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These easy Oven-Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites are a delicious snack or appetizer made with just a few simple ingredients. Fully loaded with all the awesome flavor of chicken wings, these low-carb and vegetarian buffalo cauliflower “wings” have a soft and tender inside and crispy outside.
The Best Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe
All the delicious, tangy flavor of buffalo wings without the mess and calories. I’ve never been a huge fan of buffalo chicken wings, so this substitution was a no-brainer. But even all you wing fans out there will love these spicy buffalo-sauce-covered cauliflower nuggets.
Tossed in your favorite store-bought or homemade buffalo sauce and dipped in creamy Blue Cheese or ranch dressing, this healthy buffalo cauliflower recipe is a crowd favorite and is always gone in minutes!
Table of Contents
- The Best Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- How to Make Buffalo Cauliflower
- Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- Can You Make Buffalo Cauliflower in the Air Fryer?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Serve Buffalo Cauliflower
- Storage and Reheating
- More Buffalo Chicken Recipes,
- Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites Recipe
And just like my reader-favorite buffalo chicken dip, this buffalo-baked cauliflower couldn’t be easier to make! It’s the best healthy and low-carb snack you can make when you want to feast on something filled with flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
- Cauliflower
- Hot sauce
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Lemon juice
Note: I decided not to coat these buffalo cauliflower bites in breadcrumbs or all-purpose flour. By skipping the breadcrumbs, you can enjoy even more of these healthy buffalo cauliflower bites guilt-free! They’re also much easier to make this way (and I’m all about easy recipes!)
How to Make Buffalo Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make your buffalo sauce (or use homemade).
- Toss the cauliflower florets in the buffalo sauce, then transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes, tossing once midway through cooking. The insides should be tender, and the outsides should be crisp. Optional: Broil for 1-2 minutes at the very end of cooking.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh chopped chives or drizzle with additional buffalo sauce, if desired.
Reader Tip:
Some readers have mentioned that they’ ha’ve had good results when they wait to toss the cauliflower florets in the buffalo hot sauce until after they’ve been baked. Both methods work great, so I recommend trying each to see which one works best for you.
Homemade Buffalo Sauce
Making your own buffalo sauce is super easy, however, feel free to use your favorite store-bought brand of buffalo sauce if that’s preferred. The main ingredients in buffalo sauce are,
- Hot sauce: The most well-known hot sauce for buffalo wings also happens to be my favorite- Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Hands down, Frank’s has the best tang-to-spice ratio.
- Butter: Typically, the hot sauce to butter ratio is 2:1. The butter is what makes it so finger-licking good.
For this recipe, I’ve added slightly less butter, one tablespoon of olive oil, some lemon juice, and garlic powder. Feel free to play around with the ratio until you find a hot sauce mixture that tastes best for you.
Can You Make Buffalo Cauliflower in the Air Fryer?
Yes! Air fry at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes then flip the florets and continue to air fry for an additional 5 minutes. Remember to cook in batches, if necessary. The cauliflower florets should be cooked in a single layer.
Frequently Asked Questions
I do not recommend making buffalo cauliflower bites with frozen cauliflower pieces, as they are more likely to end up soggy or mushy once thawed and cooked.
Absolutely! Use your favorite store-bought wing sauce or make your own, it’s entirely up to you. If I’m short on time, my favorite store-bought sauce is Wing-Time Buffalo Wing Sauce.
Yes, to make this buffalo cauliflower recipe vegan, simply swap the butter for a plant-based butter alternative.
Yes! Air fry at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes then flip the florets and continue to air fry for an additional 5 minutes. Remember to cook in batches, if necessary. The cauliflower florets should be cooked in a single layer.
How to Serve Buffalo Cauliflower
Serve as a snack, game day appetizer, or spicy side dish, these buffalo cauliflower bites love being dunked in creamy blue cheese dressing, ranch dressing, or any other creamy sauce or dip.
Entirely gluten-free and vegetarian, serve your perfectly prepared cauliflower bites in fun-size cups or on a large platter with veggies like crunchy celery sticks, carrot sticks, and sliced bell peppers drizzled with all your creamy favorites.
