Vegan Buffalo “Wings” made from cauliflower. I’m serious.
I must admit these are for my husband Ken (and Erinn’s beau, Michael, too). If it wasn’t for Ken, I never would have ventured into experimenting with veggies to make what was once, his ‘tried and true favourite’: Chicken Wings. He owned a very successful pub for 16 years in Toronto (that is actually how we met in 1998) and his diet, at that time, consisted of deep fried Buffalo wings, burgers, fish and chips, steaks, Guinness and other “pubbish” things to of course, clog his arteries.
Yes, things are much different now, after going to a plant-based diet (vegan) 7 years ago, but he (and Mike too) still have cravings for that wing hot sauce flavour and the Ranch Dressing you get with your typical wings and celery and carrot sticks.
I spent the better part of the day experimenting with hot sauces and came up with a very delicious Sriracha Sauce and a complimentary Ranch Dressing that I think you’ll all love.
So here’s the concept: To create a savoury, gluten-free, pancake-type batter that you use to dip in a hearty vegetable and then bake it crisp (healthier than frying too) …..and then toss the breaded vegetable into the sauce, as the addictiveness of this dish is, “all in the sauce”. Hopefully, the flavours are reminiscent of days gone by. Going Vegan was the BEST thing I ever did in my life on so many levels….including making great new recipes!
Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Breaded Cauliflower Wings in Buffalo Sriracha Sauce (A.K.A. Vegan Buffalo Wings)
Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower florets – make the florets about 1″ in diameter or bite-size.
Cauliflower Floret Batter:
⅔ cup GF all-purpose flour (you can use Garbanzo Bean Flour too)
½ cup oat flour
2 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried basil
⅛ tsp sea salt
⅛ tsp smoked paprika (this is an awesome spice and different from regular paprika)
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp agave syrup
3/4 cup spring water
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the batter ingredients until it is just like a thinner pancake batter consistency. Add more almond milk or water to get it just right. You don’t want it too thick. Toss and coat the cauliflower florets and place them onto parchment covered baking sheet. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes flipping halfway to ensure even browning.
3. Measure together the “Sriracha Sauce” ingredients (See recipe below) and place in blender and blend on high until fully incorporated. Place into small to medium size saucepan and stir on medium heat until bubbling. Remove and wait for cauliflower to be removed from oven.
4. Once the cauliflower florets are golden brown and crispy, remove them from the baking sheet and toss the cauliflower with the sauce in the pot (easier to use tongs). Try not to use it all (then you will have dipping sauce). Place the coated cauliflower back onto the baking sheet and bake for an additional 5 – 7 minutes until they get crispy (this is optional but I like this final result best)
5. Plate them and put the leftover Sriracha Sauce in a small dipping bowl – next to the Ranch Dressing and carrot and celery sticks. Click here for a healthier, Oil-Free, Raw Ranch Dressing
Sriracha Sauce
½ cup srircaha sauce
1 tsp paprika
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp finely chopped onions
2 tsp sucanat (evaporated cane juice)
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup coconut oil (or ½ cup coconut oil in total and omit olive oil)
½ tsp worchestershire sauce
⅛ tsp cayenne
1 tsp rice vinegar
Blend all in blender until fully emulsified and smooth.
Put in pot on medium heat and stir continually with whisk until bubbling. Remove from heat and use right away.
Toss the baked Breaded Cauliflower Wings in this sauce, right in the pot, to coat well and then place back on baking sheet and re-bake for 5-7 minutes more until crispy (this is optional but I like this final result best).
This sauce can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
Ranch Dressing – click here for an Oil-Free Raw Ranch Version
¾ cup vegan mayonnaise (Vegenaise)
⅓ cup vegan sour cream (I like the Tofutti brand)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
⅛ tsp sea salt
1 tsp FRESH parsley
BLEND all ingredients well in blender. Pour dressing into small mixing bowl. Pour into small dipping bowl. Serve with Vegan Buffalo Wings and Sriracha HOT Sauce, and celery and carrot sticks and for variety, try my other Ranch Dressing recipe too.
Don’t forget! Comments below! I want to know what you think.
Enjoy!
11 Comments
Mmmmmmmmmmmm…they were sooooooooo delicious! Thank you xo.
These sound AMAZING! I’m 7 months pregnant and I’ve been craving BBQ sauce. I will be trying this recipe for sure 🙂 Thanks Kelly!
You’re welcome!! So glad I can satisfy the cravings!!! xo
Kelly what is srircaha sauce and where can I buy it?
Also what can I use instead of the tofu blend sour cream? We have soy allergies.
Thank you!
Sriracha sauce is a sauce quite common now….it’s a type of hot sauce – probably Fortino’s will have it or other grocery stores. Frank’s Hot Sauce (vegan) is another option and not make your own sauce but I really like mine better with the added ingredients.
The Ranch Dressing is hard without these soy products but tomorrow, I am posting a NEW RAW Vegan Ranch Dressing so stay tuned. It’s made with cashews!!
Daiya has a cream cheese that is SOY-FREE now and you could substitute cream cheese for the sour cream. That will work. Increase your lemon juice by another TBSP if you go that route to offset the sweeter taste of the cream cheese.
Thanks Camilla!
xo
Just read through your post and I can’t wait to try this! So close to the start of the NFL season your timing is impeccable! 😉
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Kelly … thank you for this phenomenal recipe … I made the Vegan Wings and made enuf of the ranch dip to use it as a dressing … but WOW — when they were cooking my wife came into the kitchen and said … so … your making chicken wings for supper … NO … Vegan style … and they were sooooooooo good … great kick … Ken is right they are the best !!!! Thank you
Making these tomorrow with cauliflower from the market! Wondering if honey could be substituted for agave (not vegan but I don’t use agave otherwise and have honey on hand)
Honey is fine Julie…..just try to find sustainable and raw (As I’m sure you do already) :).
Can’t wait to try these. My only concern is the Sucanat. If I can’t find it what would be a good substitute.
I think that Sucanat is everywhere but if you can’t, it is raw cane sugar (evaporated cane juice). You really could use brown sugar too but it really isn’t a healthier sugar.