These Sticky Honey Garlic Cauliflower Wings are sweet, spicy and perfect for game day! Easily made in the air fryer and served with the most delicious spicy ranch dipping sauce!
Wings are a staple during football season and these sticky honey garlic cauliflower wings do NOT disappoint! The perfect healthy game day snack that everyone will love, even your non-veggie lovers! Seriously though, my chicken-wing-obsessed hubby even gobbled these right up and has already requested them for the Super Bowl this weekend. I love making cauliflower in the air fryer because the outside gets super crispy while the the inside is nice and tender. The perfect bite!
These cauliflower wings taste great served as an appetizer for game day along with my spicy ranch dipping sauce, but would also taste amazing as a main course served over rice for a delicious dinner!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- cauliflower – you’ll need one large head of cauliflower cut into bite-sized florets.
- eggs – this coats the cauliflower and acts as a binder to hold the breading on.
- breadcrumbs – I used whole wheat panko bread crumbs, but feel free to use Italian bread crumbs or even almond flour to coat the cauliflower florets.
- seasonings – a combination of chili powder, paprika, garlic and onion powder.
- salt + black pepper – needed for flavor.
Sticky Honey Garlic Sauce
- honey – this is what makes them “sticky” and adds sweetness without using refined sugars. You could also swap the honey with maple syrup if you wanted to keep these cauliflower wings vegan.
- soy sauce – I used lower sodium soy sauce as I personally think regular soy sauce is just too salty for my taste, but feel free to use what you have on hand! You can also swap the soy sauce with coconut aminos to make this gluten-free (along with GF breadcrumbs).
- rice vinegar – apple cider vinegar or even white wine vinegar would work too.
- garlic – you can use fresh chopped garlic or minced garlic from the jar.
- ginger – I used fresh ginger, but you can easily substitute with 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- cornstarch – this thickens up the sauce, you could also use arrowroot powder.
How to Make Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings
- Chop cauliflower. First cut up your cauliflower into florets, trimming off any long stems, and try to keep the cauliflower florets similar in size so that they all cook evenly.
- Coat the cauliflower. Next, get two separate bowls, adding the eggs to one bowl and the breadcrumbs and seasonings to the other. Dredge the cauliflower florets in the egg wash first then coat them in the breadcrumbs and place on the wire rack of your air fryer.
- Cook the cauliflower. Air fry the cauliflower florets at 400 degrees for about 6 minutes. Open up the air fryer and flip them over, then air fry again for another 6 minutes, until golden and crispy.
- Make the sauce. While the cauliflower is in the air fryer, whisk together all the ingredients for the honey garlic sauce in a small saucepan and bring the sauce to a boil on the stove. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
- Toss with sauce. Toss the cauliflower wings with the honey garlic sauce in a large bowl until completely coated and top with sesame seeds and green onions (scallions). The most delicious sticky cauliflower wings are ready to be served!
Please note that depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do a couple batches of cauliflower wings as you don’t want to overcrowd the wings. Place them in a single layer on the rack so that the air can circulate around them as they cook. This will help get them nice and crispy!
The other great thing about this recipe is that you can really use any sauce you’d like! Want more of a buffalo-style cauli wing? Simply toss the air fried cauliflower bites in a buffalo sauce rather than this honey garlic sauce and boom, a totally new recipe! Super versatile and I promise this is the only method you need.
Can I Bake These in the Oven?
Absolutely! I definitely prefer the crispiness of the air fryer, but you can easily bake these in the oven as well. Simply follow all the same steps and place the breaded cauliflower wings on a prepared baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until golden-brown, making sure to flip the cauliflower halfway through. And that’s it! Just toss the baked wings with the honey garlic sauce and serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItFollow on Instagram
How to Make Spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce
This ranch dressing is spicy, creamy, herby and oh so delicious! It’s also a much healthier alternative to your classic ranch dressing as it’s made with Greek yogurt, a mix of fresh and dried herbs, a little adobo sauce from chipotle peppers for some added spice (you can find this in a can or jar), and some additional seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Simply mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve. This dressing will last in the fridge for up to a week so feel free to use it for your salads too!
