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Served as an appetizer — or even as a side dish — this bite-size Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower is crispy, tangy, and very flavorful! Whether you love everything buffalo or are looking for a healthy chicken wings alternative for the big game, you can feel good about this cauliflower recipe.

Let’s face it, cauliflower all on its own is not all that impressive. As a child, I could not be convinced to eat cauliflower unless it was smothered with cheese sauce — lots of cheese sauce.

But now, I’m starting to actually enjoy cauliflower, especially when it’s roasted and seasoned well like with this tasty recipe.

Add celery sticks and Ranch or blue cheese dressing to create a yummy party buffalo platter.

Equipment needed

Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Buffalo fever has taken the country by storm! My daughter would eat buffalo sauce on ANYTHING and was the one who introduced me to the idea of buffalo cauliflower. I was skeptical at first, but it is actually very tasty!

Cauliflower and buffalo sauce

How to get crispy cauliflower without frying

Believe it or not, there are ways to cook crispy vegetables without frying and without a lot of oil, but there are a few tricks.

STEP 1 | Preheat the oven

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees — don’t skip this step! Starting with a hot oven will allow the veggies to immediately start to oven-fry.

STEP 2 | Prep the cauliflower florets

Completely coat the cauliflower in a slurry, which is a mixture of flour and water.

Typically, a slurry is used to thicken soups or stews, but in this case, the slurry acts as the veggie’s breading and also gives the buffalo sauce something to cling to later in the baking process. 

Coated cauliflower on baking sheet

STEP 3 | Transfer to the pan

Don’t overcrowd the baking pan. Lightly coat a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray, then place the coated and well-drained cauliflower (a slotted spoon works well for this) on the pan leaving some space for air to circulate.

Adding buffalo wing sauce to melted butter

STEP 4 | Make the sauce, baste, and bake

Once the cauliflower has roasted and has a crispy coating, baste each floret with a mixture of Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce, a little melted butter, and a bit of honey for sweetness.

You can adjust the amount of honey to your taste, but I like to add a tablespoon to one-third cup of the wing sauce. 

Brushing buffalo sauce onto cauliflower
Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower in blue bowl

Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

If you have kids who like buffalo flavor but who struggle to eat their veggies, then try serving Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower as a side dish on your dinner table.

Roasting completely changes the flavor of cauliflower, so give it a try with your picky eaters

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Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower in blue bowl

Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Served as an appetizer — or even as a side dish — this bite-size Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower is crispy, tangy, and very flavorful!
3.75 from 8 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Appetizers
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 117 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large cauliflower cut into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon butter melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, water, garlic powder and pepper until smooth. 
  • Put half of the cauliflower pieces into the bowl and stir to coat all the pieces. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the coated cauliflower to the baking sheet, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower. Bake for 35 minutes.
  • White the cauliflower is baking, stir together the buffalo sauce, melted butter, and honey in a small bowl.
  • Remove the cauliflower from the oven and brush each piece with the buffalo sauce mixture. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes or until slightly crisp. Serve with a side of Ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Notes

Recipe adapted from All Recipes

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 117kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 4gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 559mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8g

Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Keyword buffalo, cauliflower, Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was.
Sheila Thigpen, blogger

About Sheila Thigpen

Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer

Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.

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