Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. No parchment? No prob. Any nonstick baking sheet will do. Set your sheet aside for now.
2. In a large mixing bowl, prepare the Batter by mixing all five ingredients together. Then, add the cauliflower to this bowl and stir well, ensuring that all florets are evenly coated with batter.
3. Then, spoon out the coated cauliflower onto the parchment-lined baking sheet (leaving as much batter behind in the bowl as possible) and then bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, rinse and dry that large bowl and then use it to prepare the Red Buffalo Sauce by stirring together all six listed ingredients.
5. Once the 15 minutes of roasting has completed, return the cauliflower to the bowl containing the Red Buffalo Sauce, gently stir to coat, and then return the cauliflower to the baking sheet. Roast for an additional 15 minutes.
Once the cauliflower is done roasting, allow it to rest on the baking sheet for 2 – 3 minutes before transferring to your serving vessel of choice.
6. To make the Vegan Ranch, simply mix together the listed ingredients in a small bowl and then place it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it with the Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower. (BTW – this doubles as a vegan ranch salad dressing!)
And that’s all there is to it! I hope you love this tastebud blasting dish as much as we do.
Top Tips for Making Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower with Vegan Ranch:
- Parchment paper will prevent the batter from sticking to the baking sheet and peeling off the cauliflower.
- Try not to let excess batter from the bowl drip onto your parchment paper when transferring the cauliflower for baking, as it may burn.
Did you try this recipe? Please give it a star rating and let me know what you think in the comments below. Your feedback is very helpful! Thanks in advance.
Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower with Vegan Ranch Dip
Ingredients
- 7 - 8 c. of cauliflower florets (about 1 medium sized head) slightly larger florets work better than small.
Batter
- 1/2 c. oat flour (54 g), OR regular all-purpose flour, gluten-free all-purpose flour, or wheat flour
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 3/4 c. water (177 ml)
Red Buffalo Sauce
- 1/2 c. sriracha or comparable red chili sauce (118 ml)
- 1 Tbsp. olive, avocado or canola oil (15 ml) preferably organic canola to avoid GMO's
- 2 Tbsp. fresh or bottled lemon juice (30 ml)
- 1 tsp. molasses
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Vegan Ranch
- 1 c. Vegenaise or other veg mayo
- 2 Tbsp. fresh or bottle lemon juice (30 ml)
- 1 1/4 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh chives or 1/2 tsp. dried chives
- 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 450°F/230°C. Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside for now. No parchment? No prob. Any nonstick baking sheet will do as is.
- In a large mixing bowl, prepare the BATTER by mixing all five ingredients together. Then, add the cauliflower to this bowl and stir well, ensuring that all florets are evenly coated with batter.
- Then, spoon out the coated cauliflower onto the parchment-lined baking sheet (leaving as much batter behind as possible) and bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, rinse and dry that large bowl and then use it to prepare the RED BUFFALO SAUCE by stirring together all six ingredients.
- Once the 15 minutes of roasting has completed, return the cauliflower to the bowl containing the RED BUFFALO SAUCE, gently stir to coat, and then return the cauliflower to the baking sheet. Roast for an additional 15 minutes.
- Once the cauliflower is done roasting, allow it to rest on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to your serving vessel of choice.
- To make the VEGAN RANCH dip, simply mix together the listed ingredients in a small bowl and then place it in the fridge until you're ready to serve it with the Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower. (BTW - this doubles as a vegan ranch salad dressing!)
Video
Notes
- Parchment paper will prevent the batter from sticking to the baking sheet and peeling from the cauliflower. You can find flat parchment sheets HERE
- Try not to let excess batter from the bowl drip onto your parchment paper when transferring the cauliflower for baking.
The best way to eat your vegetables!! I love cauliflower so i will have to totally try this recipe. We should batter all veggies and coat them in buffalo sauce 🙂
Please let me know what you think of the recipe if you try it out!
They were really yummy. This is the first vegan recipe I have made. I’ll be checking out your recipes more. Is there a trick to getting the coating a little more crispy? After they cooled, mine ended up soft. Thank you!
Hi Gina, thanks for the kind words! I have recently updated the recipe to help make the cauliflower a little more crispy and firm, so please check it out the next time you’re in the mood for some buffalo cauliflower!
We just finished this great appetizer with a veggy tray. The ranch drsg was the best I have tried!!! The buffalo cauliflower wings were HOT,oh my!! LOL!! The taste was so good I continued eating them anyway. This will be a regular on our menu for game day! Thank you & please con’t to put out more of your recipes. Love all I have tried.
This was soooooo good and addicting!!!!! I am from Buffalo NY home of the Buffalo wings. We love our wings here and this is a great substitute and my family and friends loved. we served with blue cheese as that is the only thing you will find in Buffalo with wings. It was awesome with the Cauliflower. Loved it!!!! Thank you! If you want to know how to make real Buffalo sauce let me know 🙂
Yay, so happy to read this – thank you!! So happy you loved the recipe! Especially means a lot knowing you’re from lovely Buffalo. Thanks, again!
I too am from Buffalo (go Bills, Kristen)! This recipe is fantastic….HOT 😳 but delish! Thanks Audrey, I’m now a follower.
Please don’t promote “organic” canola as being non-gmo. There is no such thing in nature as a canola plant. It was genetically modified into existence – CANadian Oil = canola. Just because it’s now grown organically doesn’t make it organic.
awesome!
Have you tried this recipe in an air fryer? I have done something similar to this but used a dry mix with almond flour, sprayed with virgin olive oil and done about 10 minutes in the air fryer (I have a ninja) and love it, my husband thinks it tastes like chicken.
I just joined your website today, looking forward to seeing more. Thank you,
Hi Lee Anne and welcome! I haven’t tried this in an air fryer yet but I bet it would be fantastic. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
These turned out yummy, but are they supposed to be a little “battery?” Mine didn’t have any type of crust. User error I’m sure because I’m not a fan of cooking. lol
Hi Sara, since this cauliflower is roasted rather than fried, they do turn out a little softer than the buffalo cauliflower you often see in restaurants, which is typically fried. So happy you liked the flavor!