These Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites A.K.A Wings are the perfect appetiser or snack! Baked in the oven making them healthier, they are vegan and also dairy free and gluten free so are allergy friendly too!
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Trust me, these crispy baked cauliflower bites (also known as cauliflower wings) are unbelievable!! The crispiness of the batter on the outside is heavenly and the kids won’t realise you are feeding them veg…. I promise!!!
I have adapted this recipe to be gluten and dairy free so it's perfect if you have food allergies, there are also some variations further down if you are not a big fan of spice!
They make the perfect healthy snack or appetiser, even if you aren’t vegan they are a fab substitute for chicken buffalo wings and I’m sure you will love them as much as I do!
They are great to serve as part of a “fakeaway” buffet alongside my Gluten Free Puff Pastry Pizza and Homemade Dairy & Egg Free Chicken Goujons.
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Crispy and crunchy on the outside
- Super soft in the middle
- Vegan
- Gluten and dairy free
- Healthier than chicken wings - baked not fried!
🍅 Ingredients Needed
- Cauliflower - Try and find a medium sized cauliflower. This is the star of the show and forms the filling for our crunchy bites.
- Franks Buffalo Hot Sauce - Depending on how much you like your spice you can buy the original version or if you prefer things a little tamer Franks do a mild version too. Make sure you get the wings sauce and not the original hot sauce.
- Plant Based Milk -.I have used soya milk but any mild flavoured plant based milk will work, this is used to make the batter for the bites.
- Dairy Free Butter - For this recipe I have used Flora Plant unsalted butter, any dairy free spread will work.
- Gluten Free Flour - I always use Doves Farm Free From Plain Flour as its so versatile and works really well.
- Garlic Powder - Along with the other spices this is used to help flavour the batter.
- Onion Powder
- Cumin - Go easy on this if you don’t want too much spice.
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
Scroll to the recipe card for quantities.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How to make Cauliflower Bites
Chop the cauliflower, into small bitesized florets - its best to use a really fresh cauliflower for this recipe.
To make the batter, mix the flour with the spices, then add the milk slowly, whisking as you go. You need to make the batter as smooth as possible - no lumps!
Put the cauliflower in the batter mix and coat well. Shake off the excess batter from the cauliflower and place on a lined baking tray.
TOP TIP! It's really important to make sure you shake off the excess batter, this will help to keep the wings nice and crispy, if you leave too much batter on the cauliflower they may become soggy and not crisp up in the oven!
Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven, turning carefully half way through.
Meanwhile make up your buffalo sauce - melt the dairy free butter and mix with the Franks Buffalo Sauce in a small bowl.
Remove the cauliflower from the oven, dip each piece into the buffalo sauce butter mixture and put back on the baking tray.
Put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden and crisp.
TOP TIP! Before you put the cauliflower back on the baking tray, shake off the excess sauce to avoid them going soggy!
⚡ Variations & Substitutions
- Dairy - If you don’t need this recipe to be dairy free, substitute the dairy free milk and butter for the normal cows milk version. Use whole or semi skimmed milk to get a nice thick batter.
- Gluten - Swap for plain flour if you don’t require the recipe to be gluten free.
- Make it mild! - I love spice, the hotter the better! I actually love the feeling of burning in my mouth, weird I know!If you prefer something a little milder or your children are not a fan of spice you can swap up the coating for the batter.
BBQ: Substitute the buffalo sauce and butter for a BBQ sauce - after the wings have been in the oven for 20 minutes, use a pastry brush to paint the wings with the BBQ sauce, then pop back in for another 10-15 minutes … they taste A-MAZ-ing!!
Honey: Halve the amount of buffalo sauce and substitute it with honey (40ml of buffalo sauce and 40ml honey) this will sweeten the sauce and keep the major spice sensations at bay!
🥡 How To Store
These crispy baked cauliflower bites taste SO much better eaten fresh from the oven (and they are so moreish I would be surprised if you have any left!)
Fridge: They will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Freeze the wings in a single layer on a baking tray for 2 hours until frozen. Remove from the freezer, place in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Freezing the bites on the baking tray first stops them sticking together.
Re-heat from fridge - Place the wings on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 180c for 10 minutes.
Re-heat from frozen - Increase cooking time to 15 minutes.
I wouldn’t recommend re-heating in the microwave as the wings will go soggy.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Traditionally buffalo cauliflower wings are served with crudités of carrot and celery alongside a blue cheese dip or ranch dressing.
Both of these dips contain dairy, so I went in search of some ready made dairy free options that I could keep in the fridge, ready for when I needed them.
The closest equivalent, taste wise that I could find for a Ranch dressing is this Follow Your Heart vegan ranch dressing, it’s deliciously creamy and thick. In fact I rate a lot of Follow Your Heart Products, everything I have tried so far has been a really great substitute! Follow Your Heart also do a vegan bleu cheese dressing too.
This Heinz vegan aioli is a good find as well!
.💬 Recipe FAQ's
Now, I’m not going to pretend to you that these taste exactly the same as the original buffalo “hot” wings made with chicken! HOWEVER, the cauliflower does take on a meaty texture and even if you don’t like cauliflower (which believe me, is a pretty boring vegetable on its own!) I challenge you to try them.
The bites are super crunchy on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside, the sauce brings it all together to another level.
Cauliflower is so good for you, its full of fibre and B vitamins, as well as antioxidants that can help protect against cancer. I have baked the bites instead of frying them making them much healthier than the ones you would have eating out, as these are generally fried.
💫 Love this recipe? It would be great if you could leave a 5 ⭐ rating and comment below! Thanks x 💫
If you loved these, why not check out some of my other vegan recipes!
Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Broccoli Pasta
Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites (A.K.A. Cauliflower Wings)
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower
- 80 ml Franks buffalo hot wings sauce
- 120 ml planted based milk for this recipe I have used soya
- 2 tablespoon dairy free butter for this recipe I have used Flora Plant Butter
- 95 g gluten free flour for this recipe I have used Doves Farm gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 200 C / 390 F / gas mark 6.
- Chop the cauliflower into small florets.1 medium head cauliflower
- Make the batter - mix the flour with the spices, then add the milk slowly, whisking as you go. You need to make the batter as smooth as possible - no lumps!1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 95 g gluten free flour
- Put the cauliflower in the batter mix and coat well. Shake off the excess batter from the cauliflower and place on a lined baking tray.1 medium head cauliflower
- Bake for 20 minutes in the oven, turning carefully half way through
- Make up your buffalo sauce - melt the dairy free butter and mix with the Franks Buffalo Sauce in a small bowl.80 ml Franks buffalo hot wings sauce
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven, dip each piece into the buffalo sauce and put back on the baking tray.
- Put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Serve with a vegan ranch or blue cheese dip.
Let me know what you think of this recipe!