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Murielle Banackissa

Panko Crusted Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Print recipe
50 mins Prep: 15 mins Cook: 35 mins
Serves 4

Light, crispy, spicy and tasty, these panko crusted baked buffalo cauliflower bites are made with under 10 ingredients and make for a wonderful side dish or a snack!

Ingredients

  • 1 small cauliflower head , cored and cut into small florets

Batter

  • ¼ cup + 1 tbsp brown rice flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened soy milk
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • Pinch of sea salt

Panko Coating

  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs or gluten free panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp onion powder

Buffalo Sauce

  • ¾-1 cup buffalo sauce
  • 2 tbsp melted unsalted vegan butter or avocado oil

Recipe

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, add all the batter ingredients and mix to combine.

  3. Step 3

    In another medium bowl, mix panko breadcrumbs and onion powder.

  4. Step 4

    Using one hand, drop a few cauliflower florets into the bowl with the batter and toss to coat. Using that same hand, shake cauliflower florets to remove excess batter and drop into the bowl with the panko breadcrumbs.

  5. Step 5

    Using your second hand (the clean one), toss the cauliflower florets until coated. Using that same hand, place them onto your prepared baking sheet.

  6. Step 6

    Repeat for the rest of the cauliflower florets.

  7. Step 7

    Make sure the cauliflower bites are spaced out and not clumped together. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

  8. Step 8

    While in the oven, add buffalo sauce and melted vegan butter into a medium sized bowl.

  9. Step 9

    Take a few cauliflower bites and drop them in the sauce. Toss until coated. Gently shake to remove excess sauce and place back on baking sheet.

  10. Step 10

    Repeat for the rest of the cauliflower bites.

  11. Step 11

    Return to the oven for 20 minutes, flipping them at the 10-minute mark.

  12. Step 12

    For extra crispy bites, right before removing from the oven, broil on high for 2 minutes, watching carefully.

  13. Step 13

    Enjoy immediately as is or with your favorite sauce. These would be great with my Creamy Pickle Cashew Dressing.

Common Questions & Swaps

  • The reason this recipe calls for brown rice flour rather than any other flour, is that, from my personal experience, I find that brown rice flour becomes crispier than other flours when baked. Plus, it is also much lighter than many flours and therefore does not weight these bites down.

  • If you do not have brown rice flour, rest assured, all-purpose flour is still a great alternative and so is white rice flour.

  • In terms of plant based milks, as long as it is unsweetened and not coconut milk, it will do the trick!

  • These panko crusted baked buffalo cauliflower bites are wonderful on their own but they also pair really well with creamy sauces, think ranch or even my Creamy Pickle Cashew Dressing.

  • Make sure that your bites are not all crammed together, this will ensure that they cook faster and become crispier.

  • Use the outlined technique for coating your cauliflower florets. It will ensure that both your hands are not coated with batter and panko and that you are not adding unnecessary batter into your bowl with the panko.

 

Panko crusted buffalo wings on a plate with lime wedges and water glasses
Panko crusted cauliflower on a small plate garnished with fresh parsley
Panko crusted cauliflower on a plate with limes in the background and other panko crusted vegan wings
Panko crusted cauliflower on parchment paper
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I feel like it has been a hot minute since I wrote a blogpost and shared a recipe with you guys! 

This recipe for Panko Crusted Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites had been on my mind for a while. I knew I wanted to share something along these lines for a few months, but never really found the inspiration to actually create the recipe and shoot it… Until last week.

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On a day I had put aside to create content for myself, create and shoot recipes and experiment with shots I had in mind, I got the idea of making these little beauties as I had a cauliflower head that had been in my fridge for over a week and 3 bottles of buffalo sauce, untouched!

Although I know there is probably a million variation of buffalo cauliflower bites (or wings) on the internet, my idea with this recipe was to create a side dish that was fun to make, with minimal ingredients and tasty! I also wanted to provide a gluten free alternative for those of us who are trying to avoid gluten.

On that note, I hope you guys give this little recipe a try! It is a really fun one to make all year, but I find in the summer, it is a wonderful dish to have on your balcony or your deck, while sipping on a glass of sangria!

If you guys give this recipe a try, be sure to share it on social and tag me (@muriellebanackissa).

I hope you guys are staying safe and healthy!

Have a lovely week!