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Buffalo roasted cauliflower makes an equally great starter or addition to other dishes like salads and grain bowls. Here’s how to make it great, and how to serve it.
Why we love this recipe
I’m a huge fan of our baked buffalo wings and always happy to make a batch. But sometimes all you’ve got is a head of cauliflower and a dream. Buffalo roasted cauliflower is:
- A great vegetarian nod to wings (with easy vegan option)
- Equally fabulous as an appetizer, side, or element of a salad or grain bowl
- Easy to make
- Easy to customize
- Great with or without roasted chickpeas
I first published this recipe here back in 2017. I’ve since updated the post for clarity and made some tweaks to the recipe itself.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe as an appetizer. See the section below for more ideas on how to serve it.
- Use a nice big head of cauliflower.
- A little bit of cornstarch helps dry out and crisp up the outer layer of cauliflower a bit.
- Butter and Franks’s Red Hot original make the classic Buffalo sauce you crave. You can customize the spice level by adding more or less hot sauce. The amount in the recipe yields a nice, medium heat.
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a great batch of buffalo roasted cauliflower. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- First you’ll mix the cornstarch with the seasonings.
- Add the cauliflower and toss to coat evenly. This will take a bit of work, but it’s worth it. Pour in the oil and toss again. Roast on two uncrowded sheet pans for 30 minutes.
- Stir together the butter and hot sauce.
- Toss the cauliflower in the sauce and return to the oven for 10 minutes. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
If you plan to serve buffalo roasted cauliflower as an element of a salad or grain bowl, it’s nice to include some chickpeas, too. They add plenty of plant-based protein and complex carbs, and they’re a perfect fit for the tangy, buttery Buffalo sauce. (What isn’t?) You can find the details on how to incorporate them in the recipe card below.
Yes! Simply replace the butter with a vegan butter. There’s no need to make further changes.
This recipe is at its best shortly after roasting, so I don’t go out of my way to make it in advance. That said, leftovers are fabulous, too. They’ll keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week and are tasty reheated (in the microwave, oven or toaster oven) or chilled.
More favorite cauliflower recipes
- Steak, with chimichurri
- Mashed, with smoked gouda
- Easy curry with tofu
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Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
For the cauliflower
- 1 large head cauliflower, (2 to 3 pounds/900 to 1360 grams)
- 2 tablespoons (16 grams) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) safflower oil
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) Frank’s Red Hot original
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, melted
Optional
- 1 15.5- ounce can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
To make blue cheese dip or dressing
- ¼ cup (60 grams) sour cream
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 2 ounces (57 grams) good-quality blue cheese (such as Gorgonzola dolce), crumbled
To make it a salad
- 4 cups baby spinach or other greens
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Instructions
To make the cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 425°F with one rack in the top third and one rack in the bottom third.
- Cut the cauliflower into florets, wash, and dry well.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add the cauliflower and toss until evenly coated. This will take a minute, but it's worth doing well.
- Pour the safflower oil over the cauliflower and toss again.
- Divide cauliflower between two baking sheets. I like to line them with parchment or silpats, but it's not strictly necessary.
- Bake for 30 minutes, swapping the placement of the baking sheets halfway through cooking.
- While the cauliflower cooks, clean and dry the mixing bowl. Stir together the hot sauce and melted butter.
- Add the roasted cauliflower to the bowl and stir to coat evenly with the sauce.
- Spread cauliflower back onto one of the baking sheets and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
If including chickpeas
- Pour chickpeas into a colander, discarding liquid, and rinse thoroughly. Shake off any excess moisture.
- Arrange chickpeas in a single layer between clean kitchen towels or multiple layers of paper towels. Gently press and roll them around to dry thoroughly and loosen some of the skins. Remove and discard any loose skins that result from this process, but definitely don't worry about getting rid of them all.
- Add to the mixing bowl with the cornstarch-coated cauliflower, just before pouring in the oil.
To make the blue cheese dip
- While the cauliflower and chickpeas cook, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, and blue cheese in a small bowl.
- Stir all ingredients together with a fork, breaking up any large chunks of blue cheese as you go.
To make it a salad
- To serve, arrange greens and tomatoes on a platter or in individual serving bowls and top with cauliflower and chickpeas.
- Serve with dressing on the side, or toss if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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