Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos

These Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos are baked until crispy and loaded with spicy red-hot flavor. Top them with a little vegan ranch dressing and additional hot sauce, and you’ll have yourself an absolutely addicting meal.

Warning- what I’m going to say may shock you…
I had never tried Frank’s Red Hot sauce until I was in my mid-30’s!

Yes, this is shocking and sad right? But as you might imagine, now that I’ve had it, I’m always trying to think of unique ways I can use it, like in this Spicy Jalapeno Pasta Salad or even drizzling a little on this Spicy Baked Potato with Broccoli and Vegan Queso. And someday I’m sure I’ll try to make my own too.

But my hands-down favorite way to enjoy Red Hot is on buffalo cauliflower. There’s just something about the crispiness on the outside and the soft cauliflower on the inside that makes a great combination. And then adding the cauliflower bites to a taco? Well, now you’re talkin’.

How to make these Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos:

To make these vegan buffalo cauliflower tacos, first preheat your oven to 425 F. (Note: if using a convection oven, preheat to 425 F.) Then prepare a large baking pan covered with parchment paper. Add the following to a medium bowl and stir with a whisk until blended:

• melted butter
• unsweetened almond milk
• hot sauce
• maple syrup

Then add the remaining ingredients and whisk until blended:

• garlic powder
• paprika
• nutritional yeast
• all purpose flour (or chickpea flour)

Next prepare a dinner plate (or cutting board) with the panko breadcrumbs laid out in a thin layer.

At this point, it’s easiest just to throw all the cauliflower florets into the bowl of sauce and stir with a large spoon until the florets are thoroughly covered with sauce.

Then, one by one, remove each cauliflower floret from the bowl (shake off excess sauce if necessary), and then roll in the panko breadcrumbs (see pro-tip below). Place each floret in an even layer on the baking sheet. The cauliflower should not be touching. See photo below.

Pro Tip: Use one hand to grab each piece of cauliflower out of the sauce, and the other (dry) hand to sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and then roll the cauliflower. If you use the same hand to do both, the sauce will stick to your hands, then the breadcrumbs will stick to your hands, causing you to have to wash your hands a couple times during this process. Not ideal!

When ready, bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked throughout, slightly browned, and crispy. Remove from heat.

To assemble the tacos, heat the white corn tortillas on a skillet on both sides until warm and a tiny bit crispy. To each tortilla, add a few pieces of the baked cauliflower, and top with chopped green onions and red cabbage.

Lastly, drizzle with a little more Frank’s Red Hot and vegan ranch, and enjoy.

This recipe serves 4 (about 8 tacos total).  *They are best served immediately. You can store in an airtight container in the fridge.

To reheat, add cauliflower to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, and bake at 400 F for 10-12 minutes, until warm.

Substitutions/Additions:

For this dish, you can experiment with different types of ingredients and toppings:

• Don’t have Frank’s Red Hot on hand (or don’t like it)? Use your favorite hot sauce instead.
• Try these buffalo cauliflower tacos topped with some guacamole.
• You can substitute the panko breadcrumbs with regular (although they won’t be quite as crispy). Or if desired, use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs.
• I use unsweetened almond milk for the sauce, but any thicker unsweetened plant milk will work- such as soy, cashew, oat or flax. However, I wouldn’t use rice milk as it would be too thin.
• My favorite toppings are chopped green onions and crunchy red cabbage, but you could try thinly sliced red bell pepper, diced jalapeños, chopped lettuce, or cherry tomatoes. Or drizzle a bit of lime juice or add some chopped cilantro on top. There are so many options!

Helpful Tools:

• Small whisk– I have a couple of these and love the size.
• Parchment paper– This is the perfect base for baking almost anything on a baking sheet. I always have some on hand.
• Santoku Knife– This is my all-time favorite knife; the perfect size for cutting up the cauliflower.

Looking for more taco recipes? Try these Lentil-Nut Tacos with Cashew Avocado Cream!

If you try these Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your photo with #veggie__chick on Instagram. I just love to see my recipes being made in YOUR kitchen!

Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos (Vegan)

5 from 3 votes

Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Christin McKamey

These Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos are baked until crispy and loaded with spicy red-hot flavor. Top them with a little vegan ranch dressing and additional hot sauce, and you’ll have yourself an absolutely addicting meal.

Print

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/4 cup vegan butter - I like Miyoko's or Earth Balance, melted
• ▢ 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• ▢ 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce or favorite cayenne pepper sauce - plus additional sauce for drizzling on tacos
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika or regular paprika
• ▢ 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast - optional
• ▢ 3/4 cup all-purpose flour - use chickpea/garbanzo flour for gluten free
• ▢ 1 cup panko breadcrumbs - gluten free if desired
• ▢ 1 large head cauliflower* - broken into bite-size florets
• ▢ 8 white corn tortillas
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• ▢ 3/4 cup chopped red cabbage
• ▢ vegan ranch dressing - optional but recommended (I love Follow Your Heart Garlic Dressing)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 F. Prepare a large baking pan covered with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, add the butter, almond milk, hot sauce, and maple syrup. Stir with a whisk until blended. Add the garlic powder, paprika, and nutritional yeast. Next slowly add the all purpose flour, while whisking, until blended.
• Prepare a dinner plate (or cutting board) with the panko breadcrumbs laid out in a thin layer.
• Add all of the cauliflower florets to the bowl of sauce and stir with a large spoon until thoroughly coated with sauce. Remove each cauliflower floret from the bowl, one by one, (shake excess sauce if necessary), and roll in the panko breadcrumbs to coat (**see pro tip for this step below). Place each floret in an even layer on the baking sheet. The cauliflower should not be touching.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked throughout and crispy. Remove from heat.
• To assemble the tacos, heat the white corn tortillas on a large dry skillet on both sides until warm. I usually do this in batches of 2. When ready, add a few pieces of baked cauliflower, and top with chopped green onions and red cabbage. Drizzle a little more Frank’s Red Hot and vegan ranch dressing, if desired.
• This recipe makes 4 servings (2 tacos each). **Best served immediately. You can store in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, add cauliflower to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, and bake at 400 F for 10-12 minutes, until warm.

Notes

• *When cutting the cauliflower head, cut florets into bite-size pieces. Think about how big each piece will be when baked (note: they will be a little bigger after you add the sauce and breadcrumbs) and adjust size to your preference and how they will best fit in the tacos. I usually cut mine into 1 inch x 1 inch florets. 
• Pro Tip: Use one hand to grab each piece of cauliflower out of the sauce, and the other (dry) hand to sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and then roll the cauliflower. If you use the same hand to do both, the sauce will stick to your hands, then the breadcrumbs will stick to your hands, causing you to have to wash your hands a couple times during this process. Not ideal!
• If using a convection oven, reduce heat to 425 F and cook for 30-35 minutes.

Substitutions/Additions:

• Don’t have Frank’s Red Hot on hand (or don’t like it)? Use your favorite hot sauce instead.
• Try these buffalo cauliflower tacos topped with some guacamole.
• You can substitute the panko breadcrumbs with regular (although they won’t be quite as crispy). Or if desired, use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs.
• I use unsweetened almond milk for the sauce, but any thicker unsweetened plant milk will work- such as soy, cashew, oat or flax. However, I wouldn’t use rice milk as it would be too thin.
• My favorite toppings are chopped green onions and crunchy red cabbage, but you could try thinly sliced red bell pepper, diced jalapeños, chopped lettuce, or cherry tomatoes. Or drizzle a bit of lime juice or add some chopped cilantro on top. There are so many options!

Air Fryer Instructions: 

• After coating with breadcrumbs, add to your air fryer at 400F for 10 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tacos | Calories: 458kcal | Carbohydrates: 74.1g | Protein: 12.3g | Fat: 13.3g | Sodium: 669mg | Sugar: 8.5g

Did you make this recipe?Mention @veggie__chick or tag #veggiechick

Update Notes: This post was originally published in July 2018, but was republished with tips and FAQs in November of 2019.