This Spicy Buffalo Fried Cauliflower starts with fresh cauliflower florets that are buttermilk marinated then fried to golden brown perfection and finally tossed in a spicy buffalo sauce. If you love this recipe, you will love this Fried Oyster Mushrooms Recipe, Vegan Fried Chicken, Fried Pickles, Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes!
Thank you to Desiree of I Can You Can Vegan for Guest Posting this awesome recipe!
Y’ALL! I am BEYOND excited to share this recipe with you! I’m officially a cauliflower fan. Apparently I just hadn’t had it cooked right in the past. If you’re skeptical of cauliflower, or you’re looking for a fun #MeatlessMonday dish, try this recipe. You won’t be disappointed!
How to Make Spicy Buffalo Chicken Fried Cauliflower
Making this Spicy Buffalo Chicken Fried Cauliflower was super easy! First, you’ll want to chop up your cauliflower into florets. I prefer “smedium” (small/medium-ish) sized pieces for a good cauli-crunch ratio.
Once that’s done, round up your ingredients for the buttermilk marinade. This will help to give the cauliflower a little flavor so you don’t bite into bland cauliflower. Toss them around in the cauliflower so that all pieces have been covered and appear pinkish/redish like the mixture. Set them aside and let them marinate for 20 minutes or so.
While the cauliflower is marinating, you can go ahead and start putting together the flour mixture in a large bowl. Next, whisk everything together then set aside until you need it. Once the flour mixture is combined, you can whisk together the buffalo sauce and vegan butter. Now would be a good time to heat your oil on the stove. Once the cauliflower is done marinating, spoon each piece out and transfer them to a clean bowl. There will still be some marinade leftover which is exactly what we want.
We’ll now use this mixture to create the liquid batter by adding additional almond milk and whisking in the all-purpose flour. At this point you should have three bowls: one with the cauliflower florets, another with the flour mixture, and the liquid batter. Oh, and your buffalo sauce mixture set off to the side. Now you’re ready to start cookin’!
How to Dredge Cauliflower
Take each piece of cauliflower and dip it in the liquid batter, then in the flour, back again in the liquid, in the flour once more and finally into the hot oil. When coating, it’s important to really be generous with the flour and liquid batters.
If you want the layered, crispy coating from the photos, a light dip between the two bowls just won’t do! Your fingers might get a little doughy, but it’s okay! As you’re coating the cauliflower the second time around, you should notice that the flour and liquid batter mix is lightly “caked on.” This will create the layered, crispy crunch you’re looking for!
You’ll complete this dipping process for each piece of cauliflower until all of them have been fried for about 3 minutes on each side. Be sure to flip them over to ensure both sides are cooked. If you’re not sure if the underside has been cooked, grasp the piece with a pair of tongs, leaving them in the oil.
Just by gripping them with the tongs you’ll be able to feel if the breading has hardened. If it has, continue to flip it over. If not, continue to let it cook a bit longer. Whatever you do, don’t leave the kitchen! It’s important to keep an eye on these while they cook to avoid any accidents.
How to Reheat Fried Foods
The best way that I’ve found to reheat fried foods is to use an air fryer! Seems like a no-brainer, but I only recently started doing this. Simply place your leftover cauliflower in the air fryer at 400° for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. The best part is, you don’t even have to spray them with additional oil! Just toss them in for 15 minutes and BOOM! As a result, they’re ready to eat. There’s nothing more satisfying than turning some sad, soggy, fried cauliflower into crispy goodness!
If you’re not planning to enjoy all of them the same day, you might find it best to avoid drizzling them all with the buffalo sauce, this way they can be reheated better. As you can imagine, the added liquid will only make the fried cauliflower pieces softer, making it more challenging to revive the crispiness. The less liquid, the better. Simply store your extra buffalo sauce in an air-tight container in the fridge and drizzle a fresh coating on when you’re ready to consume your reheated leftovers.
I know you’ll love this recipe! Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!
Fried Buffalo Cauliflower
Ingredients
For the Buttermilk Marinade
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegan buffalo sauce I used Frank's
- 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
For the Flour Mixture
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp organic brown sugar
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
For Dredge Batter and Frying
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- enough oil for frying about ½-1 inch in desired pan
For Buffalo Sauce
- 1/2 cup vegan buffalo sauce I used Frank's
- 2 tbsp melted vegan butter
- 2 tbsp chopped green onion optional for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the buttermilk marinade.
- Transfer the cauliflower florets to the marinade and let sit for 20 minutes, stir to cover all pieces.
- While the cauliflower is marinating begin combining all ingredients for the flour mixture in a separate large bowl. In addition, combine the buffalo sauce and melted vegan butter in a separate small bowl to make the buffalo sauce mixture. Set aside.
- Begin heating the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Once the cauliflower is done marinating, transfer the florets to a separate medium sized bowl, reserving the leftover liquid.
- In the same bowl that now has the leftover marinade liquid, add in 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk and ¾ cups of all-purpose flour. Whisk to combine (will not be totally smooth, but mostly).
- By now, your oil should be hot enough to begin frying. To test, flick a tiny bit of water in the pan. If it sizzles and pops, it's ready. If not, wait a few more minutes before beginning. It's important that the oil is hot enough before beginning to fry.
- Arrange your three bowls in the following order: cauliflower florets (furthest from the stove), liquid batter, flour mixture (closest to the stove).
- Use a spoon, tongs or your hands to dip the cauliflower pieces into the liquid batter, then into the flour mixture, back into the liquid batter, and into the flour mixture again, then into the hot oil in the frying pan.
- Repeat this process for each piece of cauliflower, for as many as you can comfortably fit in the pan at once without over-crowding. Rotate the pieces as necessary, browning on each side. Once the fried pieces feel hardened after touching with tongs, it's okay to flip.
- Transfer the fried cauliflower from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes. Only drizzle or toss the ones you are going to eat with the Buffalo Sauce mixture to taste and garnish with chopped green onion. Enjoy!
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Hi! Could I use regular buttermilk and cows milk in the recipe and have it turn out well?
Yes you can definitely do that.
Wow, very easy on the eyes. Oh, and the cauliflower looks good also!
buttermilk takes everything to the next level and I love that you used it! This looks fabulous
Oh wow – this looks amazing, and how wonderful that it’s even vegan! And as if I wasn’t already drooling, I saw your suggestion for also trying your Fried Pickles, Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes! YESSSSS to them all! You are speaking my veggie-goodness language here, for sure!
This spicy buffalo sauce is EVERYTHING!
These would be so good for meatless Monday! Can’t wait to try out the recipe 🙂