BBQ Caulifower Wings (vegan, gluten free, oil free)

Cauliflower is having what feels like 15 minutes of fame these days..or maybe that's already over now...

Praised for its health benefits and versatility, cauliflower is popping up in a ton of special diet communities -- from vegan to paleo. Its been one of my favourite veggies for awhile -- ever since I realized that it could be used instead of dairy in creamy sauces, and instead of chicken. I love it as a rice alternative too. But my latest obsession is with cauliflower wings.

In case you've been living on the moon this year, cauliflower wings are a super popular thing now. Vegan bloggers love to eat them on the regular and restaurants are even serving them instead of chicken wings. Truth is they are that good.

Cauliflower is one of my favourite meat alternatives. Its super healthy, thought to help fight cancer and tastes a lot like chicken when you douse it in sauces and especially when you
batter it and bake/fry it until crispy.

Before I went vegan BBQ chicken was one of my favourite things. I really loved it in the summertime. I haven't had it in years but these delicious BBQ Cauliflower Wings remind me of it a lot. And hey they're cruelty free, gluten free and 100% salmonella-free! Three cheers for cruciferous veggies.

The method for these wings is super simple. Batter, bake, drizzle, bake again, drizzle. That's all she wrote. Was that really so hard? I didn't think so.

My version is a little different than the recipes I've found for cauliflower wings online. My batter is gluten free, oil-free and whole grain. I also like to bake my wingz instead of fry them. And I make my own BBQ sauce in a jiffy while they hit the oven.

I bake them until crispy, drench them in sauce, bake them again, drench them in more sauce and devour. What can I say, I'm a saucy lady.

Are you ready for these plantbased wonders? Give them a try this week or anytime you crave BBQ chicken.

BBQ CAULIFLOWER WINGS

3 cups cauliflower florets (steamed gently if using frozen)

BATTER:

1.5 cups gf flour (I used 1 cup brown rice flour + 1/2 cup white rice flour)
Water to thin (about 1-1.5 cups depending on the flour you use)
Spices of your choice (I combined 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp pink salt)

Preheat oven to 450F. Steam frozen cauliflower to thaw or use fresh. Make sure they are in nice floret pieces (not too tiny). Mix batter together in a bowl until smooth like a waffle batter. Dip each floret to fully coat, gently tap off excess into batter bowl. Arrange on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in hot oven for about 15 minutes, flip all pieces with a spatula and bake another 10 minutes. If adding a sauce like BBQ sauce for wing style cauliflower, baste the cauliflower bites with some of the sauce and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and baste with more sauce. Serve with spicy vegan mayo.

SPICY BBQ SAUCE (OIL FREE)

1/4 cup organic ketchup
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp or more maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp sriracha or 1 tsp hot sauce (like red hot)
1/4 cup of water (to thin the sauce)

Stir all sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Use as sauce to baste the wings.

Duze

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