Buffalo Cauliflower Elbows

Make your mouth extra happy this week with a simple Chickapea Elbow Pasta recipe that is big on taste. This vegan, gluten-free, nut-free meal comes together with only a handful of ingredients and will have you checking the fridge for leftovers long after it is all gone.

 

Buffalo Cauliflower Elbows

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Course: Dinner
  • Cuisine: Canadian
  • Servings: 3

Ingredients:

  • 1 Package Chickapea Elbows
  • 2 Tbsp table salt (for boiling pasta)
  • 2 heads of cauliflower, washed and cut into bite sized florets
  • 2 Tbsp cup avocado oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp flaked salt or sea salt
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 2-4 Tbsp vegan butter
  • 1/3-2/3 cup hot buffalo wing sauce
  • ½ cup green onion, chopped

Instructions: 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
  2. Add the clean and trimmed cauliflower florets to a medium bowl 
  3. Pour avocado oil over the cauliflower and mix well to coat
  4. Sprinkle in minced garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 tsp of flaked salt and pepper
  5. Toss the cauliflower thoroughly in the seasoning
  6. Transfer the cauliflower to a lined baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until the cauliflower becomes golden brown, toss the cauliflower half way through the baking time to ensure it cooks evenly
  7. Meanwhile, prepare Chickapea Elbows to package specifications (heat 16 cups of water and 2 Tbsp of salt in a large pot over high heat until boiling. Add pasta to the water, decrease the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Stir and cook the pasta for 7 minutes)
  8. Dain the pasta and rinse with warm water
  9. When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and add the vegan butter, buffalo wing sauce of your choice and cooked pasta to the cauliflower
  10. Toss the contents of the pan well to mix the pasta into the sauce
  11. Cook the pasta and cauliflower mixture in the oven for another 5 minutes at 450°F
  12. Remove the dish from the oven and plate each serving with a generous amount of green onion overtop
  13. Serve hot and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

  • This dish is excellent served hot or as leftovers straight from the refrigerator
  • The amount of vegan butter and buffalo sauce to use is a matter of personal taste. Adding more butter will make the dish richer and adding more buffalo sauce will make the dish spicier
  • Hot buffalo sauce can be substituted for buffalo sauce of choice
  • Earth Balance vegan butter was used as the vegan butter in this recipe