Buffalo Chickpea Cauliflower Casserole is so easy to make and requires just 10 simple ingredients. Vegan and gluten-free, this is a spicy hearty dinner that’s full of protein and fiber and absolutely delicious!
I’m going to start out by giving credit where credit is due: Caitlyn at From My Bowl is one of my favorite food bloggers! This recipe is inspired and adapted from her Buffalo Cauliflower Chickpea Casserole. They are very similar but I did make some modifications to fit my own taste and eccentricities.
That being said, if you’re looking for some amazing healthy recipes that are vegan, oil-free, and gluten-free, I can’t recommend Caitlyn enough. She just makes good food. Period.
I LOVE casseroles. They’re easy, you only mess up one dish, and are perfect as a side or main dish. And, this one is hands down one of my favorite recipes. What’s not to love? Delicious cauliflower and chickpeas nestled in fluffy fork tender brown rice and then baked to perfection in a wonderful spicy buffalo sauce.
This is without a doubt one of those “it’s healthy but shouldn’t be healthy because it’s so good!” You and your entire family, if you like spicy things, are going to love this recipe.
Ready? Let’s bake!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need for this killer cauliflower bake.
- Vegetable Broth: always use low-sodium or no salt added. You can use water but veggie broth adds more flavor.
- Buffalo Sauce: I like Frank’s Red Hot but any cup of hot sauce that is vegan will work.
- Nutritional Yeast: adds a depth of flavor with a “cheesy” essence.
- Spices: garlic powder and onion powder
- Corn Starch: I like creamy casseroles and corn starch thickens the casserole and gives it a creamy texture as it cooks. It gets even better once it sits after cooking. You can also use arrowroot or tapioca flour.
- Chickpeas: use low-sodium or no salt added canned chickpeas that have been drained and rinsed. You can cook your own chickpeas if you like but I prefer just opening a can of chickpeas myself.
- Cauliflower: cut into small cauliflower florets resembling buffalo wings.
- Celery: fresh celery adds a nice crunch and added layer of savoriness that blends perfectly with the buffalo flavor.
- Uncooked Brown Rice: I prefer brown rice but feel free to use white rice if that is all you have available.
How To Make Buffalo Chickpea Cauliflower Casserole
Fresh cauliflower, chickpeas, and brown rice are covered in a delicious spicy buffalo sauce and baked to perfection. This is such an easy recipe that’s perfect the next time you need a delicious make-ahead meal.
- Preheat your oven to 400˚F.
- To a small bowl add the vegetable broth, buffalo sauce, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk until everything is well combined. Then slowly whisk in the cornstarch until it’s completely incorporated into the sauce. Set aside.
- Spread the chickpeas into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish then top with the cauliflower and celery. Evenly sprinkle the uncooked brown rice on top of everything. Finally, pour the buffalo sauce over the entire dish. Use a wooden spoon if needed to make sure all of the rice is completely covered by the sauce.
- Cover with aluminum foil, place on the center rack, and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.
That’s all there is to it! All that’s left is to top it with some of my vegan ranch dressing and enjoy.
Recipes Notes & Tips
- Cooking time and oven heat can vary because every appliance is different. But, cooking time should not waiver more than 5-10 minutes either way.
- If you are looking for a lower-carb option cauliflower rice is a good choice. But, you will want to cut the cooking time in half. I would also replace the cauliflower florets with broccoli so you don’t get an overload of cauliflower. But, it’s up to you.
- I added corn starch to make the casserole thicker and creamier. But, if you prefer a more “fluffy” type of casserole you can leave it out.
How To Serve Buffalo Chickpea Cauliflower Casserole
Buffalo chickpea cauliflower casserole makes a great meal all by itself. But, try serving with some of these delicious recipes:
- Vegan Ranch Dressing for topping
- Skillet Green Beans
- Easy Roasted Asparagus
- Apple Walnut Salad
This recipe is a great way to meal prep for the week. It’s also the perfect throw-together meal when you need a last-minute dinner idea.
You just dump everything in the casserole dish and bake.
If you like spicy things like I like spicy things then be sure and try these other buffalo recipes:
If you make this Buffalo Chickpea Cauliflower Casserole recipe I want to know. So, please leave a comment below with a star rating. And, be sure and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #shaneandsimple. I want to see your work. Enjoy!
