Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower Bites

The other day, I was looking for something different. After all, quarantine has meant a lot of experimenting with what we’ve got in the pantry, freezer, and fridge in order to cut down on grocery trips. I wanted something for lunch that wasn’t going to weigh me down the rest of the day, but that still had all the flavor and spice I was craving. Enter buffalo roasted cauliflower bites!

Anyone who tells you these taste like chicken wings is not lying. Obviously it doesn’t taste like chicken (in my book, that’s a good thing… thanks a lot, eldest child’s pregnancy), but the heat of the sauce absolutely satisfies that craving. The nice thing is, these aren’t fried AND they’re adding in another vegetable to your day without feeling like it!

Need more proof than just my word for it? My husband (who is VEHEMENTLY anti-meat-substitutes and would prefer most of his food fried) even admitted they were “pretty good” (high praise out of his mouth) and proceeded to eat half my bowl (while claiming he was already full).

These make a super pretty bowl on your table, especially with a little fresh parsley sprinkled on top. Add some carrots, celery, and ranch, and you’ve got a meal fit for a football party (remember football?)!

Making the buffalo roasted cauliflower bites seriously couldn’t be easier. You’ll start by breaking up a head of cauliflower into florets. If you end up with them in different sizes, that’s totally fine! Ideally, they’d be large bite size, though.

In a bowl, mix up the flour, garlic powder, and salt before tossing the cauliflower florets in it (this will help brown them and make for some extra-delicious buffalo roasted cauliflower). Make sure to coat them evenly, but not super thickly (you’ll definitely have leftover flour).

Once they’re coated, use your hands to scoop them out of the bowl, gently shaking the cauliflower to brush off any excess flour. Lay them all out on a prepped baking sheet and stick them in a 425* oven for 20 minutes. While they bake, dump out the bowl of flour. Rinse and dry it so it’s ready to be used again!

Once they’re slightly browned, pull them out of the oven and return to your now-empty-and-clean-ish bowl. Mix up the hot sauce and melted butter in a glass measuring cup like this one before pouring it over the cauliflower and tossing to coat.

Lay it all back out on the cookie sheet, making sure to scrape every last bit of that delicious sauce out onto the almost-buffalo roasted cauliflower. You’ll bake it for another 10 minutes, until the roasted cauliflower is done and the sauce is looking all caramelized and delicious.

Serve your buffalo roasted cauliflower with celery, carrots, ranch, or, if you’re cool with mold, blue cheese (this would be my husband’s preference. I think you can tell where I land on that!).

Y’all, this stuff is so easy, I make it for a weekday lunch. The leftovers are just as good, which is helpful since one head of cauliflower usually makes a couple of lunches for me! Buffalo roasted cauliflower is definitely a go-to for football season, especially since we have friends who are either trying to make better choices with their foods OR who just prefer not to eat meat!

If you need another GREAT game day food, hit up my Instant Pot Texas chili. It’s spicy, but definitely not vegan!