BBQ Cauliflower Chick'n Wings with Easy Vegan Cabbage Coleslaw

Let’s talk about a serious veggie glow-up! If it’s not cauliflower, then I don’t know what it is…traditionally mushy and steamed this veggie had a reputation of being plain, pale, bland. Not anymore!

It’s 2021 and all the carbs and protein you love seems to have been replaced by cauliflower. Naturally high in fiber and B-vitamins, it’s a great option for vegetarians and vegans who are concerned about getting enough B12. Not to mention that for the caloric count you can eat a plateful of these wings for the same as just a handful of traditional chicken wings. The perfect summer BBQ meal, this tasty dish is easy to make and easy to finish.

What you are going to need to buy:

Head of Cauliflower

BBQ Sauce – (we made our own, but store-bought works, too)

Bread Crumbs

Large Ziplock Bags

Shredded Cabbage or Slaw Salad

Simple Slaw Dressing – (again, we made our own but store-bought works, too)

Blue Cheese – (we used Kite Hill Foods, Vegan Chive Cheese Spread in its place)

What you are going to need to do:

Preheat oven to 350

Breakdown your cauliflower into large, “wing-sized” florets, discarding stems. (*Note: you can always use smaller pieces for kiddos)

Rinse and dry the cauliflower pieces.

Place pieces into the ZipLock bag with enough BBQ Sauce to make sure that they all get an even coat but not so much that it's runny or there is a lot of extra sauce in the bag. This really is going to depend on the sauce you are using. For a medium head of cauliflower start with one cup. You can always add more if it seems too dry.

Once all the pieces are coated, transfer the cauliflower to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, stirring, gently to coat. The idea is to have the breadcrumbs stick to and slightly incorporate into the BBQ sauce so you get that nice "breaded" texture when they bake.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray, gently turn out all of the coated cauliflower pieces, making sure that they are not touching each other.

If you have extra sauce/crumb mixture in the bottom of the bowl, you can gently spoon it over the tops of the pieces that seem a little dry.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. (This can vary depending on the size of your pieces) Checking occasionally to turn the baking sheet in the oven so that the pieces in the back do not cook too quickly or burn.

About halfway through cooking, you can use a spoon or BBQ brush to wash the tops of the pieces with one more coat of BBQ sauce.

Once finished baking, the cauliflower should be easy to pierce with a fork.

Let stand for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet after removing from the oven, before plating. Top with blue cheese or, like we prefer Kite Hill Foods, vegan chive spread, and serve with coleslaw.

What’s in our Vegan BBQ Sauce?

Ketchup

Mustard

Brown Sugar

Worcestershire Sauce

White Vinegar

Onion Powder

Chili Spice

Salt & Pepper

What’s in our Vegan Coleslaw Dressing?

Vegan Mayo

Sugar

Minced Garlic

Lime Juice