This Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza with a creamy homemade vegan ranch drizzle and sliced avocado is the dairy-free comfort food of my dreams. Perfect for a Friday pizza + movie night!
First comes the (gluten-free) pizza crust
Disclaimer: this post does not include a homemade pizza crust recipe. We’ve been working on a gluten free + vegan homemade pizza crust recipe for a while, but it’s not quite there. It’s a pretty daunting task! While we continue to work on that, we do have a recipe for a gluten free/vegan cauliflower crust! We didn’t use it in this recipe, but it will most definitely work.
If you’re looking for a more traditional crust, there are some great gluten free pizza mixes out there. This one by Bob’s Red Mill is our current favorite. They include instructions on making it vegan by using flax eggs instead of regular eggs. The crust turns out a bit more dense and thick than I usually prefer (definitely a thin crust kinda gal!), but it still tastes great and holds up well.
I’m going to go ahead and say that Buffalo cauliflower is one of the greatest vegan inventions out there. It’s spicy, flavorful, satisfying, and surprisingly healthy (it is cauliflower, after all!). Instead of frying the cauliflower for this homemade Buffalo pizza, we bake ours, which also happens to be much easier. Essentially, all you do is roast the cauliflower and toss it in the spicy Buffalo sauce.
While you can certainly eat the Buffalo cauliflower on its own, we highly suggest trying it on a pizza. Friday is typically pizza + movie night in our house, and this vegan buffalo cauliflower pizza really hits the spot after a long week. What better way to wind down?
The perfect backdrop to this vegan Buffalo cauliflower pizza: Hogwarts
Tonight, we’ll be watching Harry Potter (for the millionth time). Anyone else a huge Harry Potter fan? I’ve always been obsessed, but my husband never read the books growing up. When we got engaged, I told him he’d have to read the whole series before we got married. (Kidding, but also not kidding.) Any true Harry Potter fan knows that the books are 10x better/more magical than the movies. He read all seven books before we got married last September and now he’s just as obsessed as I am (yay!).
At least once a year, we watch the entire series from start to finish. We just started the first movie last night, so we’ll probably be spending a good part of the weekend on the couch (hopefully eating pizza leftovers)!
One of the best parts about anything smothered in dairy-free Buffalo sauce, in my opinion, is a refreshing drizzle of ranch dressing. We have a delicious vegan ranch recipe to top this pizza that brings down some of the heat while adding some tang. We keep our ranch dairy-free with a cashew yogurt base. Fresh herbs and signature onion and garlic spices ensure no one will miss the bottled stuff!
Once you’ve finished your vegan Buffalo cauliflower pizza, you may be looking for more vegan or gluten-free comfort food recipes. We’ve got you covered on the comfort food front. Try these Loaded Spicy Black Bean Vegan Nachos (perfect for a large crowd!), this addictive Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, or these Cheesy Vegan Hasselback Potatoes. You can also follow our Vegan Comfort Food board on Pinterest for more ideas!
Plus, there are a million ways to enjoy vegan ranch–leave us a comment and let us know your favorite use!
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Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza with a creamy homemade ranch drizzle and sliced avocado is the vegan comfort food of my dreams. Perfect for Friday pizza + movie night!
Ingredients
- 1 gluten free pizza crust (we used this mix)*
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp hot sauce*
- 3 cups vegan mozzarella
- 1 small avocado, sliced
- Microgreens (optional)
Vegan ranch:
- 3/4 cup plain vegan yogurt
- 3 tbsp plain nondairy milk
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp agave syrup
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Prepare pizza crust according to package directions. Make sure to bake the crust before adding toppings.
- Toss cauliflower florets in olive oil, salt and cornstarch. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender and golden brown.
- In a small saucepan, heat buffalo sauce and vegan butter over medium-low and whisk until well combined. Remove from heat and reserve about 1/4 cup in a separate bowl. Pour the rest over the baked cauliflower and toss to combine.
- Spread remaining 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce over pizza crust in a thin layer. Top with vegan cheese and buffalo cauliflower.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all ingredients for vegan ranch.
- Remove pizza from oven and let cool slightly. Top with avocado slices, microgreens and a drizzle of vegan ranch. Slice and enjoy!
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