This crispy breaded cauliflower is salty, tangy, sweet, spicy, and crunchy all at once! It’s 100% plant based and 100% delicious.
How often do you eat meatless? Maybe for Meatless Mondays? Maybe vegan or vegetarian during the weekdays? More and more research is showing that not only is eating less meat good for physical health, it’s gentler on the planet too. Which, is why Alex and I started this website in the first place! Today we eat a mainly whole food plant based diet (most of the time, but we flex a little, too!). So, we’re always interested in new ways to make eating plants fun and exciting: like this crispy breaded cauliflower recipe.
The inspiration behind the recipe
When you eat a lot of veggies like Alex and I do, there’s a lot of room for creativity. Learning to cook vegetables in delicious ways has been a huge learning curve for us. But after 10+ years of cooking this way and writing a book about it, we now feel like experts. Still, there are millions of ideas yet to explore, like this baked and breaded cauliflower recipe. We are HUGE cauliflower fans, and we typically coat it in olive oil and roast it. We’ve never had a crispy breaded version at home.
Alex came up with an idea for a breaded cauliflower recipe that’s baked, not fried. I didn’t believe that he could do it baked, as I thought it would come out all soggy. Alex took it as a challenge and I said, go for it! He set about to make a baked and breaded cauliflower recipe that would be totally crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.
And it turned out so, so delicious that I was instantly a believer! What I love about this recipe is that it is so many things at once: savory, tangy, sweet, and spicy. And, it really is crunchy after being baked, not fried! Your palate is simply overwhelmed by the complexity.
How to make breaded cauliflower
A few notes on the basic concept here. When you cut the cauliflower, make sure to cut it into large florets to make them easy to bake. Then, instead of mixing the cauliflower with olive oil like a typical roasted cauliflower recipe, you mix it with a heated mixture of peanut butter, soy, maple, and hot sauce, which helps the breading to stick. Then, you’ll add the breading: panko, cornmeal, and a bunch of spices. Using cornmeal here on Alex’s part was genius: it gives a big crunch to the cauliflower.
After you bake 30 minutes in a hot oven, it’s good to go! The cauliflower is best right out of the oven — though it still tastes crunchy after sitting for a while at room temp. If you refrigerate leftovers, however, the moisture in the refrigerator takes away the crunch.
How to serve this crispy cauliflower
OK, now the question: how to serve it? Because we loved this breaded cauliflower so much, we decided to make it into a few different recipes. Our favorite: this crispy cauliflower tacos recipe! And we’ve got another bowl meal coming soon. It’s a fantastic side dish or appetizer as well. If serving as an appetizer, you could add a drizzle of Yum Yum sauce or another sauce. Or, kids love this cauliflower with ketchup!
Looking for cauliflower recipes?
Aside from this crispy cauliflower, here are a few top cauliflower recipes:
- Golden Cauliflower Soup
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Casserole with Gnocchi
- Veggie Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower Rice
- Tomato Coconut Cauliflower Curry
- Grilled Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich
- Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip
- Roasted Cauliflower and Apples with Dill
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.
PrintCrispy Breaded Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This crispy breaded cauliflower is salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy all at once! It’s 100% plant based and 100% delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds whole)
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (use gluten free panko as necessary)
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Chop the cauliflower into large florets. Place them in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix together the panko, cornmeal, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, turmeric, and kosher salt.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, soy sauce, and hot sauce until fully combined and slightly darkened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the sauce onto the cauliflower and stir several times until the cauliflower is well coated.
- Pour about 1/3 of the dry mixture into the bowl with the cauliflower and mix. Repeat twice to stir in the remaining dry mixture to coat all of the cauliflower. Then remove the breaded cauliflower from the bowl with your hands and place it onto a parchment lined baking sheet. About 1/2 of the crumbs will remain in the bowl; you can discard these.
- Bake the cauliflower for 30 minutes total, flipping the cauliflower with a spatula at the 15 minute mark. Serve immediately. If serving as an appetizer, you could add a drizzle of Yum Yum sauce or another sauce. Or, kids love them with ketchup! (If you have leftovers, you can store them refrigerated and then reheat them in a 350F oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes, flipping once.)
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Breaded Cauliflower, Crispy Cauliflower
54 Comments
Mary
January 30, 2019 at 10:49 pmVery curious to try this version of breaded cauliflower! Is the peanut butter noticeable in the flavor, or is it used moreso for making a sticky bindy mixture…?
Sonja
January 31, 2019 at 10:22 amThe peanut butter isn’t super noticeable, it is more for texture! But you can taste some richness and body from it too!
Kelly
July 12, 2020 at 6:24 pmIs it possible to make this without the peanut butter?
Sonja Overhiser
July 13, 2020 at 9:24 amWe suggest using some kind of nut butter, like almond butter or sun butter for a nut allergy, to help hold it all together!
