Buffalo Cauliflower Quinoa Meatballs
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Add a spicy kick to meatless meatballs with these vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Quinoa Meatballs. With simple ingredients, like cauliflower, quinoa, garlic, and breadcrumbs, they’re sure to be a hit for the whole family!
I’m going to say it up front: these buffalo cauliflower quinoa meatballs DO take longer than 30 minutes to make, but they’re so, so worth it and you’ll have plenty of leftovers.
I got the inspiration from my Cauliflower Quinoa Meatballs and wanted to add a fun twist to it, aka buffalo sauce.
I do want to talk about this recipe in detail. I’ve received a couple comments on my original recipe about these not turning out, and I want to make sure we’re all on the same page here. I’ve made this recipe twice, and my original recipe at least four times and they’ve never not turned out, so let’s walk through it.
HOW TO MAKE QUINOA MEATBALLS
Step 1: Start by preheating the oven to 375° and cooking the quinoa and cauliflower over the stovetop in two separate saucepans. Note: you can absolutely use bagged cauliflower rice; however, you’ll have to use 2 bags and you’ll have to squeeze the moisture out of it by pouring the cooked rice into a cheesecloth and squeezing the water out completely. While the the quinoa and cauliflower are cooking, you can prepare the buffalo sauce by whisking vegan hot sauce, melted vegan butter, garlic powder, and chili powder together in a bowl and setting it aside.
Step 2: Once the quinoa and cauliflower are cooked, you’ll remove them from the stovetop and place HALF of the cauliflower in the food processor, along with the garlic cloves, and pulse for 5-10 seconds, allowing it to crush up. Next, remove it from the processor and place it into a large bowl. Repeat this process with the second half of the cauliflower. Once all of the crushed up cauliflower is in the large bowl, stir in the quinoa.
Step 3: Stir in the oregano and breadcrumbs. EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve since made these three more times and I’ve found it best to add HALF of the buffalo sauce into the mix at this point. So, while stirring in the oregano and breadcrumbs, also stir in half of the buffalo sauce. Once everything is good and mixed, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 25 minutes, allowing the mixture to cool down and be a bit more manageable. While you’re waiting for the mixture to cool, you can do the dishes, or if you’re like me, you can check social media for the 45th time that day and leave the dishes for later when dishes are the last possible thing you feel like doing. Tip: don’t be like me.
Ok great! Now the mixture isn’t as hot and we can start to work with it.
Step 4: Grab a large skillet to place the meatballs on. You can use a spoon to scoop the mixture up, but truthfully I just used my hands. I’m not going to lie and say this isn’t a bit messy, but it’s not too bad and I imagine kiddos would make excellent helpers. Essentially, you’ll want to grab a handful and start shaping it into a meatball, pressing back and forth on the mixture and then gently rolling it to finish, placing it on the skillet when you’re done. The size of the meatball shouldn’t matter, though mine were a bit bigger than golf ball size.
TIP: If the mixture seems too wet, add flour (whole wheat, all purpose or oat) 1 tbsp at a time. This should help hold everything together. If for some reason the mixture is too dry, add water 1 tbsp at a time to moisten it up a bit.
Step 5: Place the skillet over the stovetop and cook the meatballs so that they’re slightly golden brown; this will assure they stay together during the baking process (I tried skipping this step once and it didn’t work—the meatballs turned out mushy). This step is crucial.
TIP: Be careful when turning over the meatballs. They need to be browned on all sides, but gently turn them or some of the quinoa may slip out.
Step 6: Last, after the meatballs are browned, spoon a small amount of buffalo sauce overtop of each meatballs while the meatballs are still in the skillet, carefully turning the meatballs to make sure they are covered in the rest of the sauce.
Step 7: Once all of the meatballs look good, transfer them to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are firm.
This recipe takes a little longer, but it makes almost two dozen meatballs so you should have leftovers!
If you make them, be sure to tag @thealmondeater on Instagram—I love to see your creations!
MORE VEGAN DINNER IDEAS:
Finally, these cauliflower quinoa meatballs are great on their own, on salad, with a side of brussels sprouts. The possibilities are endless!
Buffalo Cauliflower Quinoa Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 cauliflower head
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- Optional: 1-2 tbsp flour, whole wheat, all purpose or oat
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 1/4 cup dairy free butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Cook quinoa according to instructions on the package (with water over stovetop); at the same time, cook cauliflower in a separate pot over stovetop.
