These spicy bbq cauliflower wings combine two popular wing seasonings: barbecue sauce and Frank’s hot sauce! They’re vegan and gluten-free, and totally addictive. Perfect game day fare!

straight on shot of a platter of cauliflower wings and a dish of avocado dipping sauce

What a week. I don’t know about you, but I am in the mood of some serious comfort food. I suppose these spicy barbecue cauliflower wings are being released just when we need them the most.

I distinctly remember the first time I tried cauliflower “wings.” It was shortly after Pure Kitchen had opened in Ottawa, in 2015, when the cauliflower wings craze was just taking off. From the first bite of those crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, Korean barbecue sauce-coated wings, I was hooked. They have since become something of an obsession, and have always been a go-to restaurant order for me, wherever I can find them on the menu (Be Love, Fresh, and Earls all make excellent ones, FYI, if you are lucky enough to be in Victoria, Toronto, LA, or any of the cities with Earls locations.)

overhead shot of the cauliflower wings arranged on a serving platter with a dish of avocado dipping sauce in the middle

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and not taking any trips or eating at restaurants during most of the pandemic allowed me to create my own cauliflower wings recipe to satisfy the craving whenever it hits. It’s pretty delicious in its own right, if I do say so myself. This recipe is quite similar to the one that I used the first time I made them several years ago, but I opted to use chickpea flour in the batter instead of all purpose flour, and a combination of barbecue sauce and Frank’s hot sauce instead of all hot sauce, for a nice spicy-sweet touch. Not only is chickpea flour gluten-free; it’s also a great source protein and fibre!

While these wings are oven-baked instead of deep fried, and therefore don’t get quite as crispy as their restaurant counterparts, they are so good! I mean, I served them to my brother and sister in law during the summer, and the entire batch was gone in an instant. I usually serve them alongside my green goddess ranch sauce (which I’ve included the recipe for), but I actually photographed them with my avocado Caesar salad dressing. Either dip works, and if you have a favourite good quality store-bought ranch sauce, feel free to serve them with that!

They’re shockingly easy to make with just seven ingredients, gluten-free, vegan, and oil-free.

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

A head of cauliflower
For the batter: Chickpea flour, non-dairy milk, salt, and pepper.
For the sauce: Barbecue sauce, Frank’s original cayenne pepper hot sauce, and arrowroot starch.
For the green goddess ranch sauce: Avocado, hemp, celery, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, water, and fresh herbs.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line one large or two small baking sheets with parchment paper. The parchment paper is very important here, as it prevents the battered cauliflower from sticking to the pan.
Make the batter: Whisk together the chickpea flour, non-dairy milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
Dunk a cauliflower floret into the batter and gently shake off excess before immediately transferring to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower. Ensure that there is some space in between each floret to allow for proper crisping while they bake.
Transfer the battered cauliflower into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. It’s ready when it slides off of the parchment paper easily without sticking. Leave the oven on.
While the cauliflower is in the oven, make the sauce: Whisk together the barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and arrowroot in a bowl.
Transfer the baked battered cauliflower florets into a medium bowl, leaving the parchment paper on the pans, since you’ll be using it again for the next step.
Pour the spicy barbecue sauce over top of the cauliflower and toss to coat. Transfer it back onto the baking sheet(s), leaving space between each floret again to make sure that they get crispy.
Bake for 5-7 minutes more, until much of the sauce has been absorbed.
Serve with desired accompaniments. I had some avocado caesar dressing on hand, so that’s what I chose to serve them with. Other tasty accompaniments would be my cashew dill ranch or my green goddess avocado hemp ranch!

overhead shot of the battered cauliflower florets before they go into the oven

overhead shot of the cauliflower after the first bake

overhead shot of the cauliflower in a mixing bowl with the spicy barbecue sauce poured over top

overhead shot of the cauliflower in a mixing bowl with the sauce totally mixed in

overhead shot of the cauliflower wings fresh out of the oven

straight on shot of the wings on a serving platter

SOME NOTES

A lot of cauliflower wings recipes call for panko bread crumbs to achieve the crispy exterior that’s similar to what you would find in a deep-fried version at a restaurant. I opted to go without the panko since I wanted to keep the recipe gluten-free. I am, however, going to experiment with a coating similar to my nut parmesan-crusted butternut squash in the future, so stay tuned for that!
Want to make this into more of a meal? Put a whole bunch of cauliflower wings on top of a pita or a tortilla, top with green goddess ranch, pickles, shredded carrots, and lettuce, fold or wrap it up, and lunch or dinner is served!! If you want to really take it over the top, serve some sweet potato oven fries or kale Caesar salad on the side.

straight on shot of someone dipping a cauliflower wing into the sauce

I hope you LOVE these spicy barbecue cauliflower wings! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment or rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen so that I can see you tasty creations.

Enjoy!!