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    Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich

    April 4, 2018 By Rene 50 Comments

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included.

    Jump to Recipe

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes

    If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen a sneak peak of this bad boy on my stories last week. I was just too freaking excited about it not to share a snippet with you.

    But I couldn't leave you hanging any longer.

    The recipe is finally here!!!

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes

    If you have been around TSV for a while, then you know buffalo sauce is a favorite around here. So far we have made Roasted Cauliflower Buffalo Pizza, Roasted Cauliflower Buffalo Quesadillas, Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos, Beer Battered Cauliflower Buffalo Wings.

    As you can see there is a common thread through all of these recipes - our good 'ol friend CAULIFLOWER.

    I know some of you have an aversion to cauliflower (I think when people think of cauliflower they think of the steamed kind, in a bag, with no seasoning - yuck). But I promise that when you season and cook cauliflower the right way, it is one of the most tasty foods EVER! It has a "meaty" texture which makes it the perfect swap for recipes that would normally call for chicken.

    And it is hearty, so it can be battered and fried (or baked) like a champ.

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes

     

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes

    In all of my past buffalo cauliflower recipes we have cut it up into florets. But today, we're making cauliflower steaks. Oh ya, we're getting crazy.

    TSP TIP: When picking a cauliflower, look for one on the smaller side. This will allow your steaks to fit on your buns and not have too much overhang. Can't find a smaller cauliflower? Don't worry about it. You can cut your steaks in half and cook them that way.

    To help with the overflow I also went with ciabatta buns. They were wider than a traditional burger bun, so the cauliflower steaks fit perfectly. But use whatever buns you like. Again, you can always cut your steaks to fit your buns perfectly.

    Now let's talk about frying vs. baking.

    I am going to share both methods with you, and let me say that they are both AMAZING.

    I literally devoured both!

    The perk of frying these is of course the "crunch" factor. Obviously, when you fry something over baking it, you get a really crisp outer layer. There's just no denying it. But, I get it. I don't love the smell of frying oil taking over my house either.

    So, if you want to forego the oil, go ahead and bake your steaks. They will still get a nice crunchy crust on them - it will just be a different texture than the fried version.

    And again, they are both drool-worthy.

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes

    Once your steaks are ready, serve these with your favorite sandwich toppings - I opted for lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and of course...vegan ranch. Because what is a buffalo sandwich without ranch?

    I hope you love these as much as I do. Say goodbye to fast-food veggie burgers and say hello to comfort food at home!

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes
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    5 from 12 votes

    Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included.
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour
    Servings 4 sandwiches

    Ingredients

    • 1 head cauliflower* cut in ½ inch steaks
    • 1 cup buffalo sauce separated
    • 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder separated
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon flax meal
    • 3 tbsp water
    • ¾ cup flour
    • ¾ cup sparkling water
    • oil for frying
    • 4 ciabatta rolls
    • Optional Toppings lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, vegan ranch

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Prepare cauliflower by destemming and cutting it into ½ inch steaks (from top to bottom).
    • Combine ½ cup buffalo sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, chili powder and olive oil in a bowl. 
    • Dip each steak in the sauce and allow excess to drip off. Place on the baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the steaks. Baste with leftover sauce and cook in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the batter.
    • Combine flax meal and 3 tablespoon (flat) water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. 
    • Add ½ cup buffalo sauce, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, flour, sparkling water and flax "egg" to a bowl.
    • IF FRYING: Heat oil in a shallow pan until it reaches 360 degrees. Dip each steak in the batter and allow excess to drip off. Working in batches, carefully add battered steaks to the oil and fry until golden on both sides (approx. 4-7 minutes). Remove from the oil and place on paper towel-lined plate until ready to serve.
    • IF BAKING: Place a new sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Dip each steak in the batter and allow excess to drip off. Place steaks on the baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the steaks. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until browned and crispy.** Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
    • For serving, toast the buns and layer with cauliflower steaks, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and vegan ranch.

    Notes

    *Try to find a smaller cauliflower so the steaks fit in your buns. You can always cut the steaks in half if they are too large.
    **You can turn the oven to broil for a couple minutes at the end to get it extra crispy. Just make sure not to let it burn.

    This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!

    If you make this recipe be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!

    Dripping in flavor, crunch and spice, this is the Ultimate Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich! Instructions for both baked and fried versions included | ThisSavoryVegan.com #vegansandwiches #buffalocauliflower #veganrecipes
    « Weekly Vegan Dinner Plan #20
    Weekly Vegan Dinner Plan #21 »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chelsea

      April 08, 2021 at 1:47 pm

      5 stars
      Turned out amazing. So flavourful. Will definitely make this again!
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 13, 2021 at 8:42 am

        Awesome! So glad you liked it!

