This recipe for buffalo cauliflower bites is crispy cauliflower florets baked to perfection and coated in spicy buffalo sauce. Serve these cauliflower wings with ranch dip for the ultimate party snack!
I love anything smothered in buffalo sauce, whether it’s chicken nuggets, crispy shrimp, or this delectable buffalo cauliflower. It’s a unique and unexpected appetizer that’s baked instead of fried, yet still packed with plenty of flavor.
These buffalo cauliflower bites are hands down, the best way to enjoy cauliflower. They’re soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and coated in a spicy 3 ingredient sauce. Add some celery sticks, and a traditional dip like ranch or blue cheese, and you’ve got a snack that’s sure to get rave reviews!
How do you make buffalo cauliflower?
This recipe starts with cauliflower florets, which you will toss in a batter made of flour, water, salt and pepper. Place the cauliflower into the oven to bake until crisp. While the cauliflower is in the oven, make the spicy sauce with a blend of buffalo wing sauce, butter and honey. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, toss to coat, then bake the cauliflower one more time. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Tips for buffalo cauliflower
- Be sure to cut your cauliflower into similar sized pieces so that they’ll cook at the same rate.
- You can add other spices to the batter such as garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika or even chili powder.
- I prefer Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce, but other varieties of hot sauce will also work.
- This cauliflower is best when you serve it right out of the oven, as the coating will soften as the cauliflower sits.
Is cauliflower healthy?
Cauliflower is a super healthy vegetable that is a great addition to any diet. Cauliflower is low in calories, low in carbs, and high in fiber. This vegetable contains ample amounts of Vitamin B, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, folate, potassium and manganese.
In my opinion, a spicy snack needs a cool dip to keep the heat level to a reasonable level. While I often serve my buffalo cauliflower with ranch dip, blue cheese or buttermilk dips are also great choices. You can buy pre-prepared ranch dip at the store, or make your own homemade version.
What I love most about this recipe is that it’s unique yet familiar – it’s a welcome surprise to see cauliflower get the buffalo treatment. This is a great way to do something a little different than the traditional vegetable plate for your next gathering. Every time I make these buffalo cauliflower bites, they disappear immediately! If you’re having a big crowd over, you can easily double the recipe. Simply double the ingredients, split the cauliflower between two sheet pans and you’ve got a veggie snack to feed the masses!
More game day snack options
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites
- White Queso Dip
- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
- Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls
- Buffalo Chicken Nuggets
Buffalo Cauliflower Video
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, stem and core removed and broken into florets
- 1/2 cup flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking spray
- 2/3 cup buffalo wing sauce or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- celery sticks and ranch dip for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with 1/2 cup water and salt and pepper to taste. Add the cauliflower florets to the flour mixture and toss to coat.
- Place the cauliflower florets in a single layer on the baking sheet; season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20 minutes. While the cauliflower is baking, whisk together the buffalo wing sauce, melted butter and honey until smooth.
- Pour the buffalo sauce mixture over the cauliflower and toss to coat. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until crispy and just starting to brown.
- Serve immediately, with celery sticks and ranch dip if desired.
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Marzetti®. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Dinner at the Zoo possible! This post was originally published on January 29, 2017 and was updated on December 18, 2019 with new content.
Marybel says
Looks amazing and, probably very delicious as well. I want to make these cauliflower bites but want to know which sauce i can substitute for the Buffalo sauce. Which substitute sauce will have these cauliflower bites taste as AWeSoMe as Buffalo without the added hot spicy? ThanX for the added input.😀
Jessica | The Novice Chef says
Perfect! Love this idea for cauliflower!
Beth says
We made these for the family and they LOVED them! So delicious!
Cathy says
Such an awesome snack! Cauliflower always needs a little extra flavor and this is perfect!
Sandra says
My husband really loved it!! It was delicious!
Kimberly says
Oh wow, these sound SO good! Seriously can’t think of a better way to enjoy cauliflower! 🙂
Erin says
This buffalo cauliflower needs to happen at my house very soon!!
Catalina says
These cauliflower bites are such a great idea to eat veggies!
Jessica says
Great recipe! I’ve tried it twice and both times it turned out delicious
Tamara Copple says
This was turning out great until I added the sauce in the second baking step, and then it got mushy and overcooked. I think next time I am going to sub the wing/honey/butter sauce for the water in the flour mixture and see if tossing it in that paste makes a difference and allows me to cook it for less time and still get it crispy. I like my veggies crisp-hot, not soft. Still, worth trying again!
Abby says
Oh my gosh! These look so good I am trying them tonight in lieu of my original plans!! Thanks for the recipe
lea says
This looks delicious!! I can’t wait to try it. I’m always trying to think of delicious tasting and different ways to have veggies. This definitely fits the bill. Thank you. I’m pinning this.
Alisha Reynolds says
I was nervous about this recipe, when I started putting floury paste all over raw cauliflower. But it turned out AMAZING. Thank you so much for this recipe. Cauliflower is so good for you, but it’s the only vegetable I have a hard time getting my husband to eat. He loved these, so did I, so did the kids. Don’t wait for game day to make this.
Jenny| The Baking Skillet says
Totally have to try this one. It looks mouth-watering
Kelly says
The recipe states a simple batter. But instructions say ” mix flour with 1\2 cup flour. Is flour mixed with water?
Sara says
You are exactly right, it’s 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Thanks for catching that, updating now!
Lauren says
These look so amazing! Beautiful!
Debbie says
Who doesn’t love ranch dip! This is a healthier classic which I think will be a crowd pleaser for the Super Bowl group I hang with!
Sam says
My friends will eat anything with this yummy ranch dip.
Beatrice says
This will be going on my super bowl table!