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These BBQ Cauliflower Wings are a tasty alternative to traditional wings. They are baked to perfection with a crispy panko coating and a smoky-sweet barbecue sauce. Serve 'em up as an appetizer, snack, or tasty side dish. They'll disappear fast!
Forget chicken wings! These Barbecue Cauliflower Wings are just as tasty! They're tangy, sweet, tender, and crispy. They have the perfect balance of flavors and textures to make your taste buds happy.
They will keep you coming back for more, so you might want to make some extra. The gremlins in my home gobble them up fast, so I make a double batch.
Do Cauliflower Wings Taste Like Chicken?
They definitely don't taste like chicken or have the texture of chicken. However, I still feel like they are the perfect replacement for chicken wings. They have a phenomenal texture (almost meaty) after being battered, coated with panko and baked to crispy goodness.
Oh, and the smoky-sweet barbecue sauce takes it to another level after it caramelizes in the oven! Makes it damn delicious!
Are They Kid-Friendly?
YES! You'd never know there was a vegetable under that crispy goodness. My son goes crazy for them! It's a great alternative to buffalo cauliflower wings that are super spicy and not kid-friendly.
So, If you're having a party, you can make a batch of spicy wings for the adults, and the BBQ Cauliflower Wings for the kiddos so they can join in on the fun. You can serve them alongside these Vegan Mozzarella Sticks and you'll have a lot of happy campers!
Ingredients Needed
Just 9 simple ingredients! You'll need a head of cauliflower, flour, non-dairy milk, water, panko breadcrumbs, barbecue sauce, and granulated garlic, onion, and salt. That's it!
How to Make BBQ Cauliflower Wings
(full ingredient amounts in recipe card below)
First, you'll want to preheat your oven to 450° F (230° C) and line a large-rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Add panko breadcrumbs to a large rimmed plate (or bowl) along with Garlic, Onion, and Salt. Combine well and set aside
- Combine the Flour Garlic, Onion, and Salt. Pour in the Non-Dairy Milk and Water, then whisk to combine well. It should be thick, but pourable - add a touch more water if needed.
- Place a handful of Cauliflower into the bowl and toss to coat well. Lightly shake off excess batter of each piece and place in the breadcrumbs. Gently roll around to coat well and place on a baking sheet, leaving room in between each piece. Place in the oven for 20 minutes to turn golden and crisp. Flip over pieces at the halfway mark.
- Remove from oven and brush each piece with BBQ sauce. Place cauliflower back on the baking sheet, leaving a few inches in between. Bake for another 8-10 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
* For extra golden color and crispness, you can lightly spritz the breaded cauliflower with oil right before baking.
How Can I Keep Them Crispy?
You may have run into this problem before where the wings are really crispy right before adding the sauce. Then you dunk them in the sauce and bake them, only to discover soggy cauliflower wings. That's never fun!
Well, I've solved the problem! Instead of dunking them in the sauce, I prefer to brush it on because they lose their crispness if you fully immerse them. Even after baking, they don't crisp back up.
They will still be delicious but just won't have that amazing crunch. You can always lightly brush on more after baking or serve them with more bbq sauce as a dip.
Serving Suggestions
They are absolutely delicious on their own, but if you want to get dip happy, you can serve them with Vegan Ranch, Creamy Chipotle Sauce, or more BBQ Sauce.
Now, if you want to get real crazy, they are incredible when dipped into Vegan Nacho Cheese!
I also like to side them with celery sticks, carrot sticks, and good old-fashioned vegan beer! That's heaven right there!
More Vegan Appetizer Recipes
I Love to Hear From You
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don't miss it.
Recipe
BBQ Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
- 1 large (2 pounds) head cauliflower , cut into medium-sized florets
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup non-dairy milk , unsweetened
- ¾ cup water , more if needed
- 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic , divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion , divided
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt , divided
- 1 ¼ cups barbecue sauce , more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F (230° C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To a large rimmed plate, add the Breadcrumbs, and ½ teaspoon each of Garlic, Onion, and ¼ teaspoon of Salt. Combine well and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the Flour and ½ teaspoon each of Garlic, Onion, and Salt. Now pour in the Milk and Water and whisk to combine well. The batter should be thick, but still pourable. If it's too thick, add a few tablespoons of water.
- Place a handful of Cauliflower to the bowl and toss to coat well. Lightly shake off excess batter of each piece and place in the breadcrumbs.(to make it faster, I put a bunch of battered cauliflower on a cooling rack to drain with parchment paper underneath) Gently roll around to coat well and place on baking sheet, leaving room in between each piece. Place in the oven for 20 minutes to turn golden and crisp. Flip over pieces at the halfway mark.
