This Sticky Sesame Cauliflower is a crowd pleaser! Cauliflower is battered and baked , then coated in sticky spicy sesame sauce and baked again. Serve as is or with rice or in lettuce cups. Vegan Gluten-free Nut-free Refined sugar free Recipe Jump to Recipe
When you need some sticky sweet tangy delicious sauced something, cauliflower fits right in. Cauliflower florets are tossed in a rice flour and starch batter and baked to crisp. The sticky sesame sauce uses sesame oil, garlic, ginger, soy/tamari, vinegar, maple syrup and some sriracha for heat for a addictive flavor profile. Brush this sticky sauce on the baked cauliflower and serve, or bake again for more sticky crispy cauliflower!
Serve it over rice, by itself or in lettuce wraps! I use sesame oil in the batter and the sauce for extra sesame flavor profile. For additional protein, add in some firm tofu, seitan or soycurls with the cauliflower. Lets make this!
Ingredients for Sticky Sesame Cauliflower and substitution options
- The Sticky Sesame Sauce has sesame oil, garlic, ginger, tamari/soy sauce, maple syrup for sweet, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and starch to thicken.
- You can use coconut aminos to make this soy-free
- Maple syrup can be subbed with sugar or other sweetener
- Omit the Sriracha for lower heat.
- The batter for the crispy cauliflower has –
- rice flour, that makes the batter crisp and non doughy on baking. You can use a mix of half all purpose flour and half starch as a substitute.
- corn or tapioca starch to add lighter and crisp texture
- sesame oil for more sesame profile
- black pepper, salt and garlic for flavor
- garnished of lightly toasted white sesame and black sesame seeds and scallions.
How to make Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
Transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet or dish and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, assemble the sauce ingredients. Saute the ginger and garlic in sesame oil for a minute, then add the soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha and maple syrup and bring to a boil.
Add cornstarch slurry and cook to thicken.
Brush the sticky thick sauce on the cauliflower florets or add the florets to the sauce and mix gently. Then bake again.
Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions and serve over rice.
Tips to make Crispy Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
- For a nicely crispy result, bake the cauliflower on a baking sheet.
- Bake the sauce coated cauliflower for longer.
- Use smaller size cauliflower florets
If you plan to serve the sauced cauliflower without baking, you can add another tsp starch for extra thick sauce that will glaze the cauliflower.
More Cauliflower Recipes
- Taco Spice roasted Cauliflower
- Spicy Pepper Cauliflower Bites
- Mango Sriracha Cauliflower
- Aloo Gobi – Baked
- Nashville Cauliflower Bites
- Kung Pao Cauliflower
Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Recipe (Gluten free Vegan)
Ingredients
Sesame Soy Sauce:
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
- 1/3 cup (78.86 ml) maple syrup
- 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 2 tsp cornstarch or 1.5 tsp tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) cold water
Cauliflower:
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 3 tbsp tapioca or corn starch.
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- dash of black pepper and cayenne
- 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) water
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 (265 g) small head of cauliflower , chopped into equal size florets
- Garnish: sesame seeds and scallions
Instructions
- Sticky Sesame Sauce: Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Cook the garlic ginger for a minute. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple and bring to boil. Mix cornstarch in the water and add this cornstarch slurry and bring to a boil to thicken, Take off heat.
- Cauliflower: Preheat the oven to 425 deg F ( 220 C). Line a baking sheet or dish with parchment. In a large bowl add the dry ingredients for the batter and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients and min until smooth.
- Add the cauliflower and mix to coat. This batter keeps thickening as it sits, so mix and toss quickly.
- Transfer to the the lined baking sheet. and bake for 30 mins. Make the sticky sauce in the meanwhile if you havent yet.
- Once baked, you can do one of the following: 1. Brush the sauce over the cauliflower florets and bake for additional 10 to 15 mins (time depends on how crisp and sticky you want the sauce)2. Wait for a few mins then transfer the florets to the sauce. Mix gently to coat. Serve immediately or transfer to the baking sheet to bake for 10 to 15 mins.
- Sprinkle black and white sesame seeds and chopped scallions and serve as is, or over rice or in lettuce wraps!
THIS was cauliflower heaven! Even my picky teens gobbled it up. I used tapioca flour vs rice flour and it was crispy perfection. Also used Coconut aminos vs tamari and just delicious!
like cauliflower clouds of heaven!
