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Skip the takeout and make a lighter version at home. This Sticky Sesame Cauliflower is battered and baked to perfection, then smothered in a spicy, sticky-sweet sauce. It’s heavenly!
Cauliflower has been trending for a couple of years now and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. It’s one of the most versatile vegetables and many people use it as a healthier replacement to pizza crust, rice, mashed potatoes, meat, creamy sauces and so much more.
The internet is bursting with delicious cauliflower recipes and my Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole and Vegan Alfredo Sauce are just a few of what’s out there. Anything is possible!
So, if you’ve always been a fan of Sesame Chicken takeout, you’re going to love this recipe. It’s much lighter, but all the flavors are still there. It’s baked instead of fried, and I used a minimal amount of high-sodium ingredients.
You won’t be missing a thing!
HOW TO MAKE STICKY SESAME CAULIFLOWER
(full ingredient amount in recipe card below)
- Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets.
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, milk, water, and salt to create a thick, but pourable batter.
- Place a handful of cauliflower in the bowl and toss to coat.
- Lightly shake excess batter off each piece OR place a bunch of battered cauliflower on a cooling rack to drain.
- Bake at 425° F (220° C) for 20 minutes and flip midway through.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add the tamari, agave, vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, ginger, and garlic. Whisk and bring to a light simmer.
- Whisk the cornstarch and vegetable broth and pour into pan. Simmer until it thickens up and becomes sticky (about 5 minutes).
- Add cauliflower and toss to coat. Top with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
WHAT CAN I SERVE WITH THIS SESAME CAULIFLOWER DISH?
Anything goes! I typically serve it over rice, but you can serve it over quinoa, couscous, or even cauliflower rice. You can eat it as is, or top it with toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onion, cilantro or anything your taste buds crave. It’s a perfect meal for lunch or dinner.
CAN I MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE?
YES! Just swap out the all-purpose for a 1.1 gluten-free flour. Make sure to use a gluten-free tamari sauce too.
HOW CAN I MAKE IT SOY-FREE?
Just swap out the tamari for Coconut Aminos. It’s just as savory and delicious!
CAN I MAKE IT OIL-FREE?
Yes, you can omit the sesame oil in the sauce. Just add 1-2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds to the sauce. Make sure the vegetable broth is oil-free too.
INTERESTED IN MORE TAKEOUT-INSPIRED MEALS? HERE ARE MY FAVES:
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
If you make this Sticky Sesame Cauliflower, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.
Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- 1 large head cauliflower , cut into bite-sized florets (about 1.5 lbs)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk , unsweetened
- 1/2 cup water , more if needed
Sauce
- 1/4 cup tamari , low sodium (sub soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup agave nectar (sub maple syrup or light brown sugar)
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger , peeled and grated (sub frozen or paste)
- 3 cloves garlic , minced or crushed
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth , low sodium
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
For Serving (Optional)
- 3 green onions , sliced
- 2-3 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 3 cups cooked rice
Instructions
Cauliflower
- Preheat over to 425° F (220° C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Now pour in the milk and water and whisk to combine well. The batter should be thick, but still pourable. If it's too thick, add a few tablespoons of water.
- Place a handful of cauliflower in the bowl and toss to coat well. Lightly shake off excess batter and place on baking sheet, leaving room in between each piece. (to make it faster, I put a bunch of battered cauliflower on a cooling rack to drain with parchment paper underneath) Place in the oven for 20 minutes to lightly crisp. Flip over pieces at the halfway mark.
Sauce
- To a large pan over medium heat, add the tamari, agave, vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, ginger, and garlic. Whisk to combine well and bring to a slight simmer.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and vegetable broth and pour it into the pan. Let it simmer until it thickens up and becomes sticky. About 5 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning and turn down the heat if needed.
- Add the baked cauliflower and toss to coat well. Remove from heat and top with green onions and sesame seeds if preferred. Top on rice and serve!
Useful Tools To make This Recipe
- Large Baking Sheet
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Melissa Huggins
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Rachel
Oh my goodness this is so good!! The flavor. The texture. All of it. My whole family loved it so much that I’ve made it twice in two weeks. I added broccoli too bc I only had a small head of cauliflower. The broccoli worked great as well! GREAT recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Rachel, this is wonderful! I’m so glad your family loves it! I’m so glad it worked out well with the broccoli too. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Molly
Could I substitute either rice flour or chickpea flour for the AP flour? Thanks!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Molly, I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure how it will work. Maybe a GF all-purpose? I’d love to hear how it turns out for you if you give it a try 🙂
Meg C
This was a huge hit w my family! Perfect flavor, if a tad sweet but my kids lived it! We were out of rice so I put it over quinoa & added steam veggies (an bag of asian medley). It is a great weeknight meal!
