They’re here! The tastiest cauliflower wings on the block using our Korean-Inspired Gochujang Sauce. Let’s do this!
This recipe is easy, requiring 30 minutes and 8 ingredients to make. It’s also nut-free, soy-free, and oil-free optional.
It all starts with a head of cauliflower roasted until just tender. While that’s happening, make your sauce.
This sauce utilizes the Korean Gochujang Sauce we made earlier in the week, mixed with chili garlic sauce for more heat, coconut aminos for saltiness and depth of flavor, and maple syrup for a bit of sweetness to balance the spice. This sauce is finger-lickin’ good.
After another short roast in the oven, these wings are ready to devour! Enjoy as is or serve in lettuce cups with garnishes of choice.
We hope you all LOVE these wings! They’re:
Spicy (but not too spicy!)
Big in flavor
Easy to make
Customizable
Super filling
& SO delicious
These would make the perfect appetizer, side, or snack when you’re craving some comfort food. Not only are they delicious on their own or in lettuce cups, but they would also be delicious atop rice bowls or salads!
Be sure to check out our other cauliflower recipes like Spicy Red Curry Cauliflower Wings, Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Chipotle Romesco, 30-Minute Sweet Potato Cauliflower Curry, Shawarma Roasted Cauliflower Steak, and 30-Minute Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Spicy Korean Style Cauliflower Wings
Ingredients
CAULIFLOWER
- 1 large head cauliflower (large stalks removed, cut into bite-size “wings”)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp avocado, sesame, or melted coconut oil (if avoiding oil, sub gochujang sauce)
SAUCE
- 1/2 cup Korean Gochujang Sauce (or store-bought – just ensure it’s vegan/gluten-free)
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil or avocado oil (sub water if avoiding oil)
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or sub tamari, but reduce amount as it’s saltier)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce (for more heat // I like Huy Fong Foods brand)
- 2 Tbsp Water (to thin)
FOR SERVING (optional )
- Butter or romaine lettuce
- Whole garlic cloves, peeled (mincing optional)
- Fresh cilantro
- Sesame seeds
- Shredded carrots
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F (232 C) and line one large or two small baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet (like this one). Use more baking sheets as needed.
- Add cauliflower to a large mixing bowl and toss with oil to coat. Then arrange on baking sheet(s) and roast for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare sauce. To the same mixing bowl from earlier, add gochujang sauce, sesame oil (or water), coconut aminos, maple syrup, sea salt, and chili garlic sauce. Whisk to combine. Then taste and adjust flavor as needed. Add more chili garlic sauce for spice, coconut aminos for depth of flavor (“umami”), maple syrup for sweetness, or salt for saltiness.
- Remove cauliflower from oven and increase heat to 500 degrees F (260 C). Add a few “wings” at a time to the sauce. Toss to coat generously, tap off excess, and then place back on baking sheet.
- Coat all wings. Then return to oven and bake for 10-13 minutes more or until sizzling, golden brown on the edges, and tender (but not mushy).
- While baking, prepare any additional serving elements, such as grated carrots, lettuce cups, or fresh garlic optional.
- Serve immediately. Best when fresh. The wings can be refrigerated up to 3 days, or frozen (either at the glazed stage or the glazed and baked stage) up to 1 month and then reheated on the stovetop or in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven until warmed through.
Video
Notes
*Prep time does not reflect items prepped while other items are cooking.
Gabriele says
Made this today, but pre-steamed the cailiflower instead of pre-roasting it, because the oven was occupied with something else at that moment. It was delicious (!) but weeped some water during the final roasting process, so I will definitely pre-roast it next time, as the recipe wisely recommended.
Didn’t have coconut aminos in house either, but soy sauce worked well, especially since the sauce had enough sweetness from the maple syrup already.
Will definitely make this again!
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much for the review and for sharing your modifications, Gabriele!
Gabriele says
I made the recipe again today, as I still had some excess cauliflower (I guess you can tell I like it…) and found a great way to avoid wasting all that good sauce dripping off the cauliflower while it’s roasting:
I placed the dipped cauliflower florets on a “bed” of masarepa mix, which I didn’t bother forming into arepas, but just spread on the baking sheet in a 1/4″ “cornmeal pizza” type of layer.
The Gochujang drippings soaked into the “cornmeal pizza” as planned and turned the whole thing into a double delight!
Amazing! Love the creativity, Gabriele!
Jen Beddia says
Hi Dana! I love your recipes and excited to try this one out tonight as my husband is a HUGE fan of spicy wings. I don’t want it “too” spicy though so would you suggest leaving out the garlic sauce. I was planning to use “mother in Laws Gochujang Fermented Chile Sauce” and omit the chili garlic sauce (I have Huy Fong Ground Chili Paste)
That sounds like a great plan! Let us know what you think if you give them a try!
