Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower
Buffalo cauliflower and roasted chickpeas makes a fun party appetizer with the dressing on the side for dipping, and it also makes a great salad, tossed with some greens and tomatoes.
Servings: 4
Calories: 386kcal
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
For a vegan version of this recipe, simply replace the butter with a vegan butter. There's no need to make further changes.
If you're not into blue cheese, this recipe is also great with ranch.
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 13.7g | Fat: 26.8g | Fiber: 9.1g