This sticky sesame cauliflower is batter-dipped and baked (not fried!), then drenched in a mouthwatering sweet and spicy sesame sauce. Serve it over rice for a scrumptious vegan main dish, or skewer the pieces for a killer party appetizer.
We're lucky to have a handful of vegan Chinese restaurants in the Philadelphia area. You know — places where the menu looks just like a typical takeout spot, but everything is meat-free and incredibly delicious. A lot of those dishes are made with seitan, like my vegan pepper steak, and often fried seitan, like my vegan Mongolian beef. Seitan does do an amazing job mimicking classic takeout favorites.
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But here's the thing: you don’t actually need to deep-fry anything or even use seitan to create crispy, sticky, crave-worthy Chinese takeout remakes. Cauliflower is totally up for the task. I’ve used it in recipes like my Hunan cauliflower, but it works especially well when you batter, bake, and smother it in a sweet, sticky sauce, which is exactly what we're doing with this sticky sesame cauliflower recipe.
The result is delish! And it's really easy to make in about half an hour. It's great on its own or paired with other vegan Chinese-inspired dishes, like vegan fried rice or vegan chow mein, and frankly, you won't miss that deep-fried takeout version one bit.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Vegetable oil. You can use pretty much any neutral high-heat oil you normally like to cook with, such as peanut, canola, or corn oil.
- Non-dairy milk. Use an unsweetened variety that's suitable for drinking, like soy, almond, or oat milk. Check out my guide to dairy-free milk if you need help choosing.
- Whole wheat flour. White flour also works.
- Salt.
- Baking powder.
- Cauliflower.
- Soy sauce. Tamari and liquid aminos work if you need a substitute.
- Maple syrup. Feel free to swap this out with another liquid sweetener, like agave or coconut nectar.
- Rice vinegar. Most stores carry this in the international aisle.
- Toasted sesame oil. This is also available in the international aisle.
- Fresh ginger.
- Garlic.
- Sriracha sauce. You can skip this if you prefer a milder version of the dish. If you do use it, make sure it's a vegan brand (not all are). I've linked to one that I like in the recipe card.
- Water.
- Cornstarch.
- Scallions. Also known as green onions.
- Toasted sesame seeds.
- Rice. This is optional, but a nice accompaniment if you're serving your sticky sesame cauliflower as a main dish.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Prepare. Preheat your oven to 450°F and lightly oil the bottom of a roasting pan or oven-safe skillet. Place the skillet or pan into the oven to heat up.
Step 2: Batter the cauliflower. Whisk your non-dairy milk, flour, salt, and baking powder together, then dip each cauliflower floret in the batter. Shake off excess batter, then arrange the florets on the baking sheet. Place the cauliflower into the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Make the sauce. Simmer a mixture of soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and sriracha for 10 minutes. Combine cornstarch and cold water, then add it to the sauce, and bring the sauce back up to a simmer. Take it off heat once it thickens.
Step 4: Turn the cauliflower. Gently flip the pieces, then lightly brush them with oil. This will help with browning. Stick them back into the oven to bake for another 5 minutes.
Step 5: Sauce the cauliflower. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, then toss to coat. Place them back into the oven for a few minutes longer, until the sauce thickens just slightly and clings to the cauliflower.
Step 6: Serve. Give your sticky sesame cauliflower a sprinkle of chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve it over rice for a main dish, or skewer individual pieces as appetizers.
Variations
- Spicy sticky sesame cauliflower. Increase the sriracha or add crushed chili flakes to turn up the heat.
- Add veggies. This recipe makes a generous amount of sauce, so feel free to add steamed or stir-fried veggies like broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, or green beans.
- Serve over noodles. Skip the rice and instead serve your sticky sesame cauliflower over rice vermicelli.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possibly, but I haven't tested a gluten-free version. If you'd like to try it with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, just keep in mind that you may need to adjust the flour-to-milk ratio. You want the batter to be about as thick as pancake batter, so it just clings to the florets. You'll also need to replace the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari.