- Remove from oven and brush each piece with BBQ sauce. (*I prefer to brush on the sauce because they lose their crispness if you fully immerse them - you can add more after baking or serve with bbq sauce as a dip) Place each piece back on your baking sheet and leave a few inches in between. Bake for another 8-10 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
- Serve immediately with dipping sauces of your choice. Enjoy!
Bianca
Hello Melissa, I was going to make this for my boyfriend and his family! i was wondering if you thinks its possible if I subbed BBQ sauce with other sauces? I was going to try buffalo and BBQ, then a parmesan sauce as well just a variety of different kinds!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Bianca, Yes, I think most sauces should work well. I've made them with buffalo sauce and they turned out great! If the sauce is overly creamy, it may just work better as a dip after they are baked. The sauce might not caramelize. I hope this helps. Thank you for giving them a try. 🙂
Nic
Made these and ran out of breadcrumbs part way through, soooo much better without the breadcrumbs (and a lot easier to make). I also added some cayenne and its amazing!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Nic! We're happy to hear that you liked the recipe even without the breadcrumbs! Thanks for trying it out 🙂
Linda
Hi Melissa - I'm planning to make these as part of the vegan offering at a family Christmas lunch and I wonder if they can be premade, frozen and reheated? They sound delicious!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Linda, I haven't tried freezing them yet. I think it could work, I'm just not sure if they will be as crisp. An air fryer might the best option to heat them up if you do freeze them. Do you have one?
Linda
Thanks for replying! I do have a small airfryer so will give that a go. I might experiment and try a batch before the day,
Janet
Omg!! These were beyond awesome!! Please keep this up😃
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Janet! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try, we are thrilled that you loved the wings!
Kate
These are fantastic! I prefer to eat my cauliflower wings at a restaurant just because the recipes I've tried never get truly crunchy. These are a game changer. I did part of mine with barbecue and part with Cholula and they were both great. I also made a homemade ranch to dip them in. I definitely plan on making this again and continuing to have fun experimenting with the sauce/glaze portion. Thanks so much!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Kate! It's so great to hear that you loved the recipe, that sounds delicious and we hope you have fun experimenting with the sauces! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Kathy C
I just pulled them out and when trying to brush the BBQ sauce on them the coating was coming off on the brush. Took a small spoon to pour the sauce on them and the. Rush them but really couldn’t get them covered. Any suggestions.
Melissa Huggins
I'm not sure why that happened. Maybe the BBQ sauce was a bit thinner than most brands? If so, you can thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. To do this, combine 1 TB cornstarch with 1 TB of water (make sure it's combined well). Now add it to a small pot with the BBQ sauce. Gently simmer over medium heat until it thickens (about 1-2 minutes). Stir often. I hope this helps.
Samyukta Anand
Hey.. is it possible to make this without an oven?
Audrey
Soooo crispy and meaty I had them with sour cream yummmm
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Audrey! We are so happy to hear that you loved the recipe, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Dorit
Have you tried making them with gluten free flour?
Melissa Huggins
I haven’t tried it yet. I’ve been meaning to experiment with a GF all-purpose. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try it. Thanks for stopping by. 😀
Bryanna
What kind of BBQ sauce would you recommend ?
Melissa Huggins
Hi Bryanna, I like Annie's or the Whole Foods brand. 🙂
Reese
Oh my gosh, these were so good! I’ve made them three or four times in the last month and my husband raves every time. My daughter (who doesn’t eat veggies) kept asking for more too!
Melissa Huggins
Yay! I'm so happy they went over well. Thank you for sharing your feedback. 🙂
Erin
These are so delicious and crispy. I made them for the first time last night and will make them again. I used spelt breadcrumbs for extra crunch.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Erin, I'm so glad you enjoyed them. I'm glad they worked well with the spelt breadcrumbs. I'll have to try that. Thank you. 🙂
Gabriela Lopez
Best cauliflower wing recipe yet (and also super easy with ingredients most of us already have at home). Thank you so much!
P.D.: I also made them sauce-less and dipped it in vegan buffalo (YUM!)
Melissa Huggins
Hi Gabriela, such a nice compliment! Thank you for giving them a try. 🙂
Kelli Oseen
They were amazing!!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!!!!!!
Melissa Huggins
Thank you, Kelli! So happy you liked them. 🙂
Shannon
My first try at this one, very good!
Melissa Huggins
So glad you liked them! Thank you so much 🙂
Ronessa
I just finished eating these yummy little bites, SO GOOD!! It turned out great! I've made other versions of this before but they're always soggy. I followed your tip and brushed the sauce on. I did part plain, part bbq and part buffalo. I didnt completely coat any of them in sauce so there would still be some crunch. Great tip with draining the batter on a cooling rack. My husband and I LOVED it and I'll definitely be making this again, Thanks!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Ronessa, Yay! I'm ao glad you both loved them! Thank you for giving them a try and sharing your feedback 🙂