        Reply
    2. Bethany

      December 18, 2020 at 7:44 pm

      5 stars
      This is the second time I’ve made these (the first time I had my meat-loving father in town for dinner and he loved them!). They were just as good a second time. I always have a problem getting the “steaks”, but end up still baking all of the pieces and forming my own patties once I get to the batter step. Definitely a fun alternative at dinner time.

      Reply
      • Rene

        December 20, 2020 at 7:57 pm

        Haha, I totally understand - every cauliflower is not made equally. But this recipe is definitely forgiving when it comes to making the cauliflower work 😊

        Reply
    3. MJ

      June 27, 2020 at 2:06 pm

      5 stars
      Truly delicious! The flavor was outstanding. I fried and maybe my oil was too hot and they were on the dark side, the only reason I didn't take a photo to share with my social media friends. Definitely going to try again, probably will try baking the next time.

      Reply
      • Rene

        July 07, 2020 at 3:33 pm

        Glad they turned out - even if they weren't photo-worthy 🙂

        Reply
    4. Bethany K

      May 22, 2020 at 9:51 am

      5 stars
      This was so good!! My only issue is that I think I cut too much of the core initially so I only got about 3 intact steaks. I ended up roasting the rest of the pieces and then used to the batter to combine them into a single piece before going into the oven, and it surprising worked out perfectly! So learn from my mistakes 🙂
      Added some cheese and ranch and paired them with some broccoli tots, and my meat loving family couldn’t stop raving about how much they loved it. Delicious!!

      Reply
      • Rene

        May 26, 2020 at 11:01 am

        So glad you were able to make it work 🙂

        Reply
    5. Alena | nutriciously.com

      March 17, 2020 at 9:52 am

      what a fantastic recipe, Rene! The sandwich looks so mouth-watering... recommended it in my latest blog post so our readers can try your version: https://nutriciously.com/vegan-chicken-wings/
      keep up the great work ?

      Reply
    6. Jessie

      January 20, 2019 at 5:34 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this for dinner tonight and it was great! I didn’t have flax, so I skipped that part and it still turned out nice and crispy when I baked it 🙂 definitely making again!

      Reply
      • Rene

        January 22, 2019 at 8:21 am

        Great! So glad it still worked well for you, even without the flax!

        Reply
    7. Emma

      January 08, 2019 at 12:04 am

      5 stars
      Amazing! I didn’t have flax or sparkling water so I just used regular water and flour.. perfect amount of spice! I used ciabatta rolls and added some vegan avocado ranch. Will definitely make again!

      Reply
    8. Cori

      September 04, 2018 at 6:25 am

      Hello non-Buffalonians, wanted to let you know traditional Buffalo wings are served with blue cheese., not ranch. Anyone know how to get “Vegaized” blue cheese flavor? That would make it perfect!

      Reply
      • MaLinda

        December 13, 2018 at 1:37 pm

        Sorry but not everybody likes the taste of blue cheese. It's disgusting.

        Reply
        • Jenny

          January 13, 2019 at 8:31 am

          She wasn't asking for your personal opinion on blue cheese. To say what she wants to eat is "disgusting" is pretty rude. Cori, I hope you find a veganized blue cheese recipe you're looking for.

          Reply
          • Wendy

            January 24, 2019 at 7:18 pm

            Daiya has a tasty bottled blue cheese????

            Reply
          • debera

            April 28, 2019 at 1:59 pm

            I agree..

            Reply
        • Brookie

          December 13, 2019 at 9:15 pm

          5 stars
          Baking now. I had lime flavored Perrier and I was confussed withvthe flax egg so i just put an egg. This was super easy but allot of cauliflower brranches fell off so im making nuggest to go with the steaks. I didn't have chilli powder so Inused paprika my bf likes it so it tastes fine. I was confussed at fist but I really need to read the full reciepe b4 I get ahead of myself i do this too often. Thank God I put the flaxpowder on one side of the bowl bcus I had already skipped and put flour but I was still able to make the rue on the side of the bowl can't wait to eat these. I am bumbed I dont have avacado bcus I love avacado but I'm sure it will still be so yummy. I did the double bake process. Thank u for this reciepe yummy cant wait ok need to go flip them.

          Reply
      • Ecfinn

        August 01, 2019 at 10:36 am

        Follow Your Heart makes a good Bleu Cheese dressing!