Storage and Reheating
- Storage: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The cauliflower will soften as it cools.
- Reheating: For the best results, reheat in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes or in an air fryer for 3-4 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave, but the cauliflower will stay soggy.
- Freezing: Unless you don’t mind soft and soggy cauliflower, I don’t recommend freezing these buffalo cauliflower bites.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes,
- Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Recipe
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
- Buffalo Chicken Soup
- Buffalo Turkey Meatballs
- Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
If you try making this Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to read your thoughts and feedback!
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
- ½ cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Transfer cauliflower florets to a large bowl.
- In a small bowl whisk together the hot sauce, melted butter, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the cauliflower florets and toss well to coat.
- Spread the cauliflower in a single layer over a lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, gently tossing the cauliflower approximately halfway through cooking. Cook until the cauliflower is fork-tender and browned around the edges. Season with black pepper, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious!!! Omg,really really great with a real good squeeze of fresh lemon on top when serving.!!!!
Thanks for the delicious feedback and rating, Linda 🙂
Tried this last night. Roasted fresh cauliflower at 424 (in just olive oil ) for the first 15 min, then tossed in sauce and roasted for 13 minutes and broiled on high for 4-5 min. Still had soggy florets. Flavor was good but I’m going to try again to see if I can bet the texture right. May be hard without breading but I prefer a little crisp.
So yummy!!!!
Thanks for the yummy feedback and rating Lori 😀
Found this recipe among the myriad buffalo cauliflower recipes out there. This was easy and delicious! My husband brought home a massive home grown cauliflower and I used this recipe twice. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be using another recipe for buffalo cauliflower.
The only thing I changed was to omit the salt. The buffalo sauce has enough salt/flavor so there’s really no need to add more. And since I didn’t measure anything, I possibly used more of everything than the recipe called for. 🙂
Served with ranch dip and absolutely no complaints!!
Thanks for the delicious feedback Amber 😀
I rarely leave reviews… but guuurrrl… this recipe… loooord have mercy sooooo good!! I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally put a whole tsp of garlic powder in, totally did not effect the awesomeness that this is (maybe a tad better, cuz let’s face it – garlic is not a bad thing). I’m going to live by these. Thank you for such an easy recipe to satisfy the cravings…. it will be used often.
Your comment made my day Leah, thank you so much for the review 😀
I skipped the olive oil and used crushed garlic- it was delicious! Oh, and baked it without sauce for 4-5 minutes first and broiled for a couple minutes also, like you suggested.
Thanks for such a interesting dish… i will definitely do it again.
Thanks for the kind feedback Kimball 🙂
Easy to make, great flavor and live that it’s a healthy dish. Thank you!!
This recipe was absolutely delicious, quick and easy to make. My cauliflower was tender on the inside and perfect on the outside. My oven has an air-fry option, so I utilized that feature, and it took 10 minutes and was delicious. I choose your recipe because you use Frank’s (which we use in Buffalo for our wings) and only a small amount of butter and olive oil, while some called for a stick of butter(ewww). Will make again…..thank you
While it was very tasty, about 15 minutes in I had to drain the huge amount of liquid that was on the pan. The cauliflower became soggy due to this and I’ll probably use a cooling rack underneath the cauliflower next time. I also think it might be better to just roasted it for a half hour with a touch of olive oil, and then make that sauce afterwards and toss it in when it’s done cooking.
Great idea to buffalo cauliflower! I tweaked this a bit. A friend tried this and had the cauliflower come out a little soggy when putting the buffalo sauce on before baking. So I left the sauce off, flavored up the cauliflower by tossing in some olive oil, chopped garlic and lemon zest. Then baked about 15-20 min until browned, stirring on the pan a couple of times. Then tossed in buffalo sauce after baking and topped with chopped green onion and served with blue cheese dressing on the side for dipping. We ate more of this than the actual buffalo wings!
I should have added – I baked at 450 and it was about 25 min. The 15-20 was a typo 🙂
Thanks for sharing Ryan, I am glad it was a hit! 🙂