Vegan Cauliflower Wings Recipe (plus a vegan ranch recipe!)
As much as I love the holiday season, I couldn’t be more thankful for it to be over. The stress alone is enough for me to forget what day of the week it is! Knowing I had very little time to photograph or write, I instead chose to focus entirely on spending time with family. That being said, I couldn’t wait to get back to cooking! To help ring in the new year, I chose a new take on a classic.. vegan cauliflower wings. (Also a vegan ranch recipe and a homemade pepper sauce recipe to complete the package!)
The crispiest vegan cauliflower wings ever!
I’ve struggled to produce superb results in the past, creating a doughy, goop mess covered in hot sauce. Not the best combination. A tip from this blog, claimed garbanzo bean flour helped create a crisp, “fried-like” texture. Sounded perfect! Hesitant to use 100% garbanzo flour, I used a whole wheat mixture for a more traditional coating. I was blown away by the results! The coating cooked into the perfect spicy crunch over perfectly baked cauliflower. Absolutely superb.
The perfect hot sauce to accompany perfect vegan cauliflower wings!
I usually use store-bought hot sauce for the wings, which is perfectly fine! Not having any on-hand, I decided to attempt making my own. After scavenging the entire state of Arizona for fresh cayenne pepper, I resorted to a blend of Red Fresno Peppers and a single Habanero.
This sauce definitely packs a punch. I can barely handle the strong heat, but the flavor is so good I can’t stop!
Feel free to de-seed the peppers to reduce heat as needed.
Lastly, no cauliflower wings recipe would be complete without a thick, creamy vegan ranch recipe to go along (and tame the heat!)
Perhaps the easiest recipe in the trio, this creamy, garlicky vegan ranch is easy as hell to prepare! I seriously tossed all of the ingredients into a blender and ran until smooth! Use less milk if you prefer a thicker “dip” texture, more for a runnier “dressing”.
Vegan Cauliflower Wings Recipe (plus a vegan ranch recipe!)
Ingredients
For the cauliflower
- 1 small-medium head of cauliflower
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour or sub for whole wheat or even all-purpose
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 cup + 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
For the pepper sauce
- 1 habanero pepper
- 4 red fresno peppers
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Dash of cayenne
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter melted (added just before coating wings)
For the Ranch
- 1 cup vegan mayo
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- dash of pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill optional
Instructions
If making homemade hot sauce, start with that
- Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth
- Simmer on stovetop for 20-30 minutes
- (Right before you add the sauce to the wings, you'll also be adding 1 tablespoon of vegan butter. It'll be mentioned below, just keep it in mind!)
For the cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 450°
- Chop cauliflower into small, bite-sized pieces and set aside
- Mix all other dry ingredients in medium sized bowl
- Slowly add soy milk until desired consistency is achieved. You want it tacky enough to stick, but runny enough to not glob together
- Now coat each piece of cauliflower in batter, shake off any excess, and put one layer of "wings" greased baking dish
- Bake for 15 minutes, turning halfway though
- Next, pull the wings out of the oven, coat in the pepper sauce and butter mixture, flip again, and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until nice and crispy
- Remove from oven and let cool for several minutes before attempting to eat (a great time to start the ranch!)
For the ranch dressing
- Blend all ingredients (save the dill) until smooth!
- For a thicker dip start with less milk, for a runnier dressing use more.
- Sprinkle on dill as a last-minute garnish
Tom Abell
January 5, 2016 at 3:27 pmGreat article!
Kathy
January 9, 2016 at 8:37 amWas that crisp of the “wings” really achieved during the baking process? They seem as though they were deep fried
Nick
January 9, 2016 at 11:08 amIt was completely from the baking! I was so surprised, normally it’s a goopy mess, but it crisped up so nicely this time 🙂
Kathy
January 9, 2016 at 5:07 pmWow, amazing! I hope I get the same results. Thanks so much 🙂
Nick
January 9, 2016 at 5:37 pmOf course! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Amanda
January 9, 2016 at 8:42 pmFor the ranch dip; are the onion and garlic listed supposed to be in powder form or the actual thing?
Nick
January 9, 2016 at 8:55 pmPowdered! Thank you for the question I will be sure to clarify 🙂
Laurie
May 1, 2021 at 7:37 pmCan you use almond milk in substitute of soy milk? We make our own.
Nick Abell
May 2, 2021 at 1:42 pmYou could always give it a try! I like using soy because of the extra protein content- I’ve found it helps ingredients bind together better. But plenty of people use exclusively almond milk and they never seem to have a problem.