Skipping the step of preheating the oven and pan can cause this. The cauliflower needs to start cooking at a high temperature to stop the batter from running off.
Most of the sodium comes from the soy sauce, so reduce the amount a bit or use a reduced-sodium variety.
Leftover sticky sesame cauliflower will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days. Fair warning: the coating will suck up sauce and get soggy. It'll still taste good, though.
More Cauliflower Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or as needed, divided
- 1 ¼ cups unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large cauliflower crown, broken into florets
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For Serving
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Cooked rice, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F (preheating is crucial here, so don't skip it). Coat the bottom of a large roasting pan or oven-safe skillet with one tablespoon of the oil, then place it into the oven while it preheats.
- Whisk the milk, flour, salt, and baking powder together in a small bowl to make the batter. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter to coat. Gently shake off any excess batter, then arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer in the roasting pan or skillet. Bake the cauliflower for 10 minutes.
- Make the sauce while the cauliflower bakes. Combine the soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and sriracha in a small saucepan, then place it over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk or stir the cornstarch and cold water together in a small container. Once the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, stir in the cornstarch mixture, then return the sauce to a simmer. It will thicken quickly once it begins simmering — remove the pot from heat once it does.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven after it has baked for 10 minutes. Flip, then lightly brush the florets with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Return the cauliflower to the oven and bake 5 minutes more, until the florets are lightly browned.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and pour the sauce over the florets. Gently toss to coat the cauliflower in the sauce. Return the cauliflower to the oven and bake 3-4 minutes more, just until the sauce becomes very sticky and clings to the florets.
- Serve over rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions.
Notes
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Just using the sauce for tofu but very yummy
I lovethis yummy recipe! Do you have the calorie and macros information?
I enjoyed this recipe a lot. I didn’t have Sriracha so I subbed sambal oelek instead (same amount) and it was perfect. The coating did not stay on the cauliflower even though I added 1/4 cup chickpea flour to thicken it up a bit, but it was good without it. I ate it over riced cauliflower and then had leftovers in a whole wheat flaxseed tortilla leaving the cauliflower on the cooler side of warm. Delish! Thanks for the recipe.
So, I agree with Sachi from December 2017 - The preparation times are unrealistic. There's a lot of prep work involved and I feel THAT time should be included in the recipe, The last step when the sauce covered cauliflower bit go back in the oven to "crisp" wasn't so successful. We gave up and ate it soft and it WAS quite tasty.
This is fantastic! We've made this a few times and would definitely make again. This sauce is fantastic, and we've also tried this with our own sweet and sour sauce with 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2.5 tbsp sugar, and 1/4 cup ketchup. This is a super versatile recipe, and we can't wait to make it again!
I tried this tonight.....family taste tested and then could not wait for dinner to truly eat a full portion. Although my batter was very thick, which might mean I left out so fluid some where along the way — probably when adding the veggie broth, or rather not addisng it in. I used a condensed version. If it were thinner it would have covered the whole head. But 2/3’s was plenty. Thank you.
Sauce was tasty but a total disaster. It did not thicken up on the stove at all. Only after I made it did I read another review that said you need to bring it back to a boil after you add the cornstarch. Looks like a watery swimming pool on the baking tray and a total mess to clean up and no sticky sauce on the cauliflower so I was very disappointed with the instructions and execution of this recipe despite the good flavours.
This was better than the sesame tofu I always order at my favorite Thai restaurant!! It was great with your I made a huge mess, though. I used two different sheet pans for the cauliflower, and for some reason, it really stuck to one of them. I mean, seriously stuck!! That pan will never be the same. Next time I'll try baking them on foil or parchment paper; and there definitely will be a next time. My husband and I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers for dinner the very next day. Thanks so much for another great recipe. You're my favorite recipe mater because I've loved everything I've tried (and I've tried a lot!), with one exception: the meatloaf. Not my fave, but my husband and son loved it; so it's still a winner.
