Crispy Breaded Cauliflower

This Crispy Breaded Cauliflower is salty, tangy, sweet, hot and crunchy all at the same time! It’s 100% plant-based and 100% delicious.

How often do you eat without meat? Maybe for meatless assembly? Maybe vegan or vegetarian on weekdays? A growing body of research shows that less meat is not only good for your physical health, but also more environmentally friendly. That’s why Alex and I started this website in the first place! We mostly eat whole foods these days (most of the time, but we also lean a little bit!). That’s why we’re always interested in new ways to make eating plants fun and exciting: like this recipe for Crispy Breaded Cauliflower.

The inspiration behind the recipe

When you eat lots of veggies, like Alex and I do, there’s a lot of room for creativity. Learning how to cook vegetables in a delicious way has been a huge learning curve for us. But after cooking this way for more than 10 years and writing a book about it, we now feel like experts. Still, there are millions of ideas to explore, like this Breaded Baked Cauliflower Recipe. We’re HUGE fans of cauliflower, and we usually brush it with olive oil and roast it. We’ve never had a crunchy breaded version at home.

Alex came up with the idea for a recipe for breaded cauliflower that was baked, not fried. I didn’t think he could cook it as I thought it would come out all mushy. Alex took it as a challenge and I said do it! He set out to create a recipe for baked, breaded cauliflower that would be crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

And it was so, so delicious that I was immediately convinced! What I love about this recipe is that it has so many things at once: savory, tangy, sweet, and hot. And it’s really crunchy after it’s baked, not fried! Your palate is simply overwhelmed with complexity.

How to make breaded cauliflower

Here are a few notes on the basic concept. When chopping cauliflower, be sure to cut it into large florets for easier cooking. Instead of tossing the cauliflower in olive oil like a typical roasted cauliflower recipe, you then toss it with a heated mixture of peanut butter, soy, maple, and hot sauce. , which helps the breadstick. Then add the breading: panko, cornmeal, and a few spices. The use of cornmeal here by Alex was great: it gives the cauliflower a great crunch.

After 30 minutes of cooking in the hot oven, it’s good! Cauliflower tastes best right out of the oven – even if it still tastes crisp after a while at room temperature. However, if you keep leftovers in the fridge, the moisture in the fridge will take away from the crispiness.

How to serve this crispy cauliflower

Well, now the question: how do you serve it? Because we loved this breaded cauliflower so much, we decided to make different recipes with it. Our favorite: this Crispy Cauliflower Tacos recipe! And we’ll have another bowl meal soon. It also makes a fantastic side dish or appetizer. If you’re serving it as an appetizer, feel free to add a drizzle of yum yum sauce or other sauce. Or kids love this cauliflower with ketchup!

Looking for cauliflower recipes?

In addition to this crunchy cauliflower, here are some of the best cauliflower recipes:

This recipe is…

This Crispy Breaded Cauliflower recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use gluten-free panko and tamari.