Sticky Sesame Cauliflower

Make your own Chinese food at home with this Sticky Sesame Cauliflower with a healthy twist. Vegan, baked, and made with no refined sugar!

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 35

Servings: people

Calories: 386kcal

Author: Sarah McMinn

Ingredients

Battered Cauliflower

½ large cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets
½ cup chickpea flour
½ cup warm water
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil

Sticky Sesame Sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
¼ cup soy sauce
3 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Everything Else

½ cup uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon sesame seeds,
1 green onion, sliced thin

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Begin by cooking the rice according to the rice package instructions. While rice is cooking, prepare your cauliflower.
Preheat oven to 450 F. In a shallow mixing bowl, combine chickpea flour and water, whisking together until thick and gooey. This will act as your binder between the cauliflower and flour mixture. In a separate shallow bowl combine flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Pour 1 tablespoon of cooking oil into a heavy bottom baking dish or large cast iron skillet. Dip each floret into the chickpea flour mixture until completely submerged, then dip it immediately into the flour mixture, coating thoroughly. Place the battered cauliflower in the baking dish and repeat until all the cauliflower is covered.
Bake for 10 minutes. Pull out of the oven, flip cauliflower over and brush or spray the additional 1 tablespoon of oil on the top of the florets. Bake for another 10 minutes.
While cauliflower is baking, make your sauce. Begin by heating up sesame oil in a small pan. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Whisk in remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour all but 2 tablespoon of sauce over the battered cauliflower and bake for another 5-10 minutes until sauce is sticky and thick.
Serve immediately over cooked rice. Top with sesame seeds, green onion, and remaining 2 tablespoon of sauce.

Notes

Serving and Storing - Serve this recipe over rice with green onions and sesame seeds. You could also serve these cauliflower wings in a salad over Romaine lettuce. Do not let it sit out too long. They will eventually lose their crispiness. This recipe does not store well. It should be eaten on the same day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the cauliflower be cooked in an air fryer? Why, yes! If you want to try air frying this Sticky Sesame Cauliflower, follow these instructions to cook your cauliflower in the air fryer. I didn’t use an air fryer for this recipe because I wanted to make it more accessible to everyone, but I have had great results with air-fried cauliflower wings with that method.

Can these Cauliflower Wings be Gluten-Free? Yes. For those of you who are gluten-free, I have had luck using this 1:1 gluten-free flour blend for the breading of the cauliflower wings. If you try other flour alternatives, please let us know how it goes!

Nutrition