To make this easy buffalo cauliflower, roast the cauliflower, mix it with buffalo sauce, and briefly broil. It's perfect when served with blue cheese dressing and celery!
I love how versatile cauliflower is. I enjoy recipes like cauliflower tots, cauliflower fritters, and cauliflower steak. This buffalo cauliflower is especially good. While it's not exactly like buffalo wings, combining cauliflower florets with tangy buffalo sauce creates a delicious appetizer that everyone around here enjoys. Ready in about 30 minutes, you can also serve it as a party snack or a flavorful side dish.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on the ingredients.
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.
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 smoky flavor.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
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 with the blue cheese dressing.
These turned out great. Perfect amount of sauce and dip for my head of cauliflower. I was tired of making breaded buffalo cauliflower with so many fails and this tastes better without the fuss of flour breading. Let the cauliflower shine through.
Pamela
Read more comments
These turned out great. Perfect amount of sauce and dip for my head of cauliflower. I was tired of making breaded buffalo cauliflower with so many fails and this tastes better without the fuss of flour breading. Let the cauliflower shine through.Recipe 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 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.
You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the oven.
Serving Suggestions
Buffalo cauliflower is the perfect 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 any of the following:
Recipe Card
Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Blue Cheese Dressing:
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ⅛ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons blue cheese - crumbled
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, including Morton kosher 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.
Notes
- 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 a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the oven.
Nutrition per Serving
Save this Recipe!
We'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
We will also add you to our weekly newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime. See healthyrecipesblogs.com/privacy/ to learn how we use your email.
Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Martha says
Delicious and very easy to prepare. Made this last night. Made as directed but added a bit more spices to both the cauliflower before roasting and to the sour cream mixture. Husband and I both loved it. Only issue I had was that the cauliflower did not get crisp. It did brown and it was yummy but it did not get crisp. I will be making this again and next time I will make more of the hot sauce mixture. Thanks for creating and sharing.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Martha,
I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! Thank you very much for the review.
The cauliflower doesn't get very crispy, it's true. But as you said, it's delicious.
Beth says
This is an excellent recipe and I enjoy it as a side frequently. However, Saturday I have a party I must bring a side/appetizer for. Trick is, I will be an hour late. Husband will be on time. Do you think the best thing to do is pre-roast these and have my sister in law toss in my sauce to broil just prior to serving? Or should I cook all the way and just have them reheat? Do they turn soggy when reheated? I never have leftovers to find out, lol!
Thanks for the great low carb recipe!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad you like this recipe, Beth!
I would toss in the sauce and broil just before serving.
Pamela says
These turned out great. Perfect amount of sauce and dip for my head of cauliflower. I was tired of making breaded buffalo cauliflower with so many fails and this tastes better without the fuss of flour breading. Let the cauliflower shine through.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Wonderful, Pamela! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, and I 100% agree!