Buffalo Cauliflower Chickpea Casserole
Buffalo Chickpea Cauliflower Casserole is so easy to make and requires just 10 simple ingredients. Vegan and gluten-free, this is a spicy hearty dinner that’s full of protein and fiber and absolutely delicious!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Vegan Main Dishes
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup vegan buffalo sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot)
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch + 3 Tbsp of water
- 2 (15-ounce) cans of low-sodium or no salt added chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into bite-size florets
- 2 ribs of celery, chopped
- 1 cup of brown rice (uncooked)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 435˚F.
- To a mixing bowl add the vegetable broth, buffalo sauce, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk until everything is well combined. Mix the cornstarch with water and slowly whisk it into the sauce. Set aside.
- Spread the chickpeas into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole baking dish then top with the cauliflower and celery. Evenly sprinkle the uncooked brown rice on top of everything. Finally, pour the buffalo sauce over the entire dish. Use a wooden spoon if needed to make sure all of the rice is completely covered by the sauce.
- Cover with aluminum foil, place on the center rack, and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for 20 more minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Top with vegan ranch dressing and enjoy!
Notes
Cooking time and oven heat can vary because every appliance is different. But, cooking time should not waiver more than 5-10 minutes either way.
If you are looking for a lower-carb option cauliflower rice is a good choice. But, you will want to cut the cooking time in half. I would also replace the cauliflower florets with broccoli so you don’t get an overload of cauliflower. But, it’s up to you.
I added corn starch to make the casserole thicker and creamier. But, if you prefer a more “fluffy” type of casserole you can leave it out.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 268
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Fat: 5.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.7 g
- Fiber: 9.1 g
- Protein: 12.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
So spicy, but so good! Thank you!
I have always used rice in the past and it was Great, but wondering if it would also work with quinoa for extra protein?
Delicious. Have made it several times
Made this last night and we all LOVED it!!!!!
My husband and I really enjoyed this. I was worried about it being too spicy for me so I cut the hot sauce to 3/4 cup and it was just right! Thank you for the easy recipe.
Love this Shane!! So delicious and satisfying!! I will be making again! Thank you!!
thank you!
I haven’t tried this yet, thus the rating. Because the Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo sauce has added seed oil I was wondering (hoping) you used the plain (original)Frank’s Hot Sauce? Like all of your recipes this one sounds DELISH! I so want to try it but can’t have the added oil in the buffalo sauce.
I don’t use the Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, I use just regular Frank’s Hot Sauce.
Good stuff and always a hit at potlucks.
SHANE!!!
This is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Just made this for the first time for dinner; already on bowl 2!!! SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!! This casserole will DEFINITELY be on heavy rotation at my house!!! Many thanks!!! 🥰
Thank you so much!!!
The only reason I gave this a 4 star rating is because I had to make a few modifications after reading some of the other comments. When everything came together, it was a 5 star.
1) I parboiled the brown rice for 15 minutes with salt and then drained
2) I had to add an extra 2+ cups of broth to the pan to cover the rice which I felt made it a little “soupy” at the end for what I was expecting. It turned out okay at the end, but definitely wasn’t a casserole.
It all turned out delicious but I was glad I made the ranch dressing to go with it. That should be included in the recipe. It helps calm down the heat. Also, I feel like the rice should be parboiled and then added into the middle of the casserole. I don’t think you’d need as much liquid as you do when the rice is on top and that would help the problem of the rice being “hard” and not cooked.
My overall feelings: I have plans to make this again with a few tweeks as the flavors are solid and it’s totally filling. I can see it being a hit at any football party. I plan on having leftovers tomorrow over baked potatoes for lunch.
This seemed the oddest combination of ingredients but the reviews weee so good I decided to try it. For just me I cut it in half and it made plenty. I did boil the rice for 5 min and it still left a bit of a crunchy top but I love that. I also used your vegan sour cream. The whole thing-Yum!
Do you use Frank’s “original” regular hot sauce or the Buffalo sauce? The Buffalo sauce contains oil. Thanks for clarifying!
Frank’s original.
This recipe worked perfectly! We are thrilled to find the perfect plant-based winter food and we plan to bring it to a Super Bowl party. It pairs perfect with your ranch recipe.
I loved how simple this was to prepare. I love the flavors of the ingredients. I did NOT, however, get my rice to cook even after letting it in the oven totally covered for over an hour 15 minutes. I just ate the rice crunchy. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe to the letter.
Hi, Sandra! I’m so sorry to hear about that. Maybe try adding a little extra liquid the next time and see if that might help. Thanks for the feedback.
This was genius! We loved this dish! I’ll be making this again and sharing the recipes. Thank you!
