Sweet & Spicy Vegan Baked Orange Cauliflower
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A classic Chinese-American takeout dish, orange chicken is a dish I grew up eating. But now it’s 2020, and it’s time to veganize it. So now, I give you: Sweet & Spicy Baked Orange Cauliflower!
My recipe for vegan orange cauliflower will bring a big smile to your face. (And that’s what food should do, right?) Battered, baked, and coated in a sweet and spicy orange sauce, this cauliflower is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and all-around delicious!
Easy to make, this recipe is the perfect thing to whip up and serve with rice on any given weeknight. But it’s so scrumptious that you’ll want to bring it to a party to impress all your friends. (Just be prepared to watch it disappear within seconds!)
I love this simple recipe for baked orange cauliflower, and I hope you do too.
Let’s make some epic Chinese food together. Like right now.
Sweet & Spicy Vegan Orange Cauliflower
This baked orange cauliflower is:
- A take on the classic Chinese-American dish
- Plant-based/vegan
- Healthy
- Crispy and tender
- Coated in a lusciously sweet, spicy, and savory orange sauce
- Easy to make
- So satisfying
The Ingredients
This recipe is based around Asian pantry staples, plus some fresh produce. I bet you have most of the things in your kitchen now.
The Orange Sauce
To make the sauce, you’ll need:
- Orange zest and juice
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Sesame oil
- Rice wine vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Agave syrup
- Chili flakes
- Corn starch
- Water
The Batter
The batter for the cauliflower requires the following:
- Flour
- Nut milk of your choice
- Salt
- Pepper
The Rest
And then you just need the cauliflower itself, and some garnishes:
- Cauliflower
- Green/spring onions
- Sesame seeds
The Method
Making this baked orange cauliflower is pretty easy. I’ll walk you through it in detail now.
1. First, preheat the oven to 200°C or 390°F.
2. Cut your cauliflower head into bite-size pieces. To do this you will:
- Remove any large leaves
- Cut around the stem, and use your fingers to break the cauliflower off of the stem into large florets.
- With your knife, cut off any large stems.
- Cut the remaining cauliflower pieces into bite-size pieces, about two inches in diameter.
3. Now, make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, nut milk, salt, and pepper.
4. Prepare a baking sheet with baking paper. Dip the cauliflower pieces into the batter, shake off any excess batter, and arrange them onto the baking sheet, ensuring they are not touching each other.
5. Bake the cauliflower for 16-18 minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked through on the inside, and crispy on the outside.
6. While the cauliflower is baking, make the sauce! Add all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking all the while. Once boiling, remove from heat and whisk until the sauce is thick.
7. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower to coat in the orange sauce.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and serve, either over rice or as party finger food!
To sum it up, all you need to do is cut, batter, and bake some cauliflower, and while it’s baking, you make an epic sauce to coat it. Then you combine the two elements and eat it!
And there you have it. Easy, easy. Love it.
How to Make Sweet & Spicy Vegan
Baked Orange Cauliflower
This baked orange cauliflower is the answer to a quick and easy “what’s for dinner?” weeknight situation. It’s an epic dish to bring to a party as finger food. It can also be one component of a huge Asian feast with friends.
It’s the answer when you’re hungry, and you happen to have a cauliflower and some oranges on hand. Because the other ingredients, well, I’d guess you already have them in your pantry.
This means that whenever you’re ready for a vegan baked orange cauliflower party, you can have one.
Sweeeeeeeet.
Want more vegan Asian-inspired recipes? Check out these favorites:
- Chinese-American Sweet & Sour Tofu
- Vietnamese Noodle Salad (Bún Chay)
- Thai Mango Sticky Rice
- Indian Chickpea and Potato Curry (Chana Aloo Masala)
- Indonesian Gado Gado Salad
Sweet & Spicy Orange Cauliflower (Vegan)
This vegan baked orange cauliflower recipe yields tender, yet crispy cauliflower bites, tossed in a delicious sweet and spicy orange sauce. Serve in a bowl with rice, or as party finger food.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the cauliflower:
- 3/4 cup nut milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt (freshly cracked)
- 1/2 tsp pepper (freshly cracked)
For the orange sauce:
- 1 orange (zested)
- 1/2 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tsp agave syrup
- 1 tsp dried chili flakes (or to taste)
- 1 tsp ginger (freshly grated)
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 cup water or vegetable stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C or 390°F.
- Cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces, about two inches in diameter. Try to cut all cauliflower pieces into the same size.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, nut milk, salt, and pepper.
- Prepare a baking sheet with baking paper. Dip the cauliflower pieces into the batter, shake off any excess batter, and arrange them onto the baking sheet. Ensure the pieces do not touch each other.
- Bake the cauliflower for 16-18 minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked through on the inside, and crispy on the outside.
- While the cauliflower bakes, make the sauce. Add all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking slowly all the while. Once boiling, remove from heat and whisk furiously until the sauce is thick.
- In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower to coat in the orange sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and serve, either over rice or as party finger food!
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