Cauliflower BBQ Wings — Perfectly PKU

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As a PKUer, one of the foods I could never have that I always wanted to try were barbecue wings. They always smelled so good! It wasn’t until about a year ago that I tried my hand in making cauliflower wings. Let me tell ya, they lived up to my expectations. I love them so much I make them almost every week.

Cauliflower wings are a great low-protein option for your PKUer when everyone else is enjoying some bbq wings (ya know, during football season). While it does take a bit of prep work to make this recipe, it is a pretty simple one.

Feel free to switch up some of the seasonings in this recipe to your liking. I think the main seasonings for the cauliflower batter to keep are cayenne powder, chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, and some garlic powder. I know some people are not huge on spice, but the cayenne powder in the batter does not really make the cauliflower spicy. It’s usually the sauce that gets ya. With that being said, use whichever barbecue or hot sauce suits your taste buds. For this recipe, I used S&F Chef Sauce Honey Buffalo flavor from Whole Foods. Another great BBQ sauce to use for this recipe is Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce. I always switch out which sauce I use based on where I go to the grocery store each week. I tend to prefer spicier sauces with this recipe, but I have made it using a sweet and sour sauce too. I love that this recipe is so flexible and can be adapted to suit personal preferences.

This recipe takes about a total of 45 minutes to an hour to make, so it’s definitely a meal I tend to make on the weekends when I have extra time to cook. I enjoy eating these with ranch, but they taste great on their own. And for those blue cheese lovers out there….well, I prefer ranch.

Ingredients:

½ head of cauliflower ½ cup of all-purpose baking mix ½ cup non-dairy creamer ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. black pepper ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper ½ tsp. garlic powder ½ tsp. garlic salt ½ tsp. chili powder ½ tsp. ground cumin ½ tsp. ground coriander ½ tsp. onion powder ½ tsp. paprika ¼ cup water (if needed)

BBQ Sauce:

S&F Chef sauce Honey Buffalo from Whole Foods

½ cup BBQ sauce (I used S&F Chef Sauce Honey Buffalo) 1 tsp. water 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar dash of garlic powder and cayenne pepper (optional)

Servings per Recipe: 7 ½ Serving size: ½ cup (55g) Phe per serving*: 41mg *Calculated using Cambrooke baking mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets
In large mixing bowl, mix baking mix (or flour if making for a non-PKUer) and seasonings. Stir with a whisk.
Once dry ingredients are mixed, add non-dairy creamer and whisk. If the batter is too thick, slowly add the ¼ cup of water until a smoother consistency is achieved. Whisk batter until smooth.
Add cauliflower to batter and mix until cauliflower is evenly coated.
Evenly place cauliflower on a greased baking sheet (or use parchment paper). Put in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Take out of the oven and flip the cauliflower. Place back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
While cauliflower is in the oven, in another mixing bowl add the barbecue sauce, water, and apple cider. If adding seasonings, add those as well. Whisk until blended smoothly.
After the cauliflower has been in the oven for 8-10 minutes, take out and place cauliflower in the mixing bowl with the barbecue sauce. Mix cauliflower until evenly coated.
Re-grease baking sheet (if you didn’t use a parchment sheet). Place cauliflower back on the baking sheet and put into the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice, and enjoy!