This was excellent! It was also very easy to put together. I saw the comments about the rice coming out crunchy for some people, but mine was nice and tender, and the liquid was all absorbed. One word of warning: for pepper sauce, I always use Tabasco because it is lower in sodium than most other brands. My casserole came out SUPER hot. Then I looked up the Scoville units (heat rating) for Tabasco and I see it is about 8 times hotter than Frank’s. Ha ha ha! We like spicy, but holy moly! Next time I’ll use half a cup 🙂 Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. We love your ranch dressing, too.
So good!! I boiled my rice for about 5 minutes before putting it all together. I also only did 3/4 of Buffalo for less spicy. Everything else I followed to a T. I love how adaptable and versatile this could be. Will make vegan sour cream for my dinner tomorrow to go along. Will absolutely make this again. Just yum!!
I am late to this party, just having made this recipe. It is delicious. I was not sure about the buffalo sauce and so went easy, but it is so good. I am sorry I halved the recipe because now I would have more leftover.
Thank you for an easy and super delicious meal.
The recipe is truly delicious! However I did have an issue with my brown rice not cooking completely. Not sure if it’s my altitude (between 4,000 and 5,000 ft elevation) or what. That being said, I wonder if the rice can be left out or cut in half. I keep thinking how good the buffalo chickpeas, celery and cauliflower would be in a wrap with lettuce and ranch dressing.
Thank you for sharing so many recipes that are tasty and easy to make. Hubby and I also really enjoyed your chili recipe too!
Can’t wait to try this tonight. However, I only have jasmine brown rice. Would I need to adjust the cooking time?
I wouldn’t think so, you should be fine.
Do you think soy curls would work with this recipe?
Oh, yes!
Delicious and simple! Made as per recipe, the only exception being I pre boiled the brown rice for 5 mins to release some of the arsenic. Cook time and 435 worked perfect for me! I will be repeating this one for sure!!!
This was so good! I added half the Franks sauce and let people add more themselves. It will go on rotation for sure. Also made the ranch dressing and it’s wonderful as well. Thank you!!
The casserole was super easy to assemble. It came out way hotter than I prefer. I am thinking about making it with only half cup of hot sauce and increase the veggie broth. Do you think that would tone it down and still be tasty?
I think it would be just fine:)
Just wondering if I still add nutritional yeast if I’m using BBQ sauce instead of buffalo sauce.
Thanks this looks delicious!
You can or you can leave it out. It’s really about preference.
sooooo. I did not have any hot sauce other than Sriracha Hot chili sauce… I put a little less than what the recipe called for but it’s still very hot…. any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!
BBQ sauce is a good option.
I cooked my rice by mistake and have no more. Can I use the cooked rice
Sure thing, Liz! You just want need to bake it as long.
Love this dish! I will try cooking it at 435° and see if the rice cooks better. One place says 400° and another one says 435°. Love, love this dish!!
Hi, Marnie, I need to change it…it is 435. Sorry about that and glad you still liked it:)
I wish I had read the comments before putting it into the oven. After a bit more than one hour the rice is still very crunchy and I have a hungy child waiting for dinner.
It felt wrong to me when adding the uncoocked brown rice. Should have listened to my guts not the recipe…
But sauce is delicious so far. I hope an extra 30 minutes does the job…
Great taste!! Added extra 1/2 cup of broth but couldn’t get the rice to cook through. Had it cook for 1 1/2 hours and it was still crunchy. Will make it next time without the rice and serve rice on the side.
Will it still taste good without the nutritional yeast?
Yes. nooch adds an earthy nuttiness but its more preference
What a delicious dish, I could eat it all! It was even better than I could have imagined! One bite and I was hooked! The flavors are amazing together.
I used califlower rice, Frank’s mild sauce, cooked half the time and it was perfect!
Thank you for sharing, I will be making this often!
This is my go to recipe at least every other week. So quick and easy. And, simply delicious! We love spicy food. This satisfies that. I did not have any rice, so I substituted it with whole wheat orzo. Turned out perfectly!
This is my second time making this dish and it is delicious. However, as others have stated, I found that I had to add more veggie broth (about 1/2 cup) and cook for longer (75-80 minutes total oven time), in order to fully cook the rice. The flavor is amazing but I don’t like “crunchy” rice.
Thanks for reaching out, Colleen. (I don’t like crunchy rice either. LOL!)
I LOVE all your recipes! Thank you for developing and sharing easy, delicious, healthy, vegan recipes. I recommend your website to all my friends and family.
I was a bit nervous about this, but have to say it was a huge it.
So easy and so delish.
Thanks
This recipe is a keeper! It’s so yummy I’m about to make it for the 5th time. I love taking the leftovers to school with me. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Love this recipe! Can I freeze it?