More Game Day Recipes
- Hot Italian Sliders
- Loaded Bell Pepper Nachos
- Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts
- Baked Crab Cake Balls with Sriracha Dipping Sauce
- Skinny Buffalo Chicken Bites
- 7 Layer Taco Dip
Hope you all enjoy these Sticky Honey Garlic Cauliflower Wings and if you love this as much as we do, please leave me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!
Sticky Honey Garlic Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
For the cauliflower wings:
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Toppings: sesame seeds and green onions, optional
For the Honey Garlic Sauce:
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
For the Spicy Ranch Dressing:
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dill, dried
- 1 tsp chives, fresh or dried
- 1 tsp parsley, dried
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 to 3 Tbsp water, plus more as needed to thin
Instructions
- Make the spicy ranch dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, adobo sauce, lemon juice, herbs and seasonings and set aside (or refrigerate) until ready to serve.
- To make the cauliflower wings: place the eggs in one bowl and whisk them together. In another bowl, mix together the panko breadcrumbs, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt/pepper. Dip the cauliflower florets first in the egg wash, coating completely, and then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Shake off any excess breadcrumbs and place on the wire rack of the air fryer.
- NOTE: Depending on the size of your air fryer you may need to do a couple of batches of cauliflower wings. You want to place them in a single layer on the rack, being careful not overcrowd them so that air can circulate around the wings making them crispy!
- To make in the air fry: Place wings in air fryer at 400 degrees for about 6 minutes, flip them over, then continue air-frying for another 6 minutes until golden and crispy.
- To make in the oven: Place breaded wings on a baking sheet sprayed with oil (being careful not to overcrowd them) and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping wings halfway through.
- To make the honey garlic sauce: While the cauli wings are in the air fryer, whisk together all the ingredients for the honey garlic sauce and bring the sauce to a boil on the stove. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
- When the cauliflower wings are ready, toss them with the honey garlic sauce until they are completely coated and top with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve with the spicy ranch dipping sauce and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These Sticky Honey Garlic Cauliflower Wings look absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe for my next game day gathering. The sauce sounds so tasty, and I love that it’s a healthier alternative to traditional wings. Thanks for sharing!
Loved your recipe!! My sister who is very picky even found it to be delicious!
I made some alterations due to food sensitivities:
Panko- used almond meal instead
Soy sauce- used coconut aminos
Omitted ginger- allergic
Greek yogurt – used Unsweetened coconut yogurt
Cornstarch- used Arrowroot starch
These were phenomenal. I will say that I didn’t think to dust the cauliflower in flour, and then the egg so my panko breading was mostly falling off, but they were still delicious and I will try that next time. The honey garlic sauce was OH so yummy. I’m not vegetarian but my daughter-in-law is, and I made these for the Super Bowl last weekend in addition to standard chicken wings, and she raved about the cauliflower, and they were ALL I ate! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
What is panko ? I’m from the UK And Adobo sauce ?
Panko is breadcrumbs and Adobo sauce is found in canned chipotle peppers 🙂 Hope this helps!
These were delicious. I did dust the cauliflower in a bitnof flour to get the egg to stick better but other than that made as stated in the recipe. I did let the sauce simmer down too much but a bit of water to loosen did the trick. They were crisp and tasty. Used bottled ranch to dip in and ate most without dipping. Enjoyed this recipe. Thanks.
So easy and yummy. I did mine in the air fryer in a couple of batches. Kids loved them.
These look delicious!!!!
Please, please don’t call these wings. Cauliflower bites maybe but c’mon! What is the purpose of that?
It’s just highlighting that these are a substitute for classic wings, feel free to call them bites 🙂
Geez, Daniel. Get uptight much about insignificant things?