Orange Cauliflower
on Nov 16, 2021, Updated Apr 12, 2024
This baked orange cauliflower is a vegetarian version of Chinese Orange Chicken. The homemade orange sauce with crispy bites of cauliflower is so delicious!
Cauliflower is all the rage in vegetarian cooking, and for good reason.
This crispy orange cauliflower is baked, not fried, and is a crazy delicious dupe for orange chicken.
When I was making my orange tofu recipe, I just knew that crispy chunks of cauliflower needed to happen next!
It took me four times to perfect my orange sauce recipe, and now I’m using it on everything!
While I love a good classic stir fry sauce, or teriyaki sauce, there is just something so good about a homemade orange sauce.
It brings all the flavor of takeout to your dinner table.
I have now made this sauce with all kinds of stir fry recipes and it is such a fun change!
How to Make Orange Cauliflower
Step 1: Wash and cut up a head of cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
Step 2: In a small bowl, mix together flour, water, and seasonings to make the batter for dipping.
In a separate bowl add the panko bread crumbs.
Step 3: Dip each piece of cauliflower into the batter, then tap off any excess.
Roll in the panko bread crumbs to coat.
Place each piece of cauliflower onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
The parchment paper will make sure that the cauliflower gets nice and crispy without sticking.
Try not to let the pieces touch as they might stick together.
Step 4: Bake the cauliflower at 425 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes, flipping at least once halfway through.
This will allow the pieces to get crispy on all sides.
The end result should be super crisp bite sized pieces.
I used this same method to make this Teriyaki Cauliflower as a copycat for vegan Teriyaki Chicken!
Step 5: While the cauliflower is cooking, you will make a batch of the homemade orange sauce on the stove.
What is orange sauce made of?
Homemade orange sauce is made of orange juice, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and minced ginger.
Step 6: Once the cauliflower is done cooking, add it to the orange sauce and stir until the bites of cauliflower are totally coated.
Serve this orange cauliflower over white rice for the ultimate takeout style dinner!
Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if you want to.
I was delighted how much this tasted like orange chicken, and it was even delicious reheated the next day.
The oven gets the cauliflower crispy without frying it, making this a much lighter recipe.
The panko bread crumbs give it that great breaded texture!
If you love orange sauce takeout, this orange cauliflower recipe is a must try.
White rice is a must, in my opinion, just like you would eat it if you ordered takeout!
If you love stir fry recipes, be sure to checkout these Teriyaki Vegetables too.
Orange Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
For the Orange Sauce
for serving
- 4 servings cooked white rice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Wash and cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces
- In a bowl, combine the water, flour, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt
- Place the panko bread crumbs in a separate bowl
- Dip each piece of cauliflower in the water/flour mixture, tap off excess, then roll in the panko bread crumbs. Add more bread crumbs if necessary.
- Place the breaded pieces of cauliflower on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 425 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes, flipping at least once, until crispy on all sides.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, make a batch of orange sauce
- Once the cauliflower is finished cooking, add to the orange sauce and stir to coat
- Serve orange cauliflower over white rice and top with optional sesame seeds and green onions, if desired
When my 20 year old meat eating son says “this is fricking good”. I know the recipe is a keeper
Love to hear that! So glad your family enjoyed the recipe Laura 🙂
I just made this, and it was so awesome! I can’t wait to do this with chicken, but the cauliflower was perfect too!
You don’t mention cauliflower in the ingredients! How much does this call for?
so sorry, it’s been updated! 1 head of cauliflower 🙂