Cauliflower Buffalo Wings With Blue Cheese Dip Wellplated Com

With its plain hue and mild-mannered flavor, cauliflower is a bit of a wallflower—the shy girl who sits in the back of your math class, silently acing her every exam. Buffalo sauce is more akin to the starting quarterback—universally popular, essential to any football game, and hot-hot-HOT. Yet, the two—gentle cauliflower and spicy Buffalo—are a match made in high school romantic comedy heaven. Inspired by the flavor and process of making Buffalo chicken wings, I created this healthy vegetarian version using often overlooked cauliflower.

About These Easy Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

Classic buffalo wings are deep fried, so to mimic that addictive effect, I tossed the cauliflower florets in a quick batter, then roasted them at a high temperature to ensure their exterior would be nice and crisp. Then, when the cauliflower bites were almost done roasting, I coated them in that orange elixir of fall and football: Frank’s Buffalo Sauce and a touch of melted butter.

After few additional minutes in the oven, the cauliflower emerged lightly crispy on the outside and soft and caramelized on the inside. Because cauliflower is so mild, it’s the ideal vehicle for bold flavors like buffalo sauce, and the light batter made the cauliflower bites feel indulgent, as any game day-appetizer should be. To keep our cauliflower buffalo wing romance from getting too hot and heavy, I paired the buffalo cauliflower bites with a cool, creamy blue cheese avocado dip. A blend of Greek yogurt, rich avocado, and salty blue cheese, this dip is my healthier (and dare I say superior) spin on blue cheese dressing, a classic pairing with buffalo wings. I loved how much thicker the avocado dip is than simple blue cheese dressing, which allow me to easy scoop a satisfactory dollop with every cauliflower buffalo wing.

The blue cheese avocado dip is also easily customizable to your preferred level of blue cheese. Crazy for the crumbly blue stuff like me? Stir it in with reckless abandon. Prefer a more subtle taste? Just add a little. (The recipe as written uses a middle-of-the-road amount, but feel free to add more or less as desired.)

Make Ahead + Storage Tips

To Make Ahead. The dip can be prepared 1 day in advance. Refrigerate in a bowl or airtight container with plastic wrap pressed over the top. To Store. The cauliflower texture is best the day it is made, but the flavor will still be tasty leftover. Store cauliflower in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.