Delicious vegan buffalo wings turned sliders. Crispy, packed with flavor, super healthy and smothered in a vegan ranch dressing that will blow your mind.
TOMORROW!!! It’s the big day friends!!! It’s cookbook release day!!! Man oh man, this year has flown by. It was a little over one year ago when I got an email from my publisher asking if I was interested in writing a book, I was shocked to say the least.
I remember when I first started creating all of the recipes, people asked how in the world I would come up with so many burgers and burritos. Well lets just say I actually had TOO many ideas! LOL, that pretty much sums up my life. First world blogger problems right?
I narrowed it down to my favorites, it was no easy task. But these my friends are the best of the best! A collection of the most diverse, flavorful, delicious burgers, burritos, sauces and sides you will find in one book!
It’s no secret I am a hot sauce lover. If you visit my other recipes here on the blog you will find a wide collection of spicy favorites. My Protein Packed Buffalo Dip is a huge reader favorite, as is my Queso Blanco.
I even have another buffalo burger, my Buffalo Chickpea Burger, that is topped with crispy baked onion rings. WHAT?! So of course it was necessary to add a few spicy options in my book. And these vegan buffalo wing sliders are no joke. Crispy, packed with flavor, healthy as can be and smothered in a vegan ranch dressing that will blow your mind.
If you want another great recipe using the same crispy coating I used in these buffalo bites, take a look at my Chinese Style Vegan Orange Cauliflower recipe!
Vegan Ranch Dressing like WOAH
Let’s talk ranch. I have tried a few different recipes out there. Some tasty, but none that could stand up next to regular ranch and fool anyone. I swear I have served my vegan ranch dressing to many people and no one had any idea it was vegan.
In fact, when I created my recipe I had regular ranch taste tests with friends to compare each step of the way. This is legit people. This vegan ranch dressing is the real deal. Which is why, when I was trying to decide which recipe to share with you all today in celebration of my book release, I knew it had to be this. This dressing speaks my book like no other.
Yes the recipes in this book are plant based. Yes they are made of whole food ingredients you find at your regular grocery store (no weirdo stuff). But mostly, this book is simply really good food that just happens to be vegan. Convinced yet? Give yourself an awesome gift and order here!!
All you need is to order my cookbook and you’re on your way to amazing dinners anytime you want! Happy early holidays to you all!
- 1 head cauliflower (medium-size)
- 3/4 - 1 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs (gluten-free if needed)
- 6 tbsp hemp seeds or almond flour , grind the hemp seeds for best results (see notes)
- 6 tsp dried parsley
- 6 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce (I like Frank’s Buffalo Sauce)
- 1 cup sparkling soda water
- 2 tsp baking powder
- drizzle oil , optional (see notes)
- 10 buns (slider-size)
- Vegan Ranch—The Real Deal (recipe below)
- Cayenne pepper hot sauce
- Red onion
- Lettuce
- 1 cup unsweetened plain cashew or almond milk
- 14 tsp distilled white vinegar (1/4 cup plus 2 tsp)
- 5 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (see note)
- 1 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp minced onion
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp mustard powder
Place the cashew milk, vinegar and lemon juice in a bowl and allow it to sit while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the milk mixture, cashews and salt into a high-speed blender and purée until smooth.
- Add the parsley, garlic powder, onion, onion powder, dill, black pepper and mustard powder to the blender and pulse until well mixed. Refrigerate the dip to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C).
Slice the cauliflower into large slider-size pieces. Or cut into nugget size if making for kids.
Make the crispy coating by mixing together the cornmeal, bread crumbs, ground hemp seeds (or almond flour), parsley and garlic powder, then place it in a shallow baking dish. You can also put it into a large plastic bag for the shake and bake option.
Make the batter by combining the almond flour, buffalo cayenne pepper hot sauce, water and baking powder in a bowl until fully mixed. Add a drizzle of oil if you’d like. See notes for kid friendly batter.
Using one hand for the batter and one for the coating (this helps avoid clumping of the coating), dip each cauliflower piece in the batter then place in the coating dish and cover with coating. Place each piece on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Make sure to evenly spread out the pieces.
If using the plastic bag, simply place the batter coated cauliflower into the bag and shake to coat in the topping. It should all fit but do it in parts if need be, just make sure to only use half of the coating so that it doesn't all get wet.
Bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and drizzle about 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot sauce on top of the cauliflower pieces, trying to coat the top sides well. Using a pastry brush can help.
- Flip them over and drizzle the rest of the hot sauce on top of the other sides, trying to coat them well. Put them back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until they’re crispy.
- Serve immediately on slider buns with the toppings of your choice, using 1 to 2 pieces of cauliflower for each slider, depending on size.
- You can use almond flour instead of hemp seeds to make is easier, but I like the final texture the hemp seeds give because of their natural oils.
- I use a fine grained almond flour, but because this isn't a baked good, any almond flour would work.
- You can add a small drizzle of oil to the batter if you want. It is definitely not needed but can add an extra crispness to the final product.
- If you are not using a high speed blender, there are a couple of options for making your sauce smooth: You can use a coffee grinder to grind everything to a fine powder, or make sure to soak your cashews overnight, or for at least 2 to 3 hours. If you forget, you can also boil them for 30 minutes.
- Ranch makes about 2 cups.
- You can make between 8-10 sliders depending on how full you make them.
- Nutrition facts account for 10 servings, and do not include all of the batter and coating since all of it is not used. An average of how much used is accounted for. It also accounts for only using 3/4 cup of the ranch.
- Nutrition facts for 1/4 cup of the Ranch alone are: 9 g fat, 140 calories, 11 carbs, 4 protein.
Baby/Kid Food idea:
- To make these kid friendly, for the batter, use 1 cup milk of choice, 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 cup almond flour. Whisk well. You can also add some of the parsley and garlic powder into the batter if you want too. Don't drizzle it in hot sauce part way through baking, simply bake for 30-35 minutes. Other than that everything else is the same!
Jen says
I actually didn’t make this whole recipe, but just the ranch. It was so good! I am amazed.
veggiesdontbite says
So happy to hear you like it!
Julie Madsen says
After trying dozens of vegan ranch dressings over the last 30 years, this one has made it to my #1 slot. So incredibly good. Thanks once again, Sophia!
veggiesdontbite says
Wow! Thank you so much Julie!! I am so happy you love it as much as we do!!
Cathy says
For the ranch dressing, can I use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Cathy! I address this in the post, you can but the flavor won’t be as good. Apple cider vinegar is a little sweeter and not as tangy as white.
Eleanor says
I need this dressing in my life!!! 😍😍😍
veggiesdontbite says
You definitely do!! It’s so good!
Lue says
I have tried A LOT of vegan, no-oil, ranch type dressings/dips. This is THE BEST. Seriously.
Thank you Sophia!
veggiesdontbite says
Wow! Thank you so so much for the awesome feedback! I so appreciate it!!
JD says
These are some of the best healthy but unhealthy tasting sliders I’ve ever had! A tad spicy but I’m a wimp.
Kim Cowgar says
I would love to try the My Big Fat Greek Burrito recipe first
Michelle Catallo says
Tough choice as we are open to all types of food but, most likely I would be making burritos for my kids and I 🙂 first
Kelsey vinson says
The wing sliders look amazing! Would def try that first!