Beth Weston
February 1, 2019 at 11:27 amI made the Crispy Cauliflower Tacos last night (actually turned them into a bowl vs. placing them into tortillas). The base was chopped romaine, cabbage and kale. Added chopped peppers, jalapenos, black beans, and your pickled red onions (that were in an earlier post this month). Then topped with the cauliflower and the yum yum sauce. Crunched up some tortilla chips on top. It was UNBELIEVABLY good! I even took to eating several of the uncooked cauliflower bites covered in the panko mix before they went into the oven they were that good!! My husband went wild for this, especially the sauce!! I wasn’t sure if I needed to space the cauliflower out on the baking sheet to make sure it crisped up, so I used 2 pans, but realized afterward I could have probably squeezed them onto one. I used parchment on one sheet and a silicone baking mat on the other and they both came out the same. I will keep this on the rotation. Thanks for another awesome recipe guys!!
Sonja
March 23, 2019 at 11:13 pmOh you are so welcome! I LOVE your bowl idea — it’s making me hungry just thinking about it! So glad your husband loved it too. Yes, we were able to squeeze all of ours onto one pan — but it’s never bad to have more space between things on the sheet just in case. Thanks again for the kind comments!
Katie VK
February 23, 2019 at 3:00 pmYum! Made these with the yum yum sauce. My husband and I ate a whole head of cauliflower standing at the kitchen counter! The peanut butter/maple syrup combo is a brilliant way to make breadcrumbs stick to cauliflower – so often it just falls off – not the case here. I microwaved the sauce because I was lazy, and that method worked just fine. I am curious to see if I can use this concept with other seasonings and sauces for other breaded cauliflower snacks. Thanks ACC – another interesting, successful recipe.
Sonja
February 25, 2019 at 8:59 pmAhhh no way! I’m so glad to hear that you accidentally ate a bunch of cauliflower. That’s when we know a recipe was a success! Thank you for sharing this! Let us know if you try this concept with other recipes too!
Jules
July 24, 2019 at 9:02 pmI made the “crispy” (not really) breaded cauliflower and the chipotle sauce. They were way to sweet tasting for me and I have a sweet tooth. Granted I used more breading than the recipe called for but next time. I would use much less and use half the maple syrup. The chipotle sauce had an overpowering tahini taste. Which for me, I don’t like the taste of.
James
August 17, 2019 at 11:04 amDo you use course of fine cornmeal for this recipe?
Alex Overhiser
August 17, 2019 at 1:32 pmWe usually use medium, but I think fine would work!
Christina
October 2, 2019 at 11:50 amCan you use frozen cauliflower?
Alex Overhiser
October 2, 2019 at 1:43 pmI think it would work if you thawed the cauliflower and patted it dry! We haven’t tried it.
Amy Darrah
October 20, 2019 at 10:23 amAny suggestions for a substitution for the cornmeal? I have a corn allergy (also gluten allergy).
Alex Overhiser
October 21, 2019 at 11:21 amHi! I would just do 1 cup of GF panko without the cornmeal.
Laura
October 29, 2019 at 2:05 pmIs there anything I can use in place of the peanut butter?
Alex Overhiser
October 29, 2019 at 5:17 pmHi! Tahini would be good.
Madeline
November 14, 2019 at 1:53 pmSo easy! I made these for lunch and ate them with smashed avocado, diced onion and garlic salt.
Margrethe Mummert
December 4, 2019 at 8:46 amHubby has peanut and sesame allergies. You suggest tahini as a substitute for Pnut butter but that won’t work for us. You also say the pnut butter is more for texture than flavor. Would Honey instead maple syrup do the trick? I’m trying to think of what could substitute for pnut butter texture.
Alex Overhiser
December 4, 2019 at 8:57 amHi! The creaminess of the nut butter is really useful here. Would sunbutter work?
Leona LaBine
December 13, 2019 at 11:31 pmHi, I was wondering if you are crunched for time, can the cauliflower be made ahead and frozen?
Alex Overhiser
December 14, 2019 at 8:33 amWe haven’t tried this, so I’m not sure!
Kimmy K
December 24, 2019 at 12:53 pmThis was delicious!!! A huge hit with my family!
Brooke
January 7, 2020 at 8:12 pmGoing to try this – would almond butter work fine?
Alex Overhiser
January 7, 2020 at 8:36 pmYes!
Meera
February 3, 2020 at 10:14 pmCould the maple syrup be left out, or is that essential for the breading to stick? I am trying to avoid added sugars to my meals, and additionally I’m currently living in Argentina where maple syrup is ridiculously expensive.
Alex Overhiser
February 4, 2020 at 10:16 amIf you increase the peanut butter it should work out ok!
Anonymous
February 4, 2020 at 12:04 pmAwesome! Thanks!
Debs Fellowes
March 12, 2020 at 9:02 amWe made this last night to have with yum yum sauce, while I loved the coating which did go crispy-ish, we did not like so much the actual inside of the coating, the cauliflower bit, and I found it went cold very quickly. I think the coating would be wonderful on chicken though, sort of home-made chicken nuggets! The sauce was a winner though!
nicola
April 5, 2020 at 8:37 amMind blown. We made these last week as we wanted to stretch a cauliflower for a couple of meals. Sooo good! Already got another cauliflower so we can make them again soon! Thank you!
Alex Overhiser
April 6, 2020 at 11:46 amAren’t they so good?! Glad you enjoyed!
