Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

There are two things you should know about me: 

1. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio which means I was born a college football fan (GO BUCKS!). 

2. I REALLY like cauliflower (duh). 

Why not combine the two?! Sadly, I am not the person who invented buffalo cauliflower bites but I AM the person who has made them 5 times in the past two weeks. My only goal this week is to create an army of people who are just as obsessed with buffalo cauliflower bites as I am. I mean...I don't think that is too much to ask. 

#LIFE GOALS. 

 

 

I'll be honest - I love a good tailgate as much as the next Buckeye fan but I don't always love the food options. Bratwurst, chicken wings, and beef sliders are staple foods at most tailgates but not something you will see on my plate. Nothing against the classic game day foods, but I'm just not into them anymore. Sorry bratwurst, It's not you, it's me.

If a tailgate has a good veggie burger I'm the first one in line. Got chips and guac? I'M THERE. Fun fact: I used to frequent Buffalo Wild Wings (B-Dubs what whaaatt!) a lot in college. My friends and I would go on the nights when boneless wings were 50 cents or something crazy like that and get A LOT. 50 cent wing night is basically every college kid's dream. Once I went meat free about 6 years ago, I didn't really think about chicken wings (Sorry, B-Dubs). I have seen a lot of recipes over the past few years for buffalo cauliflower bites and have been dying to try them. 

BTW - what CAN'T cauliflower do?? Cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower "mashed potatoes", cauliflower rolls, cauliflower soup, cauliflower rice, cauliflower fritters, cauliflower steaks, cauliflower hummus, I mean...wow. Cauliflower is such a superstar. All the gold stars for you, cauliflower. BRAVO. 

buffalo cauli 3.jpg

This buffalo cauliflower recipe is dynamite. I was a little nervous making this for the firs time. Scott is a HUGE Patriot's fan. Actually, "huge" is probably an understatement. Let's put it this way - if Tom Brady asked Scott to hang out he would ditch me in a heart beat (not really...but probably). The first time I made these cauli bites was during the first Patriot's game of the season. Scott is VERY serious about his Patriots and he needs good snacks to emotionally get him through the games. I was not sure these would make the cut. It's pretty risky to serve cauliflower to a grown man watching his favorite football team play. But I mean...they are breaded. And drenched in buffalo sauce. They had to be good, right?

Spoiler alert: THEY WERE. So good in fact that we polished off the whole batch before the end of the first quarter. Then I made another batch that week. And then another. I have never bought so much Frank' Hot Sauce in my life. Worth it. 

To recap, these buffalo cauliflower bites are our new favorite game day snack. Dietitian AND husband approved...what more could I ask for in life?! 

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites (V)

A vegan-approved healthy take on traditional hot wings! 

(Adapted from The Lean Clean Eating Machine)

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp earth balance (or butter), melted
  • 1/2 cup Franks Hot Sauce (I prefer the Buffalo Wings Sauce)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450(F). 
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, garlic powder, water, and salt until well combined. The batter should look similar to pancake batter - you don't want it too thick but not thin enough that the batter falls of the cauliflower. Adjust flour and/or water as necessary.  
  3. Dip cauliflower pieces into batter until well coated, then place on a lightly greased, non-stick baking sheet. 
  4. Bake for about 10 minutes, then flip with a spatula and bake for another 5 minutes. 
  5. Whisk together Frank's Buffalo Sauce and melted Earth Balance in a small bowl. 
  6. When the cauliflower is finished, take a plastic pastry brush and evenly brush each piece with the hot sauce mixture. 
  7. Bake coated cauliflower for an additional 10 minutes, or until sauce is crispy and sauce looks absorbed. 
  8. Enjoy!

Notes

*Make this recipe gluten-free by substituting brown rice flour. 

xoxo,

Lauren

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