This sriracha buffalo cauliflower with avocado ranch recipe is a delicious alternative to buffalo wings and it’s nutritious at the same time! Free of gluten and dairy, also vegan and paleo friendly!
Buffalo wings are a favorite snack amongst the boys in my family. Whether it’s movie night or game day on Sunday, I can almost guarantee you that one of the requested snacks will be buffalo wings. My daughter and I don’t really care for them, which I’m sure makes my husband and son happy because it means there will be more for them. However, I don’t really like to buy them too often because they are usually breaded, fried, and not really nutritious.
Foods like that are okay on occasion, but I wanted to come up with a healthier alternative that was just as tasty as their beloved chicken wings yet equally as wholesome. Boy, did we find a winner with this recipe!
Cauliflower is a perfect choice because it is such a versatile vegetable. I’ve used it in stews, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, and love it roasted as well. I knew buffalo roasted cauliflower would be delicious. I used sriracha for the hot sauce, since I prefer the flavor, but feel free to use your favorite hot sauce instead.
For the dipping sauce, my son’s favorite flavor for buffalo wings is ranch. I have a dairy-free, vegan friendly ranch dressing HERE and I gave it a twist by blending it with avocado and some lime juice. It’s a nice refreshing contrast to the spicy cauliflower and just plain delicious. I mean, it’s a yummy combo of ranch and guacamole, and who doesn’t like ranch or guacamole?!?
This snack is healthy, delicious, has a spicy kick, and is fairly quick to make! It’s allergy friendly and makes the perfect finger food for any occasion. My son has already asked me to make this on his birthday, which is HUGE! I hope you give it a try!
- 1 medium to large head of cauliflower, large middle stem removed and cut into florets
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 6–8 tablespoons Sriracha Sauce
, depending on how spicy you like it. (Use paleo friendly sriracha
, if needed.)
- 2–4 tablespoons melted regular or dairy-free butter, or avocado oil (to taste)
- 1.5 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
- ⅔ cup homemade Dairy-Free Ranch or favorite store-bought ranch dressing
- 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
- juice of ½-1 whole lime
- ¼ cup fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 450ºF.
- Stir together sriracha sauce, melted butter/oil, and vinegar. Set aside.
- Place cauliflower florets in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle cauliflower with ⅔ of the sauce and toss to combine.
- Place pan into the oven and roast for 20 minutes, flipping cauliflower mid-way through.
- Drizzle with remaining sauce continue to bake for another 5–10 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender. For more crispy cauliflower, broil for the last 1-3 minutes, just to lightly brown the top. Watch carefully so that it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and flip cauliflower to coat in the sauce from the pan. Serve hot with avocado ranch.
- Into a food processor, combine ranch dressing, avocado, juice of half a lime, and either parsley or cilantro. Blend together until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary. Taste and add other half of lime juice, salt and pepper, if needed. Blend until thoroughly combined. Chill until ready to use.
I love Cauliflower and these look heavenly, Joscelyn. And love that genius idea of making Avocado ranch. Fantastic share my friend.
Thanks, Anu! The cauliflower and avocado ranch ended up being a big hit with my husband and kids. Thank you for your kind words, friend!
I’m usually not into cauliflowers, but you had me drooling at yours. They look amazing, especially with the avocado ranch!
Beautiful color. Amazingly delicious and irresistible combo 🙂 WOW!
this has my mouth watering like crazy. I need to make these!
This is the ONLY way I can get Travis to eat cauliflower– he loves it! Just like your boys, he always asks for wings but I don’t like them so I barely ever make them.
I need to try this avocado ranch sauce, doesn’t dipping sauce make everything taste 100x better?! I love that you used an avocado for the sauce, I bet it’s extra creamy!
Secretly healthy dipping sauce…yes, please!!!
This looks mouthwatering ♥
summerdaisy.net
Thanks, Summer! I appreciate you stopping by!
I love cauliflower anyway, but you have made them even more desirable! YUM!
Thank you, Marsha! I always appreciate your encouragement!
I love anything buffalo, I need to try these. Your pictures are gorgeous!
Aw, thanks for your encouragement, Leah! I hope you get a chance to try this recipe. Have a wonderful week!
These look absolutely amazing. Making these ASAP with the fiance…what a yummy alternative to wings! Wish I had seen this yesterday for Super bowl festivities…
Coming Up Roses
Hi, Erica. Thank you for your encouraging words! I hope you enjoy this as much as we have 🙂
These cauliflower look so good and the avocado ranch… wow! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe! I look forward to trying it soon!!
Thank you for your kind comments, Ashleigh! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Oh my goodness. My husband will love this! Such a fun, healthy alternative.
– Amanda Shuman | http://www.carrylovedesigns.com/blog
Hi, Amanda! My husband really loved this fun, healthy twist to buffalo wings. It was such a simple snack. I hope you all enjoy the recipe!
Wow this looks sooo good!! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sam. Thank you for your encouragement here. I hope you get a chance to try them!
These look absolutely amazing!! I love buffalo anything,.. but that avocado ranch looks fantastic!!
Thank you, Liz! The avocado ranch was a nice complement to the buffalo cauliflower. It was a big hit!
These look soo good! I’ve been wanting to try cauliflower more because I have been loving cauliflower rice. I’ll have to try this out!
Thanks, Karin! We love cauliflower as well. It made for a great, healthy snack. Thank you for your kind comments!
These look delicious. I always love a twist to making veggies.
Thank you, Sara. It was a nice twist. I hope you have a wonderful week!
I’m pinning this so I can make it. Looks delicious!
Thanks, Marrette! I appreciate you pinning this. It was so delicious! Have a great week!
Wow cauliflower and buffalo sauce!? How amazing is that! Can’t wait to try!
I know right? It was a great combo. I hope you get a chance to try it out!
I love this idea!!! We’re HUGE buffalo flavored everything around here, and my boys aren’t the biggest fans of straight up cauliflower. I’m pinning this to try with them. Thanks!!
Thank you, Mary! I hope you enjoy this as much as we have! Have a wonderful weekend!
This seems delicious! Going to try it – thank you. You are a find!
Thank you, Lisa. It was really yummy, even my meat eating family loved it 🙂 I’m so happy we had the chance to meet and I hope you continue to find recipes you like. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend!
This sounds and looks so yummy Joselyn. We love cauliflower and this is a fun and nice option for us. Great one with the dip.
xx
Thank you, Asha. Roasted cauliflower is the yummiest and we love it with this spicy kick. The dip is a nice complement too 🙂 I hope your family has a fun super bowl weekend. Thanks for stopping by, sweet friend!
yummy! i love buffalo flavor but i rarely eat them now because chicken wings are a rare thing for me to eat, but this sounds amazing! good timing for superbowl sunday fans 🙂
Thanks, Minna! I’m learning to love really spicy flavors, especially since my family loves it. I’m okay as long as I have a big glass of water nearby 🙂 These were good because the avocado ranch tamed the heat a little. Excited for Super Bowl!