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You are here: Home / Appetizers / The Best Buffalo Cauliflower | Crispy + Spicy + Air Fried!

November 18, 2019

The Best Buffalo Cauliflower | Crispy + Spicy + Air Fried!

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A top-down shot of a buffalo cauliflower salad

This breading method creates the crispiest coating and crunchiest crunch!

A piece of buffalo cauliflower spread on a fork, being held up by a hand

The breading here has been tweaked from this one used on these cauliflower steaks and this one I used to bread tofu. You’re going to get that ripply, KFC-ish coating that clingy sauces love to seep into. Not into buffalo sauce? Toss it into some bang bang sauce, dip it into this chipotle-lime sauce, drizzle with gochujang glaze, or reduce this marinade and burn your face off.

I tossed this cauliflower into a salad, but it can be piled onto a burger, tossed into some noodles, tacos, served with fries or used in a stir-fry.


Hi there, reader! If you make this recipe and love it, would you mind leaving a 5-star review? You can do this in one-click via the “leave a reply” section at the bottom of this post. It’s a really simple action that helps me out tremendously. Thank you as always for your support and happy cooking! xo


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buffalo cauliflower salad

The Best Buffalo Cauliflower: Crispy, Spicy, Air Fried!


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: erin wysocarski
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2-4 servings
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Description

The best buffalo cauliflower: toss into a salad, pack into a taco, or pile onto a burger.


Ingredients

for the cauliflower

  • one head of cauliflower, cut into evenly sized florets

for the dry ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 TB garlic powder
  • 1 TB onion powder
  • 1 TB paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cayenne (optional)

for the wet ingredients

  • 1 cup soymilk, with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar whisked in
  • 2 TB Follow Your Heart VeganEgg powder, blended with 1/2 cup ice cold water
  • 2 TB bourbon
  • 1 TB hot sauce

for frying and coating

  • Spray oil
  • at least one cup of prepared buffalo sauce. (You can also make your own by mixing a 1:1 ratio of melted vegan butter with a vinegar-based hot sauce)

to serve

  • arugula
  • cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1–2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • cilantro
  • 1–2 TB chopped red onion
  • vegan bleu cheese dressing (I used Daiya)

Instructions

to prep the cauliflower

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place the cauliflower florets into the pot, let the boil return, wait about a minute, then transfer the florets to a cookie sheet with a wire rack over it to cool. Leave out until cooled, or throw into your refrigerator.

to make the breading

  1. Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
  2. Combine all of the wet ingredients into a separate medium-sized bowl.
  3. Working one piece at a time, coat the florets evenly in the dry mixture, tapping off any extra and placing them back onto the wire rack.
  4. Working one piece at a time, dunk the florets into the wet mixture, then coat evenly with the flour mixture.
  5. Return the battered cauliflower back onto the wire rack and place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

to air fry the cauliflower

  1. Spray the cauliflower florets evenly with cooking spray. Place into the air fryer in a single layer (you will need to work in batches based on the size of your cauliflower and air fryer) at 400 degrees and cook for 8 minutes. Respray, flip and spray again over any areas that look dry and cook for an additional 4 minutes to achieve a deeply golden color and crinkly texture all over.
  2. Place the buffalo sauce into a bowl, add the florets to gently toss, then place back into the air fryer for 2 minutes. Toss again in the buffalo sauce right before serving, if desired.
  3. Serve immediately in a salad, burger or taco.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes

If you made this recipe ...

Tag @olivesfordinner on Instagram and hashtag it #olivesfordinner ... thank you!

A person wearing an apron, holding a buffalo cauliflower salad


Gratitude + Podcast Faves from this week

With winter arriving here in Boston, learning to knit is super helpful! Glued to my couch, index fingers bandaged and padded (they actually split and started bleeding from the needles), I’ve loved the solitary and repetitive process despite the little injury, and made this comfy scarf. Grateful for being able to do this, and giving my super anxious mind a calming task to focus on. Moving on to an actual pattern next!

A person in side profile, wearing a homemade knitted scarf

Instead of listening to music while knitting, I’ve been binging on true crime podcasts. These are my two recent favorite discoveries, which feature great chemistry between podcasters and effectively showcase their passion for this genre.

RedHanded | Hosted by Bristish-based duo Suruthi and Hannah, this podcast is well researched, with an array of cases infused with their unique insight and perspective.

Cover art for Redhanded Podcast

Killer Queens | Hosted by Tennessee-based sisters Tori and Tyrella, I love their southern accents, and when they drop a ya’ll, my southern roots go ahhh.

Cover art for Killer Queens podcast

Filed Under: Appetizers, Burgers, Entrees, Salads, Sandwiches and Wraps, Small Bites, Vegetable Sides, White

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    November 20, 2019 at 8:14 pm

    Hi, can these be deep fried or baked in oven with similar results to the air fry method?.

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      November 21, 2019 at 6:48 am

      Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure if it would work. But if you try either with good results, I’d love to know!

      Reply
  2. Rhonna says

    November 24, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    Omg yes! I can’t wait to try, recipes that just use a batter drip off and are never crunchy. And yarn did you use for your scarf?? I knit for years and what I wear the most is my first wide, dropped stitch garter stitch scarf ?

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      November 26, 2019 at 6:33 am

      Rhonna, I love that you still wear your first scarf project — I think I am going to be doing that with this one as well! I used acrylic yarn here. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

      Reply
  3. Joshua Howard says

    November 26, 2019 at 4:27 am

    Hi! Thank you for this recipe! The flavors are so bright…All my family liked it very much

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Is says

    March 3, 2020 at 10:37 am

    These look SO good! Do you know of a replacement for the Follow Your Heart egg powder? Would flax eggs or aquafaba work?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      March 3, 2020 at 12:15 pm

      I haven’t tried either for this recipe so I can’t say for sure if those would work — but if you try with good results, I’d love to know!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Erin! I love creating original and delicious vegan recipes and sharing them here. I cook and photograph food with my husband Jeff in Boston. Read More…

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Hi, I'm Erin! I love creating original and delicious vegan recipes and sharing them here. I cook and photograph food with my husband Jeff in Boston. Read More…

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