Buffalo Cauliflower

An easy recipe for healthy keto buffalo cauliflower made with no flour and served with a blue cheese dressing and celery.

I have many cauliflower recipes on this blog because cauliflower is amazing. You can roast it, turn it into cauliflower tots, cauliflower fritters, rice, mash, even cauliflower pizza crust! The possibilities are endless.

But even with all these wonderful options, this particular recipe is one of my favorite ways to enjoy this very versatile vegetable.

Is buffalo cauliflower as good as wings?

While this recipe is very flavorful and makes a wonderful party snack (or a side dish), it’s not the same as buffalo wings. Buffalo 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’s probably healthier than the chicken one.

How do you make buffalo cauliflower?

It’s such an easy recipe! You basically roast the florets until tender-crisp, mix them with the buffalo sauce, then briefly broil.

When making this recipe, it’s best to use large cauliflower florets and to 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, then coated with the buffalo sauce.

For the second phase, I actually prefer to use the broiler. It browns the cauliflower better than baking does and it helps prevent sogginess.

The blue cheese dressing is excellent and so very easy to make, so there’s really no need to use a shady commercial dressing. And you can definitely make the dressing in advance and chill it until ready to use.

Is it a healthy recipe?

I believe it is. With whole-food ingredients such as cauliflower, olive oil, butter, sour cream, cheese and spices, why wouldn’t it be?

I’m sure you know by now that according to current research, dairy fat is harmless for healthy people, and might even be beneficial. Still, people with certain issues may want to minimize saturated fat.

I should also point out that I choose to use avocado oil mayonnaise in this recipe because vegetable oils are considered by some (but not all) experts as unhealthy.

How to serve buffalo cauliflower?

You can serve it as a party appetizer. Or you can serve it as a side dish to practically anything you can think of.

Although I wouldn’t serve it with buffalo chicken.. too much of a buffalo theme going on there.

Is this recipe very spicy?

One word of caution – if you use a standard hot sauce (such as Frank’s, for example), the heat level in this recipe should be OK for most.

But if you use an especially 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.

What about leftovers?

I wish I could tell you if leftovers keep well in the fridge! Alas, I never have leftovers when serving this deliciousness! 🙂

I would venture a guess that you can keep leftover buffalo cauliflower in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days, and reheat it in the oven on 250 degrees F. Or in the microwave, covered, on 50% power.

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4.96 from 82 votes

Buffalo Cauliflower

An easy recipe for healthy, keto buffalo cauliflower, made with no flour, and served with yummy blue cheese dressing and celery.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: buffalo, cauliflower

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 215kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

INGREDIENTS

Blue Cheese Dressing:

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (not fine salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

Buffalo Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Buffalo cauliflower:

• 1 lb. fresh cauliflower florets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (not fine salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make the blue cheese dressing by mixing all its ingredients 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 heat 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 until browned and bubbly, keeping a close eye on them so they don’t burn, 2-3 minutes.
• Serve the buffalo cauliflower hot, with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

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NUTRITION INFO Nutrition info is approximate. It is calculated using the SparkPeople.com recipe calculator, and the carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Please read the disclaimers in our Terms of Use carefully before using any of our recipes. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Please verify they are before using.

Nutrition Facts

Buffalo Cauliflower

Amount Per Serving

Calories 215 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 20g 31%

Saturated Fat 9g 45%

Sodium 700mg 29%

Total Carbohydrates 7g 2%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 3g

Protein 4g 8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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