Cauliflower Buffalo Wings, Gluten-Free

This month, the Kosher Connection challenge is Super Bowl foods/finger foods. I knew right away that we had to include this recipe for hot and spicy cauliflower Buffalo wings — a vegetarian version of Buffalo-style chicken wings slathered in hot sauce. The cauliflower wings are gluten-free and can also be made dairy-free, making them a great appetizer for all.

Last summer, we took a road trip to Rochester, NY, to visit family. We ate dinner at The Owl House, which offers a large selection of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. We ordered the cauliflower wings and, surprisingly, my daughters gobbled them up, even though they were incredibly hot. My oldest daughter asked to make the recipe at home, which we did over New Year’s.

These cauliflower wings have the same spicy hot flavor as Buffalo chicken wings, but they are vegetarian, baked not fried, and made gluten-free and guilt-free. Plus, you don’t have to pick up the chicken wings and try to gnaw the meat off the bones, getting your hands full of hot sauce in the process — something I never liked very much.

Traditionally, Buffalo wings are served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing to cool your palate. But I can’t abide blue cheese, so I’ve included a recipe for homemade herby dressing made with Greek yogurt, as a healthy alternative.

If you are making a dairy-free meal, just omit the dip. Also, I’ve made this recipe both with almond milk and with whole milk. I don’t know if it was just the luck of the draw, but when I made it with whole milk, the batter around the cauliflower started to turn too brown, where it was a nice golden color using the almond milk. Also, I used chickpea (garbanzo) flour to impart a little nuttiness, but any gluten-free flour (or regular flour, if you eat gluten) is fine.

Since these gluten-free cauliflower Buffalo wings are hot and spicy, they pair excellently with beer (gluten-free beer, of course). The red hot wings make a nice nosh during the Super Bowl — especially during the half-time show with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (the part I am looking forward to).

For Super Bowl and finger food recipes from other bloggers (please note that not all are gluten-free), please check out the Kosher Connection linkup by scrolling to the end of this post and clicking on the frog icon below, which will take you to a page with thumbnails of other Super Bowl/finger food recipes.

Cauliflower Buffalo Wings, Gluten-Free

(gluten-free, dairy or dairy-free, vegetarian)
By Gluten-Free Nosh
printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 cup chickpea flour (or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
• 1 cup milk or almond milk
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo sauce)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.
2. Cut cauliflower into medium-sized florets. Combine the flour, milk and garlic powder in a large bowl, and beat well with a fork to combine.
3. Drop the cauliflower pieces in the bowl, and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.
4. Pick up cauliflower pieces, letting extra batter drip back into the bowl, and put them on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender.
5. In a large bowl, mix hot sauce with olive oil.
6. Remove cauliflower from the oven and toss it in the hot sauce.
7. Serve with celery sticks and Homemade Herby Dip to cool your palate. (For a dairy-free meal, omit the dip.)

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Homemade Herby Dip

(gluten-free)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill weed (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Method:
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving to let flavors mingle.

Yield: 1 cup