Vegan wings made of cauliflower are a dime a dozen these days, so where’s the love for our greener vegetable friend? These crispy garlic buffalo broccoli wings are going to become your new favorite finger food!
When you think about hors d’oeuvres to serve at the Super Bowl, a broccoli appetizer may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but lightly battering and breading broccoli, and then baking it until perfectly crisp, actually makes for a wonderful crunchy starter that’s full of flavor.
One of the worst ways to eat broccoli is to overcook it, and this method of battered broccoli protects you from that fate because the broccoli wings will be crisp-tender around the same time the breadcrumb coating starts to brown. (Just like with my Thai Peanut Cauliflower Wings). Texture, texture, texture!
As someone who is still a vegan butter skeptic, despite being a solid 8-9 years into my vegan lifestyle, in creating this recipe I had to finally figure out what to do about buffalo sauce.
In the past I’ve tried substituting vegan butter with straight up coconut oil and wasn’t happy with the greasy results. Eventually I realized that in order to make up for the roundness of flavor provided by butter, a blend of oils and a bit of ketchup did the trick, plus some cornstarch to hold it all together.
I love spicy food but feel free to use a milder hot sauce or adjust the hot sauce to ketchup ratio to suit your tastes. And be sure to cool off by dipping these buffalo broccoli wings into a bowl of vegan ranch :).
Crispy Garlic Buffalo Broccoli Wings
Ingredients
For the crispy broccoli wings:
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper hot sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups panko-style breadcrumbs (gluten-free if needed, see note)
- 24 oz broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
For the garlicky vegan buffalo sauce:
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 3 tsp water
For serving (optional):
- chopped fresh parsley or chives
- vegan ranch
Instructions
For the crispy broccoli wings:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a baking sheet.
- In a bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, hot sauce, white rice flour, cornstarch, and salt, and mix until smooth. Add water if needed to make a batter thick enough to coat a piece of broccoli but thin enough that the excess drips off.
- In another bowl, measure out the breadcrumbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- One by one, use one hand to dip a piece of broccoli into the batter, gently shake off the excess, and then drop it into the bowl of breadcrumbs. Use your other hand to coat it in breadcrumbs and transfer it onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all broccoli is breaded.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then gently flip over each piece and bake for another 5-7 minutes or until nicely browned.
For the garlicky vegan buffalo sauce:
- Meanwhile, heat the coconut and vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once warm, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the hot sauce and ketchup, and stir well to combine. Let simmer, stirring frequently, for another 4-6 minutes to thicken and meld the flavors.
- In a small bowl or cup, whisk together the cornstarch with 3 tsp of cold water, then stir the cornstarch slurry into the sauce mixture. Stirring well, continue to cook on medium-low heat until slightly thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To prepare the buffalo broccoli wings:
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Adapted from Rabbit and Wolves.
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Ann Tighe says
AMMMAZZZZING recipe. I have tried so many more Buffalo broccoli and cauliflower recipes only to be sadly disappointed. These little morsels are crunchy, flavourful and perfectly done. A BIG hit!
norma wolk says
Do you think Almond flour would work well?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Unfortunately no, you’d have to change the rest of the batter ingredients quite a bit to make that work
Kristine Keefer says
I am not gluten-free so wondering if you can use regular flour instead of white rice flour?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
You can, it should work alright. Rice flour is a little bit better at getting crispy and less likely to get tough. If using plain flour, be super careful not to overmix the batter.
Nora says
Can I use a microwave istead of oven?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I don’t think a microwave would work well for this recipe, sorry
Dee says
Made this for dinner with roasted vegetables, grilled halloumi, plain rice and sweet potato. Absolutely amazing. Husband who loves chicken wings thoroughly enjoyed them.
Ann says
This is a very interesting recipe for broccoli. I know they are very useful, but not everyone loves them in my family, so I rarely cook broccoli and so that the taste in the dish is not very pronounced. For example, I add it to vegetable soup or stew, that is, to dishes where there are many other ingredients. I think this dish will be appreciated even in my family. At least it looks very appetizing! Thank you for sharing this creative idea.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Ann, thanks! It’s hard to say for sure whether broccoli haters would enjoy this, but it’s worth a shot!
johanna @ green gourmet giraffe says
sounds delicious and so much more colourful than cauliflower wings!