Oops, I posted my comment before I was finished. In the second sentence, I meant to say that it was great with your smoky tofu dumplings on the side. I made 75 dumplings a couple of weeks and froze them. Now I can just pan fry a few when I need them. They are soooo good!
That sounds like a delicious meal! I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes and that this one was a hit! Thanks so much Melanie!
We are on vacation and I didn’t want to buy a whole bag of whole wheat flour so I used whole wheat pancake mix and powdered soymilk plus water. It was delicious. Any idea how much protein per serving for this recipe?
Oh great idea! I'm glad it worked out! It probably doesn't have a whole lot of protein. I'm slowly adding nutrition facts to my recipes and haven't gotten to this one yet, but I'm guessing 4 to 5 grams.
Can I use white flour - on vacation- they might not have whole wheat locally ?
Yup! That will work just fine!
Would this recipe work with tofu? Thank you!
It should! Try cooking the tofu using this method: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/teriyaki-tofu/
SO great, the sauce reminded me of the guilty take out flavor!
If anyone out there is reading this - an AIR FRYER makes this cauliflower even better and no oil was needed. We just got one and are obsessed with trying every recipe in it. Did not disappoint :)
I have to get ahold of an air fryer so I can try that out! Thanks Jaclyn!
I am in the middle of making these and already off to an odd start. Your milk to flour ratio turns to goo like literally paper mache is waterier (made up word:) )
I am gluten free so I used gluten free flour so I'm going to still try and hope your comments are true and it actually tastes good.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong it it doesn't work with normal flour?
I'll let you know how it turns out
Sorry it's not working out for you! I'm guessing it's the gluten-free flour. I haven't tried the recipe with anything but wheat flour, so that's the only one that I know for sure works. Most people who have trouble actually say the batter is too runny.
love this! I made it tonight, with just a few adjustments (added about ¼ cup chickpea flour to thicken batter, used some brown sugar since I only had a tiny bit of syrup left, ended up using more starch than the recipe called for- maybe because it was arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch?) Anyhow, tiny, minor adjustments. The recipe is awesome :) We had enough sauce for two small heads of cauli, and then to add to sautéed bell peppers and baby bok choy to add to the meal. My husband couldn't stop raving about it. Thanks!! (now will you come clean my kitchen?! it's a mess!) ;)
Yay!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And OMG, I know the feeling - my kitchen is a perpetual mess!!
I followed the recipe exactly, but the breading didn't work for me either - it fell right off the cauliflower. But the sauce was great so next time I will probably just skip the batter altogether. For the sauce, you should continue to heat and stir after adding the cornstarch. It needs to come back to a boil, then it will start to thicken. It only needs a light boil for a coupleminutes to thicken enough to stick to the cauliflower. Suggested cook times worked perfect for me. The texture of the cauliflower was just right - firm, but not crunchy.
Thank you for the tips! I actually posted a similar recipe recently, but with a different breading - you could try that breading with this sauce if you like: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/sticky-lemon-cauliflower/
That is all kind of crazy delicious. I forgot the sriracha but it still tasted amazing. Some crisp, much sticky. Mmmmm.
I'm so happy to hear that!! Thanks Lee!
Hi Allisa,
This sticky sesame cauliflower looks so tasty. Will have to give this a try. The recipe for the batter looks great. Broccoli would also go well I think to but cauliflower is such a great veggie. :) I never thought to use maple syrup to sweeten, its a good idea.
Great recipe!
Thanks Ana!! I think broccoli would be an awesome way to switch things up!
I love this recipe. I've made it several times and it's always a big hit with my family. BUT, the cooking times are completely unrealistic. It always takes me at least twice as long (and I cook a lot, so I'm usually pretty quick in the kitchen). It's as if measuring, chopping, taking out and putting away the ingredients were not included in the time calculations... not to mention clean up! It's worth the time because it's so good, but it'd be nice to have a more realistic estimation of how long you'll spend making it.
Thanks for the feedback! I'll definitely take it into consideration!