Cauliflower Wings [V+GF]

Confession: I was a cauliflower wing skeptic.

When I initially heard about the idea, I thought there was no way they could be good. But I tried them anyway, because duh, and guess what? They were disgusting.

Now, I could blame myself for making a mistake (probably the right thing to do), but instead I’m going to blame the recipe I used. Which I think is fair (ish), because one day when I was hormonal I tried to make them again and I still did not like them.

About a year later I decided to try them one more time, this time making up my own gluten free version. And it worked! I don’t think I’ve done anything original here. I’m giving all the credit to the use of chickpea flour, which is arguably the best gluten free flour to have ever existed.

A key to making these work is to bake them long enough. I’m impatient, and sometimes I pull things out of the oven a little too early, especially when I am testing something for the first time. These wings, like many other wing recipes, are baked twice. The first baking is done with just the chickpea flour coating and takes about 25 minutes. When you pull them out of the oven, they should look something like the photo below.

The next step is to toss them in the hot sauce mixture and bake them once again, for up to another 25 minutes. This second baking is really important: if you don’t bake them long enough, they can be soggy and can result in a not so fab texture. Make sure you don’t take them out of the oven too soon, even if they start to brown a bit.

Let them cool for a bit, but serve them hot. I have included a recipe for a garlic dip that is really simple and pairs well with the wings. If you don’t have vegan mayo or sour cream on hand, check out my recipe for homemade vegan mayo and use ½ cup of that to make the dip instead! The homemade mayo is really easy to make and is made with ingredients many people already have on hand.

Enjoy!

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Cauliflower Wings, vegan + gluten free

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

50 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Servings: 2

Ingredients

For the wings:

• 3/4 cup chickpea flour
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 head cauliflower, broken up into wing-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup hot sauce
• 2 tbsp vegan butter, melted

For the garlic dip:

• 1/4 cup vegan mayo
• 1/4 cup vegan sour cream
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, garlic and onion powders, salt, and pepper. Add the water and mix well. 
   

3. Toss the cauliflower pieces in the batter until every piece is properly coated.

4. Coat the parchment paper in oil. Place the cauliflower pieces onto the baking sheet, making sure that the pieces do not overlap. Do not pour the cauliflower pieces from the bowl--you do not want the extra batter on the baking sheet!
   

5. Bake for 25 minutes.
   

6. While the cauliflower is baking, mix the hot sauce and melted butter together in a medium sized bowl.
   

7. After 25 minutes in the oven, remove the cauliflower wings and coat them in the hot sauce mixture. Return the cauliflower pieces to the baking sheet.
   

8. Bake the wings for another 15-25 minutes.
   

9. While the wings are in for their second baking, mix together all the ingredients for the garlic dip.
   

10. Serve the wings fresh out of the oven with the garlic dip.