This baked orange cauliflower is a vegetarian version of Chinese Orange Chicken. The sticky orange sauce and crispy bites of cauliflower are sure to delight your tastebuds! Guaranteed to make your family love to eat more cauliflower.

orange cauliflower with white rice in a white bowl

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!

orange cauliflower with white sesame seeds sprinkled on top

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.

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

breaded cauliflower bites on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

First, start but washing and cutting up a head of cauliflower into bite sized pieces.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, water, and seasonings to make the batter for dipping.

In another bowl you will have the panko bread crumbs.

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.

the cooked crispy cauliflower bites on the baking sheet

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 as pictured above.

I used this same method to make this Teriyaki Cauliflower as a copycat for vegan Teriyaki Chicken!

While the cauliflower is cooking, you will make a batch of the homemade orange sauce on the stove.

a spoon taking a dip of orange sauce for orange tofu or orange chicken

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.

Once the cauliflower is done cooking, add it to the orange sauce and stir until the bites of cauliflower are totally coated.

Serve over white rice for the ultimate takeout style dinner!

I was actually shocked how much this tasted like orange chicken, and it was even delicious reheated the next day!

a fork with a bite of orange cauliflower

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 recipe is a must try!

Top with optional sesame seeds and green onions, or serve as is.

White rice is a must, in my opinion, just like you would eat it if you ordered takeout!

orange cauliflower over white rice with orange sauce dripping down

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Yield: 4 servings

Orange Cauliflower Recipe

Name: Orange Cauliflower Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 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; 1 batch of Orange Sauce; 4 servings cooked white rice

This crispy baked orange cauliflower is the vegetarian version of the classic Chinese favorite Orange Chicken!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

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

1 batch of 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

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 453Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 566mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 12g