Craving vegan buffalo wings that are bold, spicy, and packed with flavor? These crispy tofu wings deliver all the heat and satisfaction you love, making them the perfect appetizer for your super bowl party, game day, or any time you want a protein-packed plant-based snack!
Vegan buffalo wings are typically made by using cauliflower florets (aka cauliflower buffalo wings), and those are absolutely delicious in their own right.
But I really wanted to develop a buffalo wings recipe that was high in protein to make a more comparable dish to typical buffalo wings -- and I did just that. Each serving of these wings has 20g of protein in just 228 calories.
So I tweaked my air fryer tofu nuggets recipe just a bit to give you these meaty, spicy, and ultra-satisfying vegan buffalo wings that even meat eaters will love!
And for more flavorful high protein vegan recipes like this one, make sure to check out my vegan ground "beef" seitan recipe, tofu fried rice, sheet pan tofu and veggies, or pesto buddha bowl.
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Ingredients
You'll need these simple ingredients to make the best vegan wings:
- Super firm tofu (I like using super firm instead of extra firm tofu in this recipe because it holds together better, it has a meatier texture, and it removes the step of having to press your tofu. If your grocery store only carries extra firm tofu, you can still use that but you'll have to press it in a tofu press first to remove excess water and you'll have to be more gentle while coating it with the batter ingredients to avoid breaking it.)
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened almond milk (or other plant-based milk but I personally always prefer unsweetened almond milk in savory cooking)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Plain panko breadcrumbs (make sure you check the ingredients label as some brands contain dairy products)
- Vegan buffalo sauce (Frank's Red Hot brand has confirmed it's vegan even though it says "natural butter type flavor" on the ingredients, but you could also make your own homemade buffalo sauce using hot sauce and melted vegan butter if you really wanted to - there's several recipes to choose from online!)
- Salt
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
These vegan hot wings are breaded and then coated in a spicy buffalo sauce. Here's how to make them:
- Step 1: Open the super firm tofu package and drain the small amount of water. Break the block in half, then break each half in half, and then break each piece in half again until you end up with 8 pieces.
- Step 2: Set out three medium bowls. In the first bowl, add the all-purpose flour. In the second bowl, combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar. In the third bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs, seasonings, and salt.
- Step 3: Dip each tofu piece individually into the all-purpose flour, then almond milk, then coat well with bread crumbs and spices, and then gently coat with the buffalo sauce. Set each coated piece on a plate.
- Step 4: Place parchment paper into the air fryer basket, add the coated tofu pieces in a single layer, and air fry at 350° for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden brown. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches. Enjoy! (The photo shows foil, which works too, but I find the batter sticks less to parchment paper.)
Amazon sells a super convenient parchment paper that fits into an air fryer perfectly for easy cleanup (just make sure to double check the size of your air fryer).
An air fryer is one of my favorite pieces of kitchen gear because it makes foods so crispy and delicious without having to do any deep frying! Not only does deep frying add so many extra calories, but it has also always made me a little nervous about kitchen fires. Anyone else?
My current air fryer is a super small and cheap one (and a great starter air fryer if you've never used one before!) But if you're a seasoned air fryer user, I'd love to know what your favorite one is in the comments for when I upgrade!
What To Serve With These Vegan Buffalo Wings
You can never go wrong eating buffalo wings with a ranch dip. The creamy ranch helps to tone down some of that kick from the spicy buffalo sauce.
I highly recommend the vegan ranch from Follow Your Heart. It tastes spot on to what ranch used to taste like when I was still vegetarian. It's the best brand I've tasted thus far and it also has omega-3s as a nice little bonus!
I remember an Instagram post on VegNews a while back where they asked followers what the best vegan ranch dressing was, and the comments almost unanimously said Follow Your Heart.
Don't even waste your time (or money) trying Hidden Valley's vegan ranch. It was so bad, I actually threw it away.
Aside from ranch, I also love the combo of buffalo wings and mac and cheese. I have a delicious homemade vegan mac and cheese recipe on my sister website Scratch Made Vegan!
And if you must add a few vegetables in there to make this dish a little more healthy (and colorful), you can throw in some carrot sticks and/or celery sticks too.
Adjusting the Spicy Flavor
If you're feeling real crazy, you can add some extra sauce onto these wings after air frying them, but I found the spiciness a little too overpowering that way. When you add the buffalo sauce before air frying them, it tones down the spice a lot.
If they're still a little too spicy for you even when you add the sauce before cooking, add a little less sauce or don't fully coat them. Like I said above, serving them with a creamy dip like ranch (or maybe a vegan aioli) can also tone down the spice.
Storage
You can store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. The best way to reheat them is in the air fryer for a few minutes to get them crispy again.
These would also freeze well if you'd prefer to make a large batch and eat on them here and there whenever a craving pops up. You can freeze them for 1-3 months or longer.
Recipe
Best Vegan Buffalo Wings Recipe (High Protein)
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
- 4 bowls
- parchment paper or foil (optional - I've found parchment paper sticks to breading less)
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz block super firm tofu (I use Nasoya Super Firm Tofu)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or other nondairy milk of choice)
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup plain panko breadcrumbs (check ingredients to make sure it's vegan - some brands contain dairy)
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buffalo sauce (Frank's red hot brand is vegan)
Instructions
- Open the super firm tofu package and drain the small amount of water. Break the block in half, then break each half in half, and then break each piece in half again until you end up with 8 pieces.1 16-oz block super firm tofu
- Set out four medium bowls. In the first bowl, add the all-purpose flour. In the second bowl, combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar. In the third bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs, seasonings, and salt. In the fourth bowl, add the buffalo sauce.¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup unsweetened plain almond milk, ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar, ½ cup plain panko breadcrumbs, ½ tbsp onion powder, ½ tbsp garlic powder, ½ tbsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp salt, ½ cup buffalo sauce
- Dip each tofu piece individually into the all-purpose flour, then almond milk, then coat well with bread crumbs and spices, and then gently coat with the buffalo sauce. Set each coated piece on a plate.
- Place parchment paper into the air fryer, add the coated tofu pieces in a single layer, and air fry at 350° for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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