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This Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is loaded with buffalo spiced roasted cauliflower, gluten-free macaroni noodles and gets
Confession: I don’t watch the Super Bowl.
Other confession: I DO love eating all the Super bowl inspired foods.
So in the spirit of tasty game night foods, I bring you this vegan buffalo cauliflower mac and cheese. Which I’m going to enjoy eating on Super Bowl Sunday curled up on the couch probably watching the latest comedy special on Netflix (or anything else that is not the Super Bowl…)
Either way, this recipe is great for any occasion. Game night, Weeknight dinner, Weekend cozy lunch…whatever! You do you friends!
I’m so excited to share this recipe today because this is like mac and cheese gone wild. We’re taking vegan mac and cheese, and giving it a big punch of flavour with some hot sauce, and layering it with roasted bits of buffalo cauliflower, then baking it off with a breadcrumb topping. #YAS.
How to make buffalo cauliflower:
Buffalo cauliflower has become so popular and there are a few different ways to make it depending on your preferences. For one, you can batter it up (like I do in this bang bang cauliflower recipe) and then bake it up so each piece of cauliflower has a nice battered crispy coating. You can also batter up the cauliflower and fry the florets in a pan with oil so they get super crispy. (Though a bit less healthy)
But for today’s recipe, we’re going with just simple roasted buffalo cauliflower. Why? Because we’re going for simple and healthy here. (But if you prefer to do one of the above options, more power to you!)
To make the buffalo cauliflower, simply roast the cauliflower florets and then toss them in some Frank’s red hot sauce. Then they go back in the oven for additional 10 minutes and we’re done! The roasted buffalo cauliflower is delicious on it’s own, so you can definitely make some extra to serve on the side.
A few notes on the recipe:
This vegan buffalo cauliflower mac and cheese is really simple to make, which is why I love it so much!
Once the buffalo cauliflower is prepared, all you have to do is layer it up in a baking dish with your cooked macaroni, tossed in the creamy vegan “cheese” sauce. The sauce is made with a base of raw cashews (make sure to use raw unsalted cashews!) and nutritional yeast to give it that umami flavour.
If you’d like to get a little more fancy you can add some shredded cheese (vegan or non-vegan, whatever works for you) to the cheese sauce too for a little extra pop of flavour!
I use whole-grain gluten-free macaroni for this recipe, but you can use any type of pasta/shape of pasta you like! Shells, fusilli, and penne also work great for a mac and cheese!
I use Frank red hot sauce in this recipe, which isn’t particularly spicy, but if you’re not a fan of spice and still want to make this mac and cheese, just leave out the hot sauce from the cauliflower and the sauce and you can make this into a vegan roasted cauliflower mac and cheese instead!
More mac and cheese recipes to try
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese
Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Main
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan mac and cheese is loaded with buffalo cauliflower for a mac and cheese that packs a punch!
Ingredients
Buffalo cauliflower
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup Frank’s red hot sauce
Cheese sauce
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 1-4 hours (or overnight)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp Frank’s red hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
Other ingredients
- 250 grams macaroni, cooked according to package directions (or pasta of choice)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- breadcrumbs to top (optional)
Instructions
- Make the buffalo cauliflower: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Toss the cauliflower in olive oil, salt and paprika and scatter on the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss in the hot sauce, then place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
- Make the cheese sauce: Drain the cashews and add to a high-speed blender with the water, nutritional yeast, hot sauce and salt. Blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Putting it all together: Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cheese sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes while mixing. Add the macaroni and mix together until combined, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed then layer the macaroni and buffalo cauliflower in a baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and place in the oven on broil for 1 minute.
Notes
Top off this mac and cheese with some fresh cilantro!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 1g
- Fat: 20g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 13g
If you tried this Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Mac and Cheese or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
I made this tonight for my family and it was a hit! My daughter loved it…came back for seconds. This will definitely be on our regular rotation! ?
So Happy you and your daughter both loved it Christina!
How spicy would you say this is? Sensitive over here but it looks so good!
Hey Lindsey, it’s not too spicy-it depends if you find franks red hot sauce spicy or not
One of our favorite recipes when feeling indulgent. Flavors are all there. Thanks for the great recipe!
Happy you love the recipe Tania!
Can you use frozen cauliflower?
Hi Melissa, yes absolutely!
I absolutely love this recipe and make it often. My husband gets super excited when I say I’m making it for dinner. I double the cheese sauce because Iike my noodz to be extra saucy, and I find that if there are leftovers they keep much better with more sauce. Thanks so much for sharing this, it’s definitely a hit in my house!
So happy you like the recipe!
Looks great and I’m so excited to try this! Just a quick question – did you use the Franks Red Hot original or Buffalo? Or does it matter?
I made this recipe recently and my fiancé was convinced there was cheese in it! Delicious and easy meal to prep for the week.
So happy you both enjoyed it Victoria! It’s crazy how it tastes like theres real cheese 😉
This recipe is now on the weekly dinner rotation ! Everyone, carnivores included, EVERYONE loves it!!!
So happy everyone loves it Sheri 🙂
Absolutely loved this recipe! Didn’t feel like dirtying another pan so I just toasted the breadcrumbs in the pan before I put my sauce in there and then topped it all with those. Will definitely be a new staple in my house!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Tiffany! 🙂
Made this last night and it was amazing! I used Banza GF rotini pasta, and I’m not vegan (just DF) so I put a little bacon on mine, as well as some Mama’s Lils Peppers. I used mashed croutons as the breadcrumb topping which was also easy and delish. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Danika! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
This is sooooo good! We used chickpea pasta shells and added raw diced celery after broiling. The celery gave a really nice crunch and refreshing flavor between the bites of hot sauce. Definitely will be making this again!
Thank you Alisha, so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