Thanks
Margaret
Yes, absolutely.
SOOOOO GOOD!! I was needing something new in my rotation and this was the PERFECT addition! Thank you!
This was great the night I made it and even better the next day! For leftovers I loved it cold over a bed of spinach with a little bit of lemon garlic hummus as a garnish. Delicious! Thanks Shane for another great (and super easy) recipe.
Thank you!!!
This is great! Delicious, easy to assemble, and portable! I love making food for others and although I have a varied repertoire of soups, my casserole playlist is limited. Lasagna is wonderful, but predictable. After trying out at home and loving it, I have made for others a couple of time. I wanted to make for a new mommy, but it was a little too spicy with Frank’s, so I substituted a can of lowfat coconut milk for sauce and used different spices (cumin, curry, etc. It was equally fantastic. Thanks!!
This was absolutely delicious and a total hit at the 4th of July party! Added 1/4 cup extra broth as one commenter suggested and that helped with the moisture. Due to allergies, subbed the onion powder for same amount of chopped dried chives, arrowroot powder instead of corn starch, and served with a healthy sprinkle of freshly chopped scallions and cilantro instead of the ranch sauce. It was sooo good and will definitely be adding to the weekly meal plan rotation. Thanks so much, Shane! 🙂
I made this recipe tonight as written and It was a very tasty dish. Next time I would probably add more broth for it to be a little bit saucier but that’s just personal preference. The family gave this the make again soon rating so that’s a hit in our household.
Can’t wait to try this tonight! Quick question – for the Frank’s Red Hot, do you use the straight up hot sauce, or do you use the Frank’s Buffalo sauce (that contains oil)? I love the straight up hot sauce, but want to make sure I shouldn’t thin it out with aquafaba or something like that. Thanks!
Straight up Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.
I followed the recipe exactly, but rice was still crunchy after 70 minutes in oven… I re-covered it with foil, added a bit more water, and returned it to the oven for an extra 25 minutes, and still found that the rice was unevenly cooked… not sure what went wrong.
Otherwise, I loved the flavor and simplicity of this recipe.
Made this for family gathering used the mild Buffalo sauce and ended up forwarding the recipe to everyone. Was so yummy! Will be making agin and again!
I made this one tonight and we all really liked it – I’d give it a 4.5 out of 5 if I could. There was a creaminess/smoothness to it that gave it a real richness of flavor that I didn’t expect with so few ingredients. We used Frank’s mild buffalo wing sauce due to our 5 year old not quite ready for the full spice kick. The celery softened up so we didn’t get the crunch referred to in the description, but this was very minor difference as the cauliflower still had some crunch, and this didn’t impact flavor. For us, the nutritional information, which I tracked carefully, was similar for 6 larger servings instead of 8. I think when we do it again, we’ll put some cashews on the top for the last 10 minutes in the oven then mix them in when we serve it. We are pescatarian so would consider adding some shrimp too. In all, a really good meal that we’ll make again and tweak a bit to our liking. Thank you very much!
I have several bags of frozen cauliflower florets. About how many cups of florets do you think equals 1 head? And more important, do I need to thaw the frozen florets before baking, or can I just put them in and adjust the baking time?
1 bag should equal 1 medium head. No need to thaw…just toss them in and bake’em.
Another Fabulous looking recipe!
Looking forward to trying it.
Thank you Shane!
Thank you!!!
Spicy doesn’t like me! What would you use instead?
Hi, Judy! I completely understand. Try using BBQ sauce. Works perfectly.
Thank you for suggesting this – I did find some Buffalo Sauce (vegan) finally at my local grocer, however it is super super super spicy (I love spicy but this one singed my eyebrows, lol). So trying it with BBQ sauce tonight!
Have you tried adding spinach? I can’t wait to try this!!
Yes, but not during the cooking process. I usually wait until afterwards, chop it, and then toss it in my bowl or on my plate.
I like to soak brown rice to minimize the arsenic. Will the recipe work with presoaked rice? Would the baking time differ?
I don’t see why anything would need to change. You should be fine.
Buffalo Chickpea Cauliflower Casserole is so easy to make and requires just 10 simple ingredients. Vegan and gluten-free, this is a spicy hearty dinner that’s full of protein and fiber and absolutely delicious!
Shane is the nutritional yeast 1/4 CUP + 2 tbsp.?
Yes.
Thank you. Another great recipe to make for tomorrow’s dinner. What do you recommend for a replacement for the hot buffalo sauce?
You could try BBQ sauce.