This Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich Tastes Just Like the Real Thing

It’s our claim to fame . . . buffalo cauliflower. This recipe is the most visited page on the blog and the most watched YouTube video. Newcomers, feast your eyes on the buffalo cauliflower sandwich! You diehards will notice and recognize the revamp on the breading. I’ve added panko-style bread crumbs ’cause it makes the cauliflower crispy and crunchy as hell. Not the kind of crunch that’ll tear up the roof of your mouth, but the kind of crunch that’ll definitely make you relapse and forget that you’re biting into a piece of cauliflower. It makes a heck of a good replacement for chicken in this spicy stacked monster of a sandwich! (Find more of our favourite cauliflower recipes here.)

photo credit: hot for food

Servings	Prep Time	Cook Time
4sandwiches	30minutes	50minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4sandwiches	30minutes

Cook Time

50minutes

• Course Dinner, Lunch
• Cuisine Burgers, Sandwiches, Vegetarian

Ingredients

• Breaded Buffalo Cauliflower
• 2 heads cauliflower
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free rice flour
• 4 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 3/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 cups panko-style bread crumbs or gluten-free bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup vegan butter
• 1/1/2 cups buffalo-style hot sauce
• Sandwiches
• 4 kaiser-style rolls
• 1 cup red onion thinly sliced
• 2 cups lettuce shredded or finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes thinly sliced
• 4 dill pickles
• The Classic Ranch
• 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp fresh dill finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp chives finely chopped
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

Servings: sandwiches

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients Breaded Buffalo Cauliflower 2 heads cauliflower 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free rice flour 4 tsp garlic powder 4 tsp onion powder 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper 3/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk 3/4 cup water 3 cups panko-style bread crumbs or gluten-free bread crumbs 1/4 cup vegan butter 1/1/2 cups buffalo-style hot sauce Sandwiches 4 kaiser-style rolls 1 cup red onion thinly sliced 2 cups lettuce shredded or finely chopped 2 tomatoes thinly sliced 4 dill pickles The Classic Ranch 1 cup vegan mayonnaise 1 Tbsp fresh dill finely chopped 1 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley finely chopped 1 Tbsp chives finely chopped 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp ground pepper Servings: sandwiches Units:MetricUS Imperial

Course Dinner, Lunch Cuisine Burgers, Sandwiches, Vegetarian

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In this case, parchment paper is absolutely necessary, or the cauliflower and batter will stick to the sheet.
2. To prepare the cauliflower, remove the leafy parts, being careful not to cut off any florets. Slice each head in half from the top. From the inside of each half, cut a slice 3⁄4 inch to 1 inch thick. You now have 4 large cauliflower cross-sections or steaks. You can reserve the remaining florets to make buffalo bites using the same batter and method or the Southern Fried Cauliflower (page 46), or you can roast them up for another meal.
3. Mix the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, nondairy milk, and water together in a bowl until well combined. The amount of liquid or flour may need to be increased if you replace the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour. It should be thick enough that it doesn't pool too much around the steak.
4. Transfer the batter to a wide, shallow dish that will fit your cauliflower steaks. Place the bread crumbs in another dish or large bowl. Immerse each steak in the batter, using one hand to coat all the crevices and letting just a bit of the excess drip back into the dish.
5. Coat all sides of the steaks in the bread crumbs. Place the breaded cauliflower steaks on the baking sheet.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, until crispy, flipping the steaks halfway through the bake time. If you go to flip the steaks and the batter feels stuck, it needs to bake longer on that side.
7. Just before the cauliflower finishes baking, melt the vegan butter and whisk it into the hot sauce in a shallow dish.
8. Remove the cauliflower from the oven. You may want to let the steaks cool slightly so you can handle them. You may need to replace the parchment paper with a new sheet if it’s really soaked through or burned quite a bit.
9. Coat the breaded cauliflower steaks evenly on all sides in the buffalo sauce. Reserve the excess sauce to baste the cauliflower before serving. Bake again for 25 minutes, flipping the steaks halfway through the bake time.
10. To assemble the sandwiches, just before the cauliflower is done baking, cut the rolls in half and toast, if desired. Spread a generous amount of ranch dressing on the cut sides of each roll. Place a buffalo cauliflower steak on the bottom half. Add the red onion slices, lettuce, tomato slices, and then the top half of the roll. Serve with a pickle or slice the pickles and add to the sandwich.

The Classic Ranch

1. Stir all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days.

Recipe Notes

Hot Tip: You can slice leftover buffalo cauliflower steaks into breaded strips and make a salad with greens and veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. Then drown it in ranch dressing. It’s outstanding! You can also use half buffalo-style hot sauce and half BBQ sauce for a milder version of this sandwich.

Excerpted from Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics by Lauren Toyota. Copyright © 2018 Lauren Toyota. Published by Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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