Crispy Breaded Cauliflower

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? Or perhaps you like to eat 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.

This is a big reason I started this website in the first place! Today I eat a mainly whole food plant-based diet. So, I’m always looking for new ways to make eating plants fun and exciting — like this crispy breaded cauliflower recipe!

The inspiration behind the recipe

When you eat as many veggies as I do, there’s a lot of room for creativity. Learning to cook vegetables in delicious ways has been a huge learning curve for me. But after 10+ years of cooking this way and writing a book about it, I feel like an expert.

There are still millions of ideas that haven’t been explored yet, like this baked and breaded cauliflower recipe. I’m a HUGE cauliflower fan, and typically coat it in olive oil and roast it. I had never had a crispy breaded version at home, though.

I wanted to come up with a breaded cauliflower recipe that’s baked, not fried. I worried that it might come out soggy, but I accepted the challenge and decided to go for it. So, I 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.

It turned out so delicious! 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. This helps the breading to stick.

— Next, you’ll add the breading: panko, cornmeal, and a bunch of spices. Using cornmeal here gives a big crunch to the cauliflower.

— After you bake for 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 treat

OK, now the real question: what is the best way to serve it? Because I loved this breaded cauliflower so much, I decided to make it into a few different recipes. My favorite is this crispy cauliflower tacos recipe!

I have another bowl meal in the works using the recipe, too! It’s a fantastic side dish or appetizer. You could add a drizzle of Yum Yum sauce or another sauce if serving as an appetizer. Kids love this cauliflower with ketchup!

Looking for more 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.

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