Vegan Buffalo Sauce Recipe
If you’re looking for a Vegan Buffalo Wing Sauce recipe that doesn’t split or separate, our non dairy Buffalo sauce actually stays together and won’t leave your vegan chicken wings swimming in a puddle of spicy oil.
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Even long before going vegan I always had a thing about not eating anything with bones. So I’d never actually had Buffalo wings or Buffalo sauce, but I always loved the smell. Fast forward to a date night with T to a local hot spot called Triangle Tavern famous for its vegan wings, where I finally tried it for the first time.
Friends, when I say I was a fiend, I mean it. Their plant based Buffalo sauce was a life-changing experience, and I knew I had to learn to make this delicious sauce at home. Now I’ve been making my own vegan Buffalo sauce for 5 years, and I’ll never go back to store-bought.
We use this in all of our vegan Buffalo sauce recipes (like our crowd-favorite Vegan Buffalo Wing Pizza!) and it takes the flavor to a whole new level when you make your own sauce. You can control the heat or sweetness levels, and we have some tips below for keeping it creamy and getting the emulsification just right.
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Why You’ll Love This Homemade Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Fast – This spicy sauce is a simple recipe that comes together in mere minutes.
- Easy – Just a few common vegan kitchen staples and simple steps. Nothing complicated.
- Delicious – Use this tasty sauce on all sorts of vegan Buffalo sauce recipes. We’ve included some of our favorites in the section below
Ingredients for Buffalo Wing Sauce (Vegan)
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this homemade vegan buffalo sauce recipe.
Cayenne pepper hot sauce – We used Frank’s Hot Sauce (Original), but you can use your favorite brand of hot sauce (just check ingredients)
Vegan butter – We like Earth Balance or the plant based butter from Country Crock best
Vegan Worcestershire sauce – Traditional worcestershire contains anchovies. Look for fish free Worcestershire brands like Wizard’s or Lord Sandy’s. Some store brands are also “accidentally vegan”, so read those labels!
Granulated garlic – You can also use garlic powder. If using garlic salt, reduce or omit the amount of salt called for in the recipe card.
Salt – Use a coarse kitchen salt, not table salt
How to Make Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a small pot and heat over low heat.
- Stir slowly and consistently with a rubber spatula until the vegan butter is fully melted.
- Then, bring the mix to a simmer while continuing to slowly stir.
- As soon as the sauce begins to bubble on the sides of the pot, remove from heat, stir one last time, and set aside.
See the photo below for what the sauce should look like when you remove it from heat!
Substitutions & Variations
- Make it spicier – Add extra white pepper or black pepper, you can also add a dash of cayenne pepper or extra hot sauce. If you want some bites with real heat, add some red pepper flakes or minced hot peppers (like jalapeno) into the mix.
- If you want to cut the heat and spice level, you can add brown sugar, maple syrup, or agave to enhance the sweetness level and decrease the heat. Or try adding some nutritional yeast to add some umami to the spicy Buffalo sauce. You could also combine it with some of our Vegan Ranch Dressing.
- To make a vegan buffalo sauce no butter, sub refined coconut oil for the melted vegan butter. But make sure it’s labeled “refined” and not unrefined or virgin, so your buffalo sauce doesn’t taste or smell like coconuts!
Tips & Tricks for the Best Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Do not overheat the butter while it’s melting or the sauce won’t come together correctly and won’t be as creamy. Keep the sauce at a low heat while you stir and have patience.
- If you’re having trouble getting the vegan butter to emulsify on the stove (or if you just want the sauce to be extra creamy), you can blend the prepared buffalo sauce for at least 60 seconds at a high speed in a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender.
- The sauce will solidify in the fridge as the butter hardens. You’ll need to heat the refrigerated sauce slightly, but don’t heat it too much or too fast or the emulsification may break. If your kitchen is particularly warm, you can also let it sit out at room temperature for a couple hours until ready to use it.
Vegan Recipes Using Buffalo Sauce
We love creating all sorts of delicious recipes using our homemade Buffalo sauce.
- Air Fryer Vegan Buffalo Wings
- Buffalo Ranch Pickles
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
- Buffalo Walnut Lettuce Wraps
- Easy Buffalo Soy Curls
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
Other Ways to Use Vegan Buffalo Sauce
You can use this delicious vegan Buffalo sauce in a variety of other ways as well. Try it as a dipping sauce for french fries, bell peppers, or cauliflower florets, or drizzle a little on top of your Hummus for a snack with a spicy kick.
How to Store Homemade Buffalo Sauce
Store your dairy free buffalo sauce in an airtight container (glass container or mason jar is best) and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. (But good luck getting it to last that long without eating it all!)
The sauce will thicken in the fridge, so you’ll want to warm it slightly before using. This can be done on the stove in a saucepan over low or medium low heat. You can also loosen the sauce in the microwave in 2 or 3 10-second bursts, stirring between each until you reach desired consistency.
Vegan Buffalo Sauce Recipe FAQs
Buffalo sauce is a combination of hot sauce (cayenne paper-based usually) mixed with butter and a few other seasonings to create a tangy sauce that’s creamier than regular hot sauce and sticks better to food. The name comes from Buffalo, NY, where it originated.
Add sweeteners like agave or brown sugar or extra fats like oil or more butter to break down the heat level of Buffalo sauce.
Hot sauce on its own is usually vegan, but traditional Buffalo sauce often has butter as one of the ingredients. There are a few vegan and accidentally vegan brands available at the supermarket, and thankfully the classic choice Frank’s is vegan as-is.
Traditional Worcestershire contains anchovies as a main ingredient. Vegan Worcestershire is a fish-free version made without the anchovy. Wizard’s and “Lord Sandy’s” are two brands we’ve found in our regular grocery stores like Giant and Shop Rite.
More Vegan Homemade Sauce Recipes
- Best Vegan Burger Sauce
- How To Make a Basic Stir Fry Sauce
- Creamy Vegan Garlic Sauce
- Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce
We’d love to hear what you think if you try our homemade Buffalo sauce recipe! Did you just try it on some tofu wings, or did you get fancy with one of our other fun recipes? You can quickly and easily leave a comment and a star rating in the section below the recipe card!
Buffalo Sauce (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce see notes
- 2 ½ Tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small pot over low heat.
- Stir consistently until the vegan butter is fully melted.
- Then, bring to a simmer while stirring with a rubber spatula.
- As soon as the liquid begins to bubble on the sides of the pot, remove from heat, stir with the spatula, and set aside for use.
Video
Notes
- Do not overheat the butter while it’s melting or the sauce won’t come together correctly and won’t be as creamy. Keep the sauce at a low heat while you stir and have patience.
- If you’re having trouble getting the vegan butter to emulsify on the stove (or if you just want the sauce to be extra creamy), you can blend the prepared buffalo sauce for at least 60 seconds at a high speed in a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender.
- The sauce will solidify in the fridge as the butter hardens. You’ll need to heat the refrigerated sauce slightly, but don’t heat it too much or too fast or the emulsification may break. If your kitchen is particularly warm, you can also let it sit out at room temperature for a couple hours until ready to use it.
