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I'm not mincing my words when I say this is the ultimate vegan buffalo sauce that will transform your vegan fried chicken from good to unforgettable. No dairy, margarine, no fuss, just pure, lip-smacking goodness in a bottle!
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
No wheat in the sauce itself, but check the label on your vegan Worcestershire sauce, since plenty of brands are made with malt vinegar from barley.
Pour boiling water over the cashews to speed up the 30 minute soak, then it's a 3 minute job in the blender.
Cashew pieces and halves cost way less than whole cashews and blend up exactly the same.
This sauce is just as happy on air-fried cauliflower or baked tofu wings as it is on anything deep fried.
The habanero is optional, so leave it out if you can't find one. Any mild, acidy hot sauce works if Frank's RedHot isn't on your shelf.
Begin with less habanero to manage the sauce's spiciness. It's easier to increase heat than to dial it back once mixed.
Use high-quality, fresh cashews for the best texture and flavor. Stale or rancid nuts can impart an off-taste.
Use a high-speed blender for a smooth, bit-free texture. If your blender struggles, blend longer or in smaller batches for uniform smoothness.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
Did you think that when you stepped away from consuming dairy, the buffalo sauce train had to roll to a stop, and you had to cry yourself to sleep forevermore? Guess what, you horribly sad goof, the sobbing into your pillow ends today. With less than eight ingredients and requiring nothing more than a blender, you're about to live in a world where you can bathe (literally in a bathtub) in the reddish-orange embrace of the buffalo kingdom.
Besides taking a tub in this stuff, it's a cure-all for boring foods. Make perfect vegan chicken wings, use it in my plant-based elote recipe, or jazz up your vegan fajitas like a gosh darned red sauce freak once and for all!
Ready to set your culinary world on fire? Let's go!
Made this sauce for tofu wings for the Super Bowl. It was the best buffalo sauce I've ever had. Instead of being greasy, it was rich and full of flavor, and much healthier than the traditional buffalo sauces I've had before.
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- 🥰 Why you'll adore this vegan buffalo sauce recipe
- 🌶️ Ingredients for vegan buffalo sauce
- 🤯 Korean buffalo sauce
- 📖 How to make vegan buffalo sauce
- 💡Serving Ideas
- 👉Top tips
- 🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
- ✌️My faves to slather in vegan buffalo sauce:
- The Perfect Vegan Buffalo Sauce Recipe
🥰 Why you'll adore this vegan buffalo sauce recipe
✊ Vegan AF, GF annnnnd SF: Like all of my vegan sauces and dressings, this recipe is completely plant-based. It also happens to be one of my soy-free, gluten-free recipes too! This tasty sauce doesn't require a drop of melted earth balance either, so it's palm oil free to boot!
🌡️ Heat Wise: A tiny bit of habanero and a wee bit of fresh garlic help give you control over the heat without overshadowing the sauce's natural flavors.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all the vegan recipes I share, this delicious vegan buffalo sauce has been put to the test and perfected with the help of a global team of recipe testers, ensuring it works well with a variety of hot sauces anywhere on planet Earth.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🌶️ Ingredients for vegan buffalo sauce
Raw Cashews
When I first cooked professionally, I worked at a vegan restaurant serving many buffalo wings. And like most places, they made a traditional buffalo sauce using a God-awful amount of margarine in their buffalo sauce. Instead of using processed vegan butter, I give my recipe a more natural and flavorful creaminess using raw cashews. Their high-fat content transforms into a silky-smooth base for sauces when blended, especially after being soaked.
Hot Sauce
The best buffalo sauce is always made with a mild cayenne pepper-based hot sauce that is more acidy than spicy. On the East Coast, Franks RedHot reigns supreme. This recipe can also be made with other mild hot sauce brands like Texas Pete and Louisiana Hot Sauce. I haven't loved the results I got when making it with Tapatio and Cholula hot sauce, but I don't really like the flavor of those sauces, so I'm not surprised.
Also, this buttery hot sauce is more about flavor than spicy kick. Your Super Bowl party miiiiight just be ruined if you use a very spicy hot sauce, and everyone wishes they didn't go back for another slice of your famous ghost pepper cauliflower buffalo wings...
White Vinegar
White vinegar, a staple in kitchens around the globe, adds a sharp, clean acidic note that cuts through the richness of the cashews, brightening the sauce's flavor. Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or rice vinegar (which is my go-to vinegar for "dairy" recipes like vegan sour cream and vegan mascarpone) are good substitutes.
Nutritional Yeast
I use just a tiny bit of nutritional yeast, or "nooch," in this recipe to add depth and complexity to the sauce, plus a boost of B vitamins. If you get some to make this recipe and don't know what else you can do with it, it's amazing in vegan Italian sausages and also helps to make the creamiest vegan nacho cheese in the gosh-darned galaxy.
Worcestershire sauce
Make sure you use a vegan Worcestershire sauce in this recipe. It adds a LOT to the well-rounded flavor that you need when you make buffalo sauce vegan. Some surprising alternatives that work well in this recipe are vegan oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine (which I use to bring a balanced umami flavor to my banh bao chay).
