To make this easy buffalo cauliflower, roast the cauliflower, mix it with buffalo sauce, and briefly broil. It's perfect when served with a blue cheese dressing and celery!
Ready in about 30 minutes, you can serve this dish as an appetizer, a party snack, or a flavorful side dish.
I love how versatile cauliflower is. I enjoy recipes like cauliflower tots, cauliflower fritters, cauliflower steak, and cauliflower pizza crust.
Buffalo cauliflower is one of my favorite recipes for this vegetable. While it's not exactly like buffalo wings, combining cauliflower florets with tangy buffalo sauce creates a delicious appetizer that everyone around here enjoys.
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Ingredients
Here's an overview of the ingredients needed to make his recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
For the blue cheese dressing: Sour cream, mayonnaise, kosher salt, garlic powder, and crumbled blue cheese. For the best flavor and texture, please use full-fat sour cream in the dressing.
For the buffalo sauce: Unsalted butter, hot sauce, and garlic powder. I typically use Frank's Red Hot.
For the cauliflower: Fresh cauliflower florets, extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and garlic powder. While you can use frozen cauliflower florets and roast them for longer, it's best to use fresh cauliflower.
Variations
- Serve the cauliflower with ranch dressing - it's just as good as blue cheese dressing. It also goes well with tahini sauce.
- Use your favorite hot sauce, including sriracha.
- When roasting the cauliflower florets, coat them in melted butter instead of olive oil.
- Add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika to the buffalo sauce for a lovely smoky flavor.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:
Make the blue cheese dressing by mixing all its ingredients in a small bowl.
Make the buffalo sauce by mixing melted butter with hot sauce and garlic powder.
Toss the cauliflower with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Roast for 15 minutes at 450°F. Toss the roasted cauliflower with the buffalo sauce. Broil 6 inches below the heating element until browned, about 2 minutes.
Serve the cauliflower with the blue cheese dressing.
Expert Tips
- It's best to use large cauliflower florets and roast them for a short time at a high temperature. This helps the cauliflower retain some crispiness. Otherwise, it can turn mushy. Still delicious, but mushy.
- You roast the cauliflower in two stages. First without the sauce, and then coated in the buffalo sauce. For the second phase, I prefer to use the broiler. It browns the cauliflower better than baking and helps prevent sogginess.
Recipe FAQs
While this recipe is very flavorful and makes a wonderful party snack (or a side dish), it's not the same as baked chicken wings or buffalo wings. Chicken wings are richer, meatier (obviously), and more flavorful.
So don't expect this dish to be a substitute for the classic chicken recipe. Rather, it's a wonderfully flavorful vegetable dish that somewhat resembles the chicken original.
If you use a standard hot sauce (such as Frank's), the heat level should be OK for most.
But if you use a specialty hot sauce (such as habanero pepper sauce), you might want to reduce the hot sauce to 3 tablespoons and maybe even add an extra tablespoon of butter. Otherwise, the dish might be too spicy.
Yes, but it won't be as good. The homemade blue cheese dressing we use here is excellent and very easy to make. You can make the dressing a few hours in advance and chill it until ready to use.
Serving Suggestions
Buffalo cauliflower makes an excellent party appetizer. But I often serve it as a side dish, and when I do, I like to serve it with main courses I can cook in the same 450°F oven, such as oven-baked chicken breast, roasted turkey breast, or roasted pork tenderloin.
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the oven.
More Cauliflower Recipes
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Recipe Card
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower
Ingredients
Blue Cheese Dressing:
- â…“ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or a pinch of any other salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
Buffalo Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Buffalo cauliflower:
- 1 pound cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil - extra-virgin
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed, broiler-safe baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. You can also use broiler-safe parchment paper.
- Make the blue cheese dressing by mixing its ingredients (sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, garlic powder, and blue cheese crumbles) in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the buffalo sauce: In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the hot sauce and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with the olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Spread on the baking sheet and roast until tender-crisp, about 15 minutes.
- Switch the oven to broil and set an oven rack 6 inches below the heating element (not directly below).
- Whisk the hot sauce mixture again. Add the roasted cauliflower florets and toss to coat. Return the cauliflower florets to the baking sheet and broil them until browned, keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn, 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
Video
Notes
- When making this recipe, it's best to use large cauliflower florets and roast them for a short time at a high temperature. This helps the cauliflower retain some crispiness. Otherwise, it can turn mushy. Still delicious, but mushy.
- You roast the cauliflower in two stages. First without the sauce, and then coated with the buffalo sauce. For the second phase, I prefer to use the broiler. It browns the cauliflower better than baking and helps prevent sogginess.
- You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the oven.
Nutrition per Serving
Disclaimers
Cup measurements refer to the standard American cup, which is 240 milliliters. Most of my recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate, and the carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using any of my recipes.
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 
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