Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Bites – Sweet, spicy, baked cauliflower bites topped with an amazing Asian-inspired sticky sauce! Serve them as finger food appetizers or as the main course over rice for a delicious veggie dinner.
Baked cauliflower bites, also known as “wings”, are sticky, sweet, spicy and healthy. They are the best veggie wings I’ve ever tried!
Hey Hey! ‘Sup?? How’s your week so far? I was supposed to be on a plane at this very moment…✈ To get away for 5 days and have some fun in Salt Lake City, buuuut my babysitters decided that a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old for 5 DAYS was too much… I don’t blame them! I was surprised when they accepted the challenge a few months back.
So, now, here I am, talking to you, my bloggy people, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And we’re going to talk about cauliflower bites!
Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Bites
Have you tried these guys, yet? It’s sticky cauliflower. As in sticky chicken, but minus the chicken. It’s pretty darn good! You won’t even miss the chicken, I promise.
HOW TO MAKE STICKY SESAME CAULIFLOWER BITES
- You’re looking at cauliflower florets dipped in egg whites and covered in seasoned panko crumbs.
- They are then transferred to a baking sheet for a little fun in the sun. Well, their sun… and our oven.
- The idea here is to get them to crisp up in the oven before they meet their destiny with this damn good sauce and then our bellies.
SWEET STICKY SAUCE
- That skillet up there is filled with all-things amazing; soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, chili sauce, garlic… drooling, yet? I AM! The sauce has a lovely balance of sweet, spicy, and savory.
We’re also adding sesame seeds for its nutty notes and crunchy texture.
I hope you make yourself a batch of these guys pretty soon, maybe over the weekend. It’s a great snack, an appetizer, or make-believe chicken.
Sidenote: About sticky chicken: pleeeeease try my Sticky Chicken Thighs... Holy Lord, they’re beyond!
ENJOY!
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TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS USED IN THIS RECIPE
Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Bites
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 whole egg whites
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil or vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce or sriracha
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
- chopped green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add egg whites to a large ziploc bag; add cauliflower florets, close the bag, and shake it around until everything is well combined.
- In a separate ziploc bag combine panko crumbs, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; add cauliflower florets to the bag, close it, and shake it around until everything is well combined.
- Transfer cauliflower florets to previously prepared baking sheet; bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
- In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
- In a nonstick skillet set over medium heat, combine sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and garlic; bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl combine cornstarch and water and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.
- Add cornstarch mixture to soy sauce mixture and stir to combine; remove from heat.
- Remove cauliflower florets from oven and either add them to the sauce OR pour sauce over the florets. Mix until well combined.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
- Serve as appetizer or serve over rice.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Yum! Definitely cook longer with the cornstarch (as mentioned in previous comments).
I used the yolk in the eggs too and used 3 eggs for a sizeable cauliflower head. Didn’t have any problems with the panko sticking.
I didn’t have enough sauce so I would double the recipe. I used half ACV and half rice vinegar.
I made lettuce wraps with these! I wrapped the cauliflower, sauteed peppers/onions, chopped peanuts and green onions in butter lettuce and topped it with a bit more of the sauce. It was the best meal I’ve made in a long time! Soo delicious.
Do you think I could roast these early, then reheat when I arrive to the house I will be serving them at? And how about the sauce, could I make that and reheat it when needed?
Five minutes into simmering the sauce add the water and corn starch mixture and allow it to heat for the remaining 5 minutes steering occasionally. Used four egg whites not two, and that really made a world of difference in the panko sticking. Tossed them in a bowl with a spatula several times which ensured they were coated on egg then tossed them in small batches into panko crumbs in another bowl.
Made this tonight. It was divine. The sauce was delicious. Will be making this again soon. Yum
The apple cider vinegar killed it if I try it again we will skip that
The crumbs did not stick to the florets at all so I had piles of breadcrumbs and bare florets once I added the sauce…The sauce was heavenly in aroma and flavor, but as others mentioned- cook the mixture with the cornstarch for a few minutes to thicken. Actually, I thought it was a nicer sticky consistency without the water and cornstarch, so if I try it again I will double the sauce and not add the cornstarch mixture. Any suggestions for coating the cauliflower better with the crumbs? Maybe my cauliflower head was too big and it needed more egg white…? Perhaps a measurement of the cauliflower would be more useful than “one head”.
My bread crumbs didn’t stick to my cauliflower either. But my sauce was great. I did cut the honey in half and added a few pinches of brown sugar.
This recipe just did not work for me. I guess the Panko bread crumbs I used were too big because they did not stick to the cauliflower at all. The Apple cider vingar was really over powering and really ruined the sauce for me. If I try again I will coat the cauliflower in flower and will use rice vinegar instead of apple cider.
The sauce didn’t thicken up for me? Any ideas why? I followed the recipe exactly
Try either increasing the amount of cornstarch or reducing the water that the cornstarch dissolves in.
Cook it with the cornstarch for a few minutes, then it really thickens up
I let it cook, stirring constantly, after adding the corn starch. I took it off and added it to my cauliflower after the sauce reached the thickness I wanted.
Hope that helps 🙂
Do you have a recipe for Asian calamari – similar to the above recipe?