Jen says
They were fantastic! Your recipes never disappoint
Aw, we’re SO glad to hear it, Jen! xoxo
Erin says
We made this for dinner and decided to make a double batch. So glad we did! It was so delicious and we’ll definitely be making this a regular rotation in our dinner menu. Thank you!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Erin! xo
Jasmine says
this is incredible!! i’ll definitely be making this on repeat, so quick and easy, i’ve missed chicken wings since going vegetarian and this really satisfies that craving!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Jasmine! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Rosie says
This looks so yummy. I don’t like to deviate too much from your recipes but was wondering what you thought about making these better wings in an air fryer? Do you have an air fryer?
Hi Rosie, we haven’t experimented with an air fryer, but based on our understanding of the mechanism, we think it would work well. Let us know if you try it!
J says
These were quite good! Thanks for always having the best cauliflower recipes ;]
Just a side note: most varieties of gochujang are made with soybeans (I doubt there are many brands that make a sans soy version), so this isn’t soy free.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them! We like to make homemade gochujang and use chickpea miso to keep it soy-free.
Megan says
Delicious and simple to put together. I loved the spice level, hubby went for a loaf of bread half way though :). I made it with tamari in lieu of aminos and served on lettuce leaves with sesame seeds and finely diced carrot.
Linda says
Thank you for this recipe that is very easy to follow. Sadly, my stores do not have coconut aminos, so I used a scant 1/8 c tamari instead. I found that the recipe works well with both cauliflower as well as chicken wings. I will use it on ribs this New Year’s and also make broccoli “wings” along with the cauliflower wings next time.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Linda! We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Thea says
This is a favourite!
The flavours are incredible and well-balanced. I used soy sauce instead of coconut aminos and didn’t add salt.
I’ve made this twice: the first time, I made the error of overcooking the cauliflower, but my second attempt was perfect even though my oven doesn’t heat above 220°C (430 F).
Thank you for this delicious recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Thea! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Kinara says
Oh. My. Heck. I made these for vegan Korean bowls with rice, black beans, sesame sautéed spinach, sesame roasted sweet potato, avocado, and creamy gochujang sauce made by mixing the leftover cauliflower sauce with a bit of vegan mayo. Mind-blowing. The cauliflower got perfectly caramelized in the oven.
Yay Yay! xo
Luke says
I made this tonight as written and the flavors were there but it was watery and never really crisped up.
They get slightly crispy, but not SUPER crispy. The longer you cook them the crispier they’ll get! Hope you still enjoyed the flavors!
Dani says
I can’t wait to try this. Do you think I could whip up a large batch of the sauce and then portion it and freeze till I’m ready for to make them?
Yes, that should work just fine!
Sarah says
Do you think this would this stand up to being baked the first time, packed up to take to to a party, and then tossed in sauce and finished in the oven at the hosts house? I would love to take this to a get togther but don’t want to hog the oven.
I think that should work, though we haven’t tried doing it ourselves. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try though!
Huyen says
Made this several weeks ago for some meat-loving guests and it was a HIT!!! An addicting appetizer that everyone kept going back to for more. Was told that the sauce tasted “exactly like the one at my favorite pub on Wednesday wing night”. Would highly recommend! I did have to use a bit more sauce than the recipe called for as the cauliflower head was bigger and I also liked adding more at the end for more “sauciness”. Making it again tomorrow night for guests. :)
MMcOlive says
So, I must’ve done something wrong. This is the first Minimalist Baker recipe I’ve tried that was a flop. The sauce was flavorful but runny and the cauliflower felt like it was parboiled. Nothing at all like the chicken wings I remember eating before I became vegan. I’ll put cornstarch in the remaining sauce and use it with stir fried vegetables, but I won’t try this recipe again. :(
Sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you! Did you happen to change anything? Let us know and we’ll do our best to help out!
Shelby says
Loved the sauce recipe, but i found that I wasn’t able to get the cauliflower wings as crispy as I normally like… I’m thinking I sauced them too early…because once they’re sauced, I found I couldn’t roast them too long without the sauce burning.
Hmm that may have been the case! Now you know for next time, right? Thanks for the review, Shelby!
Tina says
I made this today but found that the sauce burnt at the heat in the oven and the taste was far too sweet for my liking. Moreover, because the sauce burnt, the taste was negatively effected. I think gochujang is not my condiments haha
Sorry to hear that, Tina! We wonder if your oven runs hotter? Otherwise, was it a store-bought sauce or did you make any modifications?
Matt says
Great recipe! My only thing was my sauce was pretty watery so i would omit the water. I think my gochujang sauce wasn’t as “sticky” as yours. so the sauce doesn’t really stay on the cauliflower. still great flavor though
Cristin says
LOVE these! If you are wondering if these wings are worth it going out of your way and find Gochujang sauce – THEY ARE! I omitted the chili garlic sauce and they were *plenty* spicy (I used Roland brand Gochujang). I served them in warmed corn tortillas with a quick broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots + lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, s&p). Best meal of the month!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Cristin! :D
Rebecca says
Easy, delicious recipe that my hubby and I loved. We had the cauliflower wings in lettuce wraps as suggested, along with sesame seeds, shredded carrot, coriander, and green onion. Show stopper.
Will definitely go well with rice and fresh veg/herbs next time.
anna says
Delicious. Now part of my rotation. Missed these flavors.
Thanks, Anna!