        Reply
    9. MB

      July 02, 2018 at 8:51 pm

      My problem with all vegan sandwich recipes is the bread. They always show the best looking bread but there are never any brand names or directions on where to find/ how to make it. Where I live choices are VERY limited when it comes to finding vegan bread. The sandwich filling sounds great but I also want to know about that bread.

      Reply
      • Amber

        August 26, 2018 at 2:14 pm

        That was my first thought too! Most bread isn't vegan. I am allergic to eggs and gluten. Schär makes a fabulous gluten, egg and dairy free ciabatta....especially.if you toast them!

        Reply
      • Sam

        January 05, 2019 at 4:10 am

        Costco has an amazing bread selection.

        Reply
    10. Kristen

      May 21, 2018 at 12:16 am

      Can I sub GF flour for flax? And I’m not vegan would egg beaters work instead of actual egg??

      Reply
    11. Christina Alvarez

      May 14, 2018 at 6:53 pm

      5 stars
      I Just made this for dinner for me and my mom and it got rave reviews! This was so satisfying and delicious. Thank you!

      Reply
    12. Alexa

      May 13, 2018 at 5:28 pm

      5 stars
      I just made this sandwich and it was fantastic! I didn't actually have any buffalo sauce so I used BBQ sauce instead and it turned out great. I still added the cayenne and it gave just enough spice for my taste. I must have cut my cauliflower weirdly because I only got 2 "steaks" and then when I tried to cut additional steaks, the florets just fell off. I decided to bake, batter, and fry those florets too and they made cute little nuggets that I love, I gave one to my brother (16yr old very non vegan) and he looked impressed and said "they aren't bad" which I consider a rave review on his scale. My mom (also non vegan) ate the other "steak" on a sandwich and she ate all of it and says it was "very tasty, had a nice texture, would definitely eat again"

      Reply
      • Rene

        May 13, 2018 at 7:12 pm

        Love your use of the "extra bits" of cauliflower - who cares what they look like, it's all about the taste. And BBQ sounds awesome! Glad everyone liked it!

        Reply
    13. Stephanie V

      April 30, 2018 at 2:43 pm

      I don’t have sparkling water. Would it ruin it if I just used regular water?

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 30, 2018 at 4:10 pm

        No, you can use regular water. The bubbles in the sparkling water just give it some extra crunch.

        Reply
    14. jenny

      April 16, 2018 at 1:58 pm

      Can I substitute the flax egg for a chia egg? I hate flax I'm assuming it would be fine

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 16, 2018 at 2:12 pm

        Yes - any egg replacement should work fine.

        Reply
    15. Fernando

      April 11, 2018 at 6:47 pm

      Wow...just. WOW! I can not wait ti try this! Do you happen to have the nutritional info on this?

      Reply
    16. lyndsay bishop

      April 11, 2018 at 1:47 pm

      If I dont have flax meal what would I use as a subsitute?

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 11, 2018 at 2:24 pm

        I would just omit it and follow the instructions for baking. The soda water/flour combo is already a binder - the flax egg just provides another layer of binding, which is especially important when frying.

        Reply
    17. Chelsea

      April 11, 2018 at 9:14 am

      Instead of frying in oil, would you be able to make these in an Air Fryer?

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 11, 2018 at 9:25 am

        I don't own an air fryer, nor have I ever used one so I can't speak to whether it will work or not. If you try it, please let us know, because that seems like a common question. 🙂

        Reply
    18. Chris

      April 08, 2018 at 1:41 pm

      Have you ever tried this n an air fryer?

      Reply
    19. Kristine

      April 04, 2018 at 5:28 pm

      This looks AMAZING and I cannot wait to try! Would this be something that could be meal prepped? i think this would be great to bring for a work lunch, but i don't know how the cauliflower would hold up being zapped in the microwave?

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 05, 2018 at 11:54 am

        I think your instincts are on point - good in theory, but probably not the best idea. Unless you go the baked route and have an oven (or toaster oven) at work that you can reheat the cauliflower in. In the microwave the flavor will still be there, but you are going to lose all of the crunch. I think this is best eaten right away.

        Reply
    20. Maria

      April 04, 2018 at 8:14 am

      You wonderful magician! I've been practically living off buffalo cauliflower bites and wraps for months now. And never in my wildest dreams did I think to make a burger out of it. Thank You! I can't wait to try this

      Reply
      • Rene

        April 04, 2018 at 8:24 am

        OMG, I feel you - buffalo cauliflower is so addictive! Enjoy!

        Reply

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