- While those are cooking, prepare the buffalo sauce: melt butter either in microwave or over stove and then stir in hot sauce, garlic powder and chili powder; set aside.
- Once the quinoa is done cooking, set aside; once the cauliflower is done cooking, drain and place HALF the cauliflower, along with the garlic, into the food processor and pulse for 5-10 seconds.
- Remove and pour cauliflower into a bowl before adding the second half of cauliflower to the food processor and repeating the process, removing and placing into the bowl.
- Stir quinoa, breadcrumbs, oregano, and HALF of the buffalo sauce together with the cauliflower and then place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, allowing everything to cool off a bit.
- After 15 minutes, remove from refrigerator and, using your hands, form mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs, placing the meatballs directly onto a large skillet. If the mixture is too wet, add additional flour 1 tbsp at a time.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil on the skillet and then cook meatballs on medium-high heat, making sure to be careful when flipping them over, until they're golden brown on all sides.
- Pour a small amount of the rest of the buffalo sauce overtop of each meatball, making sure they all get covered with the sauce but you don't want them to be soaked with sauce or else they will get soggy.
- Remove meatballs from skillet and place on a baking sheet; bake for approximately 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Can you use riced cauliflower?
Yes!
Do you think you could make these ahead of time and freeze them for later in the week?
I think so!
I wouldn’t recommend it unless you use an alternative to the cauliflower. Cauliflower tends to defrost extremely wet and may end up making nag the meatballs too soggy. This isn’t not from experience with the meatballs, only cauliflower.
I want to make these for a potluck. Do you recommend following the recipe and then letting them sit in a crock pot to warm? I’m worried they might fall apart.
Hi Michele–I’m not sure they’d hold up well in the microwave… I’d recommend cooking them in the skillet/oven (I usually do both to make sure they hold super well) and then just reheating them in the microwave perhaps (or oven if you have one!). You can try the crock pot of course, I’m just worried they might fall apart.
Mmm! This is such a unique twist on a classic meatball. Thanks for sharing. Pinning for later!
Are you boiling the cauliflower?
Yes, you’ll cook the cauliflower first before putting it in the food processor.
Can you use the cauliflower crumbles that come in a package? If so how much?
Hi Cara–I’ve never used bagged cauliflower rice before, but I imagine you could. If I had to guess, I’d say 2 packages would be enough (I’m thinking of the ones from Trader Joe’s in my head). Let me know if you try them!
I did! Our grocery store sells them so cheap (and I’m lazy, ha!). I used 2 packages and it was perfect! LOVE this recipe! I make them into patties (again, lazy) and to me they taste like a spicy chik’n sandwhich! I put them on a bun with vegan ranch YUM! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Susan–thanks for the feedback, I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe!
What a smart idea making patties out of them!
Hi! Loving the sound of the recipe just wondering if anyone has a measurement for the weight amount of cauliflower in orde1r to have 5he correct ratio. I find 1 head of cauliflower to be amount bit too ambiguous and don’t want to waste ingredients for it to not work out or be too dry.
Tried this recipe last night and am happy to have something new to add in to our meal rotation!! I like the substance that the cauliflower gives to these meatballs on top of having a veggie mixed in. I made a few changes (working DC mom with a toddler who’s husband was at HH!)– I used my hand held emulsifier to pulse the cauliflower in the pot after it was cooked–no blender to clean! I left out the chili powder–I love buffalo sauce and wanted to try and preserve that taste. I didn’t pan fry–again one less pan to clean, but, instead tossed in the oven to bake for 10 minutes, and then turned on the broiler for 5 minutes to give them a little crisp and crunch. I see the value in the pan frying. But, I also value less dishes to clean! 🙂 Overall great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night. Amazing. This recipe makes alot. There were two of us. I have a lot left over (which is great). This morning, I made two poached eggs and used the “meatballs” as the base. Insane. These are so versatile. The next time I do them, I may try them in the oven and bake them by using coconut spray versus frying oil in the pan. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this recipe. Game changer.
Thanks for the feedback–I’m so glad you enjoyed them and it looks like I’ll have to try them with eggs next time!
Awesome! A little more time consuming than anticipated, but worth it!
Served them on a big plate of lettuce, with cucumbers, bell peppers and celery sticks on the side 😉
Us non-Vegan eaters had this with some crumbled blue cheese & a drizzle of blue cheese dressing –
Fantastic!
Thanks for the feedback, and I’m so glad everyone liked them!