Melissa Huggins
I’m glad it was a hit with your family! It sounds perfect with the quinoa and the extra veggies. Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Kelly
Loved this recipe! It will be a regular in our rotation!! I tripled the sauce and used two heads of cauliflower. Thank you!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Kelly, I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for trying it out 🙂
Tammy
This was amazing, just a vegan for a week now. I also doubled the sauce and added some crushed peanuts at the end. Thanks for the recipe, it was amazing!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Tammy, congratulations on your new vegan journey! The added peanuts sound delicious! Thanks for making it 🙂
Michelle
Made this for dinner last night along with veggie fried rice and WOW! It is FANTASTIC!!! I made a double batch of the sauce since my cauliflower was large and it was delicious! I live in a rural area far from any take-out Chinese and so this will help to satisfy any cravings! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Michelle, I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you so much! 🙂
Jimmie May
Made this tonight for the fam. Everyone loved it! May go a little lighter on the ginger next time, but otherwise fantastic. Thanks so much!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Jimmie, I’m so glad your family liked it! Thank you for trying it and sharing your feedback. Have a nice weekend! 🙂
K
This was tasty and easy to make. The one issue I had was the cauliflower did not crisp up within the suggested time of 20 minutes. Wasn’t a big deal, I just left it in until it was sufficiently done. Other than that it worked great. I didn’t have any milk on hand and substituted water in the batter…pretty sure it didn’t make a lick of difference. I also just eyeballed the salt and added some cayenned to the batter to give it some extra flavor. I was very pleased at how quickly the sauce thicked once the broth/cornstarch mix was added. I was pleasantly surprised…cutting the cauliflower and measuring the ingredients for the sauce were about the hardest parts of this recipe.
Sarah asif
Thanks For Sharing Best and delicious Recipes, I love your work
Melissa Huggins
You’re most welcome, Sarah! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Virginia
1 am looking for tailgating recipes. Would this keep if made ahead? Thank you so much. It looks so yummy.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Virginia, I haven’t tried making it ahead yet. I’m not sure if the cauliflower will turn soggy. I’m sorry I can’t be more help.
Natalie Stocks
Fab u lous!!!! This recipe was absolutely delicious!!! Thank you for such clear directions! I’ve always been intimidated to try Adian cuisine at home. Thanks to you, I was able to make this even better than takw-out!
Melissa Huggins
This is such a nice compliment! Thank you for giving it a try and sharing your feedback. 🙂
Ilene
Will be trying this soon! This is a great meatless meal idea.
Melissa Huggins
Thank you, Ilene! 🙂
Eric
Thank you for the recipe! Definitely one of the best recipes we’ve made since going plant-based! We only did 1 tsp of sriracha for our daughter, but she loved her cauliflower “chicken nuggets.”
Melissa Huggins
I’m so glad that your family liked it. Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Kara
This dish was excellent. My husband said, “We could serve this to guests.” As vegans, we don’t often invite people over for dinner, but I guess now we can.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Kara, this is such a lovely compliment! I’m so glad you both loved it. Thank you 🙂
Joeyduck
This was so good. I didn’t have any sriracha and I did add just a tiny pit of brown sugar. It was very filling and my crappy meat eating husband even said “That’s not bad” LOL
Joeyduck
Wow I should have proofread my post. “tiny bid of brown sugar” and “my crabby meat eating husband”
Melissa Huggins
Your comment was the first thing I saw this morning! I loved the typo and it made me chuckle! Thank you for giving the recipe a try. I’m glad your hubby liked it too 🙂
Vegan.mama
Great recipe – I added a tablespoon of peanut butter – fabulous!
Melissa Huggins
Thank you so much! It sounds wonderful with the peanut butter. I’m totally trying that next time 🙂
Catherine
Wow, what a fabulous recipe. It was so fun and easy to make, I was really excited to sit down with a big bowl. Nice spice.
Cathy
Made this tonight Melissa. Just delicious. Chinese food near us isn’t always good so I like to find good, light Asian recipes. Thanks for another great recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Cathy, I’m so happy you liked it! We don’t have any good Chinese food places near us either. We have to drive pretty far, so I like making it at home. Thank you for making it and sharing your feedback. 🙂
Jani Revas
I’m making these as I write this. Its rare I have all the ingredients to make a recipe but I do this time. Cant wait thisnoooks so good.