Renee
April 21, 2020 at 12:11 pmLove love love this recipe! The first time I made it, it didn’t come out crunchy, but was still delicious. I made it again, but with tofu and it came out perfect! I think I had too much cauliflower and the pieces were too big. This is a keeper! Oh, and i drizzled the leftover sauce over broccoli. :-p
Alex Overhiser
April 21, 2020 at 12:20 pmSo glad you enjoyed it!
Michelle
April 28, 2020 at 3:58 amWondering if this would work in an air fryer instead of baking?
Alex Overhiser
April 28, 2020 at 8:07 amI think it would, but we haven’t tried it! Let us know if you do :)
Erin
May 8, 2020 at 3:23 pmCan you use corn grits instead of corn meal?
Alex Overhiser
May 8, 2020 at 3:54 pmIt might be a little crunchier, but it should work!
Tyas
May 12, 2020 at 6:38 pmI ate half of them in one night. It was great even without the yum yum sauce! I didn’t have panko so I used normal breadcrumbs, prob why they’re not super crispy. Still amazing tho and I’m already planning on buying another cauliflower. Thanks Sonja and Alex!
Steve and Dana
May 17, 2020 at 6:40 pmWe’ve been vegan for a long time and have always enjoyed cauliflower tacos. But this was next level. If folks are saying it was too sweet, they didn’t follow directions and if others think this would be better for chicken nuggets… please don’t. No animals were harmed with this absolutely brilliant recipe. It was so good, we cooked it all up from scratch and made more the very next night. Thank you!!
Alex Overhiser
May 17, 2020 at 7:43 pmHaha! So glad you enjoyed :)
Ale
May 22, 2020 at 1:29 amHii, this looks amazing I will definitely try it out. Is it 151 calories for the whole plate?? Or per individual piece. Thank you!!
Alex Overhiser
May 22, 2020 at 10:23 amThat’s per serving for 4 servings.
Anne
June 27, 2020 at 10:51 pmLove this recipe!! Every time I make tacos with this cauliflower recipe, my non-vegan dad is totally delighted. Thanks for sharing the awesomeness. :)
I have made a few tweaks. I make a pretty large batch, probably 2.5-3 pounds of cauliflower, and I doubled the sauce and breading recipes. It definitely punches up the flavor but we really like it. Also, I find that the cauliflower doesn’t get properly crispy in my oven when baked for just 30 minutes, so I leave it in for closer to an hour. Gets crispier and a little blackened, but not overdone.
Alex Overhiser
June 29, 2020 at 10:08 amSo glad you love it!
Lee Anne
June 29, 2020 at 6:36 pmAny suggestions for subbing out the cornmeal for a corn allergy?
Alex Overhiser
June 29, 2020 at 7:49 pmHi! You can just do all panko instead of 1/2 and 1/2.
Julie
August 29, 2020 at 8:02 pmI am on a low salt diet. Thoughts on leaving out the sit sauce? I would probably use almond butter or fresh ground peanuts instead of peanut butter to get the side in down. Do you have an idea of total sodium per serving the way it is now? I live your site BTW, any favorite low salt recipes?
Alex Overhiser
August 31, 2020 at 10:37 amHi! I think that would be fine to leave it out.
Our nutrition calculator doesn’t do sodium well. A 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt has 960 mg of sodium, so it would just depend on how much salt is in your peanut butter and panko. We don’t have any other low sodium specific recipes, but we try to use whole foods as much as possible and add kosher salt to taste. These are some of our favorite quick dinners: https://www.acouplecooks.com/easy-dinner-ideas/
Julie
September 16, 2020 at 6:41 pmThis recipe is AWESOME. Make sure to follow the right amounts for breading otherwise you’ll end up with a breading too heavy that doesn’t quite crisp up. I always have to make this with the biggest head of cauliflower I can find as my 10 year old son devours it. And don’t be worried about it being too sweet – unless you use a lot less cauliflower than called for or sweetened peanut butter – it’s only a tbsp maple syrup. Great recipe!
Alex Overhiser
September 17, 2020 at 9:48 amI’m so glad you love it!
Ranita
October 12, 2020 at 5:50 pmThis looks good but have you tried making crispy cauliflower bites without breading? I bought a bag at Costco yesterday and I really like them but they were expensive and a bit too greasy for me. They are by a company named Rhythm… Organic Cauliflower Bites… They are very crispy and delicious. I would LOVE to learn how to make them at home.
Any ideas?
Alex Overhiser
October 12, 2020 at 10:19 pmWe haven’t tried it, sorry!
Tricia
October 15, 2020 at 1:11 pmI saw beautiful cauliflower at the store and bought some. Usually I hesitate – I’m sad to admit the head usually goes into the garbage after a couple of weeks. Well I found this wonderful recipe and made it for lunch. I’m sitting here munching as I type. I’m right now trying to prevent myself from eating an entire head of cauliflower in one sitting! They were also really delicious before going into the oven – I never thought to add peanut butter. I will be making these again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Alex Overhiser
October 15, 2020 at 3:26 pmI’m so glad to hear this! Thanks for commenting :)