Buffalo Cauliflower

This easy recipe for Buffalo cauliflower bites has everything you love about Buffalo chicken wings—with none of the meat. Cookbook author and James Beard–nominated chef Dale Talde uses twice-cooked cauliflower florets for his vegetarian spin on the Super Bowl standby. While it might seem fussy to roast a whole head of cauliflower only to break it up before sautéing the florets with Buffalo sauce, Talde takes this approach for a reason: Once the cauliflower is roasted, the florets practically fall off the core, eliminating some of the tricky knife work usually required when cutting the raw vegetable. Precooking also ensures each bite is fully tender before searing and glazing.

For Talde’s version of Buffalo wing sauce, you’ll mix melted butter with a 50-50 mixture of sriracha and Frank’s Red Hot sauce to give the glaze a garlicky kick. The resulting crisp-tender bites make an elite addition to any game day spread—or a delicious side dish or vegetarian taco filling.

Talde ousts classic blue cheese dressing, opting instead to crumble blue cheese right over the saucy Buffalo cauliflower “wings.” They’d still benefit from a small bowl of ranch dressing on the side, though—or make a shortcut dip by spiking mayo with garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, and dill. Final tip: Don’t forget the celery sticks. The cooling crunch makes the spicy bites all the better.