Monica says
This was really easy and delicious!
Yay!
Rhiannon says
Holy cow, I made this last night and it was a hit with both myself and my fiancé! I doubled the recipe out of the gates because I had a feeling we’d want leftovers, and I was right. xD we also have plenty of sauce leftover to use on other things for the next few days! Definitely a winner!
Sarah says
This cauliflower dish is really good. I put the raw caulifower in a ziplock bag, added the sauce, shook to coat, and baked until just tender. I like spicy and this was the perfect spicy.
Kyrie says
Thank you! I made these the other night, and they turned out great! I breaded the cauliflower in panko, of course (because I’m a glutton). This is going in my recipe book.
Justine says
Even the little kids in my household liked this (I made it a bit less spicy for their palates and prayed they’d eat more than one bite). If you are questioning whether the (relatively minimal, but I’m pretty lazy) effort is worth it – don’t! Just make these and make a double batch of the sauce because it’s finger lickin’ good! Like you will actually lick your fingers and then fight for the leftovers.
Danielle says
Just finished making and eating this. I spun them like lettuce wraps at PF Chang’s, adding rice to the wrap and a chili soy sauce dipping sauce. My lips are a bit ? but I like that lol. I made my the gochujang sauce; I think I added too much water, it was a bit runny (noted for next time). Great recipe. I have loved every single one of your recipes I’ve tried!
Glad to hear it, Danielle! Yes, for future you can always add less water and this should yield a thicker sauce!
Lee MacArthur says
The recipe sounded really good but I am going to have to make adjustments because it was too spicy to eat when made as written. I do want to try it again with a bit less spice.
Merilla says
I found the sauce to be delicious but too thin — do you know how I could thicken it up?
I used water as a substitute in the sauce instead of sesame/avocado oil, soys sauce instead of coconut aminos, store-bought gochujang sauce and didn’t use any additional water to thin the sauce out.
Hi Merilla! Next time, skip the water altogether and add more gochujang to thicken. Hope this helps!
Chelsea says
could i substitute honey for maple syrup?
Yep, that should work!
Julia Antenucci says
This recipe is SO GOOD. I added a bit of rice vinegar to the gochujang sauce to cut the salt/heat with a bit of acidity and it was perfect for my tastes. But with cilantro and some carrots, it really was such a filling, flavorful and simple dish. Will def be making this again (and as a non-vegan, am lowkey considering using this sauce for ribs in the near future).
Yay! Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Julia!
Leah Tysse says
Always the BEST vegan recipes. Always accurate and beyond delicious!
Mariah Kadera says
Oh my goodness!! These are amazing! So much flavor! Dana you’ve done it again! Definitely making these again!
Christina says
Sounds so good, I am going to make these soon! The sauce would also be wonderful marinade for tofu!
Samantha says
We made these for dinner last night. Easy and quick to put together and the cauliflower was packed with tons of flavor thanks to the amazing Korean sauce! Hearty, “meaty” and will be a great summer BBQ option!
Great, thanks for sharing!
Brandon says
Another fantastic recipe! Made this to have during some lunches this week. I didn’t make the sauce from scratch and the store bought brand (Bibigo, I believe) was crazy spicy… for me, anyway. Next time I make it, I probably won’t cut it with water. I think I’d prefer a thicker sauce to stick to the cauliflower.
Thanks for sharing!
Shane says
I just made these for dinner and they were a big hit! I served them as lettuce wraps and they were so delicious. I can’t wait to try the sauce in other applications. I served them with all the recommended additions, but also added scallions and (for a twist) diced spicy pickles that we had on hand.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Whoop!
Rhonda @ Change In Seconds says
We tried the recipe last night. Delicious!
Whoop!
Mille says
Well, i must say this was AMAZING!
It was gone in 5 minutes. Next time i will have to triple the amount.
I have just one suggestion in mind, usually i replace every other oil with Coconut oiL.
Nice! thanks for sharing.
Jay says
There’s no oven in my dorm, so I’ll steam the cauliflower instead.
Is there a better oven replacement?
Probably the next best thing is a toaster oven.
Harlan says
Or an air fryer. I crisp up all sorts of veggies in mine, oil or no.
Alexis says
I love the redness of the sauce. I’ll add kimchi for a full Korean effect :)
Love it! Smart idea.
Audrey says
I would love love love these! But I am just wondering about the nutrition of this cauliflower after being subject to such high heat such as 260 deg Celsius ?
You could bake them for longer at lower heat, but I’d suspect they turn out a bit on the soggy side…
Maria Koutsogiannis says
These look amazing! And I love the bright red colour. Definitely have to add them to my must-try list :)
Cassie Thuvan Tran says
Not gonna lie, I’d eat ALL of these cauliflower wings! LOL! Probably not ideal since it would be so so spicy, which I love, but I most likely can’t tolerate all of it! I love the idea of making lettuce wraps–yummy!
Stacey says
Just made kimchi today. Will make these tomorrow for a Korean feast. Thank you!
dixya @food, pleasure, and health says
i lovee the Korean version of this..i have cauli at home and you’ve totally inspired me to make wings tonight.