Garlic
A tiny amount of garlic's sharp, aromatic qualities infuse the sauce with just the right warmth and pungency. Garlic powder can substitute for fresh garlic for a more mellow taste, or if you follow a sattvic diet and avoid garlic, use a small amount of asafetida (the powerhouse seasoning I use in vegan Indian dishes like chana masala, and vegan tikka masala).
Habanero
Ok, this is optional, but for folks who love spicy food, the heat level of this sauce just isn't enough when only relying on the heat from a mild ol' Frank's hot sauce, which is being further diluted by the other ingredients. Scotch bonnet peppers are a great fill in for habanero, or you could use a spoonful of chipotle chilies in adobo (like I use in my jackfruit tamales) for a smokier flavor.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯 Korean buffalo sauce
Are you a huge fan of Korean bbq sauce? Well, you can give this vegan buffalo wing sauce a little Korean flare by adding just a little sesame oil and a spoonful of gochujang. This is amazing drizzled on my vegan kimchi fried rice with a side of oi muchim or pickled burdock. Korean vegan buffalo cauliflower wings with vegan kimchi on a pretzel bun? Sign me the heck up for that, mommy.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make vegan buffalo sauce
Follow this step-by-step photo guide with detailed instructions to nail the delicious sauce you crave on your vegan buffalo chicken wings.
Step One
Cashew Prep Time
Soak the cashews in water to get them nice and soft, setting the stage for ultra-smooth blending action. Let them soak for a minimum of thirty minutes, or overnight in an airtight container in the fridge, before giving them a thorough drain and then rinse under cold running water.
Step Two
Blend It Up
Toss the softened cashews into a blender with the hot sauce, white vinegar, nutritional yeast, garlic, and onion powders. Feeling bold? Throw in that habanero pepper to crank up the heat.
Step Three
Smooth Operator
Hit that blender's high speed for a solid ninety seconds, turning the mix into a silky-smooth sauce with zero lumps, achieving that perfectly even texture.
Step Four
Ready, Set, Serve!
Slather this fiery goodness over vegan buffalo wings right away, or keep it on standby in the fridge (up to five days) or freezer (up to three months) inside a sealed container, ready to ignite your next meal.
💡Serving Ideas
💡Serving Ideas
Frank's slogan is "I Put That SH*T On Everything" and even Hilary Clinton did a (terribly cringy) stunt by pretending she carries around hot sauce in her purse everywhere she goes…
So suffice to say this buffalo sauce is pretty hard to find things that don't want a splash of it. Vegan mac 'n' cheese, French fries, buffalo cauliflower bites, the sky's the limit.
A few dishes that might surprise you are really rad with a drizzle of the spicy buffalo sauce are tempeh mendoan, bakwan sayur, and vegan tom yum fried rice.
👉Top tips
- Quality Matters: Use high-quality, fresh cashews for the best texture and flavor. Stale or rancid nuts can impart an off-taste that will def. overshadow the vibrant flavors of your buffalo sauce.
- Blender Choice: A great high-speed blender is crucial for achieving that ultra-creamy texture without any bits. If your blender is a total piece of shit and "isn't very powerful", consider blending for a longer period or in batches to ensure the sauce is completely smooth.
- Adjust the Heat: Not everyone is a fire freak like me, so start with less habanero or even skip it if you don't want such a spicy sauce. You can always add more spice after tasting, but you can't take it out once it's blended in. It's easier to add heat than to try and cool it down.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can freeze the vegan buffalo sauce in an airtight container for up to three months. Just thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using.
As long as the hot sauce and other ingredients you choose are gluten-free, the vegan buffalo sauce will be too. Always check labels to be safe. Make sure the vegan wings recipe you are following can be made without gluten in it.
To reduce the heat, start with less or omit the habanero pepper and choose the mildest hot sauce you can get your hands on. The original Franks RedHot is super-mild, (they say it has medium heat, but honestly, to me, it barely has any) and only seems spicy because it's bright red and very sharp from all the vinegar in it. You can always add a bit more habanero pepper after tasting if it's not spicy enough.
✌️My faves to slather in vegan buffalo sauce:
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The Perfect Vegan Buffalo Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup Original Frank's RedHot Sauce or other mild, acidy hot sauce of your preference
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ of a habanero pepper optional
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water to soften them; this makes them creamier when blended. After soaking for at least 30 minutes, thoroughly drain and rinse the cashews.
- Place the drained cashews in a blender with the hot sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, nutritional yeast, garlic (or garlic powder), and onion powder. Add the habanero pepper if you're up for a bit more heat.
- Blend the mixture for 90 seconds at high speed until it is completely smooth, ensuring there are no chunks for a uniform texture.
- Use your homemade buffalo sauce immediately to make tofu wings, or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
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Lesley says
Made this sauce for tofu wings for the Super Bowl. It was the best buffalo sauce I’ve ever had. Instead of being greasy, it was rich and full of flavor, and much healthier than the traditional buffalo sauces I’ve had before.