Baked Cauliflower Wings | Honey Mustard
These Cauliflower Wings are baked to perfection and smothered with a gooey sweet honey mustard sauce that will be a hit with plant-eaters and meat-eaters alike!
Cauliflower wings are a favorite dish at my house. We’ve been eating my BBQ Cauliflower Wings for years, and my even my formerly veggie-hating sister loves them.
So, I decided to play around with a new version of them using my Honey Mustard Sauce that we usually serve as a salad dressing and dip. This sauce can be made with honey or a delicious vegan option called Bee-Free Honee which is available on Amazon.
They turned out amazing and got two thumbs up from my husband. He even asked me to add them to the Super Bowl game day snacks. Now, that’s a WIN!
You are going to love these cauliflower wings because they’re…
- Perfectly sweet
- Great for game day or parties
- Crowd-pleasing
- Super flavorful
- Simply amazing
How to make cauliflower wings
These baked cauliflower wings are surprisingly simple to make. With only a little effort, you can have these delicious crowd-pleasing vegan cauliflower wings ready for parties, game days, or even just for dinner. We do that a lot!
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
Preparing the honey mustard sauce
Making the honey mustard sauce is the first step for the preparation of these wings. It is completely egg-free and dairy-free. It’s low-fat and easy to make with only 5 ingredients.
Ingredients in honey mustard
- Low-fat eggless mayonnaise
- ground mustard
- Dijon mustard
- honey or Bee-Free honey
- lemon juice
Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Then, it’s ready to be used in this recipe as well as served on garden salads, pasta, bean salad, wraps, and sandwiches.
Prepping the cauliflower
Preheat oven to 450°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. This makes clean up much easier because clean-up is a breeze.
Cut the cauliflower florets into small bite-size pieces. I like to make mine a little chunky, but you can cut them as small or large as you like.
I am often asked which knives I use personally, and I have to say that it is Victorinox. They are the same company that makes Swiss Army Knives and the quality is excellent.
Making the batter
For this cauliflower wing batter, you want it to be nice and thick with a little bit of seasoning so it will stick to the cauliflower bites.
Combine flour, non-dairy milk, and spices in a bowl, and whisk together. I like to use almond milk but soy and other plant milk options work just as well.
Coat each cauliflower bite in the batter. I simply put a handful of them in the bowl at one time and roll them around until coated.
Pour the dry bread crumbs into a large bowl or even in a gallon-sized storage bag. As you batter each cauliflower bite in the bowl of batter, then toss them into the bread crumbs and roll (or shake if using a bag) to coat evenly. I do this in batches.
Cooking is a 2-step process
These vegan wings are going to need to go into the oven twice to get the texture and crunch desired.
1st baking step
Place battered and breaded cauliflower bites on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes until brown and crispy. You’ll be surprised how crunchy these get.
2nd baking step
While the cauliflower wings are baking, place some of the honey mustard sauce in a medium-size bowl. Remove cauliflower bites from the oven, and dip each piece into the sauce. I use a fork to roll the chunks around.
Once they are coated well in the sauce and placed back on the baking sheet, it’s time to rebake them for another 15-20 minutes.
When they are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Serve warm or even at room temperature.
Rest assured, these cauliflower bites are phenomenal! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Tips for making this recipe
- Getting the batter to a pancake-type thickness is important so it will stick to the cauliflower well. If it seems too thick, add a splash of plant milk and whisk to thin it out. If it seems too thin, add a little more flour.
- When baking the 1st round, don’t overcook them. Since they will be cooking again on the 2nd round, there’s still plenty of time for them to get tender in the middle.
- You can even make the honey mustard sauce a day or more ahead and let it chill to thicken up even more. This isn’t required, but if you want to get a jumpstart on it, even better.
Your Questions Answered:
- Q: Are honey mustard cauliflower wings vegan? The basic recipe is vegan, and if you use Bee-Free honey instead of regular honey, this dish is completely vegan.
- Q: Is this recipe gluten-free? This recipe isn’t gluten-free but could easily be made to be by using gluten-free flour in the batter and choosing GF bread crumbs as well.
- Q: How do you store cauliflower wings? These are best when eaten fresh out of the oven, but they do keep well in an airtight container for up to a week. You’ll just want to reheat them in the oven rather than a microwave to help crisp them back up.
- Q: Can these be made in an air fryer? Though I haven’t tried it yet, I think an air fryer is a great idea. I would suggest 400°F for about 10 minutes each cycle. If they don’t crisp up enough, just add a little more time in increments.
Other great game day recipes
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Cauliflower Wings — Honey Mustard
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup whole grain flour.
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoons onion power
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch of cayenne for slight kick
- bread crumbs I used Kellogg’s Bread Crumbs
Honey Mustard Sauce
- 1/2 cup low-fat eggless mayo recipe below
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey Bee Free Honee is a great option
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Low-Fat Eggless Mayo
- 1 pound silken tofu
- 1 tablespoon healthy sweetener I use sucanat unrefined sugar or agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Cauliflower Wings
- Begin by making the honey mustard sauce as described below.
- Preheat oven to 450°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. This makes clean up much easier because clean-up is a breeze.
- Cut the cauliflower florets into small bite-size pieces. I like to make mine a little chunky, but you can cut them as small or large as you like.
- For this cauliflower wing batter, you want it to be nice and thick with a little bit of seasoning so it will stick to the cauliflower bites. Combine flour, non-dairy milk, and spices in a bowl, and whisk together.
- Coat each cauliflower bite in the batter. I simply put a handful of them in the bowl at one time and roll them around until coated.
- Pour the dry bread crumbs in a large bowl or even in a gallon-sized storage bag. As you batter each cauliflower bite in the bowl of batter, then toss them into the bread crumbs and roll (or shake if using bag) to coat evenly. I do this in batches.
- These vegan wings are going to need to go into the oven twice to get the texture and crunch desired.
- Place battered and breaded cauliflower bites on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until brown and crispy. You’ll be surprised how crunchy these get.
- While the cauliflower wings are baking, place some of the honey mustard sauce in a medium-size bowl. Remove cauliflower bites from the oven, and dip each piece into the sauce. I used a fork to roll the chunks around.
- Once they are coated well in the sauce and placed back on the baking sheet, it’s time to rebake them for another 15-20 minutes.
- When they are done, remove from the oven and allow them to cool. Serve warm or even at room temperature.
Honey Mustard Sauce
- Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Then, it’s ready to be used in this recipe as well as served on garden salads, pasta, bean salad, wraps, and sandwiches.
Low-Fat Vegan Mayo
- Add all mayo ingredients to a blender and process until smoothes. Pour into an airtight container and store for 7-10 days in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- Getting the batter to a pancake-type thickness is important so it will stick to the cauliflower well. If it seems too thick, add a splash of plant milk and whisk a little to thin it out. If it seems too thin, add a little more flour.
- When baking the 1st round, don’t overcook them. Since they will be cooking again in the 2nd round, there’s still plenty of time for them to get tender in the middle.
- You can even make the honey mustard sauce a day or more ahead and let it chill to thicken up even more. This isn’t required, but if you want to get a jumpstart on it, even better.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
