My one go-to appetizer recipe. These have the same texture as chicken wings and are served with a delicious homemade blue cheese dip. I like to do two sauces to give people a tangy alternative (apple cider vinegar) to the spicy original (buffalo).

1 large head of cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into bite-sized florets
1/2 cup milk or soy milk
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup flour
4 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

Buffalo Sauce

1 cup bottled hot sauce
1 tbsp butter

Apple Cider Vinegar Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp water

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 crumbled blue cheese
1/4 diced scallions
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sriracha
splash of milk
salt and pepper to taste

  • First, line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon non-stick mats. Do not try to do this with baking spray alone. It will not work!! Too sticky.
  • Preheat oven to 475°F (this temperature will vary based on your oven; the goal is to sear the sauces on the cauliflower and avoid merely slow cooking the florets).
  • Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Adjust quantity of milk to create a sauce that is just thick enough that it does not drip. It needs to coat and stay on each floret.
  • Dip each floret in the batter, tapping off excess so that the coating is even. Place coated florets on the parchment paper-lined sheets.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and flip florets. Return to oven for another 10 minutes, or until crisp and edges are brown.
  • Meanwhile, make the two sauces: combine buffalo sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil. Stir, remove from heat and pour into a dipping bowl to cool. Stir together the apple cider vinegar sauce ingredients in a second dipping bowl.
  • After the cauliflower has been in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, remove it and divide it in half. Toss one batch in the buffalo sauce and the other in the apple cider vinegar sauce.
  • Return to oven and repeat the baking proces, rotating florets at approximately 15 minutes in. Keep an eye on them to prevent burning; every oven is different.
  • Remove after 25 minutes and eat a tester to check for doneness. You can crack a bit of salt over the apple cider vinegar ones, if you like.
  • Serve on a circular dish, buffalo “wings” on one side, apple cider “wings” on the other, with the blue cheese dipping sauce in a bowl in the middle.