Too much ginger, too salty, not crispy.
Thought I’d try baked and not fried for a healthier version but this didn’t work at all.
Crispy until the sauce went on, then just a soggy, sticky, mess even with the extra 15 minutes in the oven after coating.
Was rightly skeptical about this.
The sauce was sooooo salty from the soy (I even used light soy) and there was way too much fresh ginger in this recipe.
I love ginger in Asian food but not when it takes over. I should have gone with my instincts – reduced the soy, only add one tsp of fresh ginger.
I am sorry it didn’t work out for you. Several 100s of people have made this with success. You can reduce the ginger and soy to preference. The crisp coating unfortunately will soften in time because of the moisture from both the sauce and the cauliflower. I like to bake them longer the first time to crisp them up really well and do a quick bake and serve immediately. Did you use rice flour for the batter? You can make the batter thicker and also toss the cauliflower in breadcrumbs for extra crispy ness.
The colifllower is in the oven, but I can say that the sause is DELISH
Awesome!! Do leave a rating too!
This is delicious! I also had to use regular flour, but it was still so good. I made jasmine rice and added peas to the rice but you could also add edamame.
I also sprinkled some cashews on top.
yum!
haven’t tried the recipe yet because i don’t have maple syrup or honey. how would i replace with brown sugar or another sugar? can’t wait to try it, thank you for sharing!
you could . just whisk well until it’s dissolved
Omg this was incredible!!! I didn’t change a thing except used both cauliflower & broccoli. Served with a cup of basmati rice and a vegetable egg roll and I’m very satiated! This one’s going in the rotation for sure. Thanks for another great recipe!
I’m just recently began embracing vegan cooking after a 20 year break for health reasons. This is fantastic, and I found low low sodium. Fusion Asian sauce that helped me keep the sodium really low.
welcome back !
To quote the boyfriend: “This is great,” “This is really good,” “This sauce is great,” “This tastes like restaurant food.”
Cauliflower didn’t get crispy – maybe used too much batter? Had to use cake flour instead of rice flour, don’t know if that changes things with the starch etc. But the sauce was %*^&ing amazing and the cauliflower was really just a sauce delivery device. Served with rice. Will 100% make again.
good to hear
Can I pre make the sauce 2 days ahead?
yes, it will keep in the fridge no problem
This is soo good! Wanna try this with rehydrated soy curls or something else next time!
great idea
This recipe is excellent, tasty and fail safe. A crowd pleaser! I am wondering if I can use this recipe & technique for other vegetables.
For example I have some leftover roasted delicata squash rings, and I was thinking this would be an excellent way to use them and get them nice and crispy instead of something like a tempura since I don’t want to deep fry them. What do you think?
good idea it would work excellent
I did try it before I heard back from you. It worked from a technical standpoint but IMO the squash rings tasted too sweet for the batter. I would try again with a different seasoning/flavor profile. At the same time, I tried some onion rings with the batter and that was excellent!
good for you for trying!
This is so delicious. I made extra, but my family ate whole thing! We are a big fan of Vegan Richa.
My goodness, your batter is better!
Threw the coated cauliflower into a hot air fryer basket and leveraged the brittleness of the rice flour batter to avoid a lumpen mess. Moved the florets from the side and bottom a few times and it was perfect. Coated with sauce, decanted to a heat- proof serving dish and air-dried again before serving.
My kitchen gets ridiculously hot and I avoid the oven whenever possible, and the recipe as is was, as usual, perfect.
wow nice methods
Shut the front door!! This is amazing! I will be making this again very soon.
Great recipe! I substituted honey because I was out of maple syrup–worked great. I would maybe reduce the amount slightly, as it was on the sweeter side. Also substituted all purpose flour and it worked great. Sauced the cauliflower and threw them back in the oven for 10 minutes. Served with rice and edamame, like someone had suggested. Tasty meal, loved it!
thanks for popping in ♡
Another great recipe! It was easy to make and so delicious. Thanks so much!
Best quarantine recipe I’ve found! It has become a staple in my house. So delicious, and not too hard to make! I sometimes add tofu for protein, and tomorrow I’m going to try adding chickpeas to see how it goes.
thank you! that’s so good to hear
I love this recipe and have made it many times! My only recommendation is to start with baking the cauliflower and then make the sauce while the cauli is baking.
This was sooo delicious!!!
can I sub the rice flour for all purpose flour?
Yes.
Simple and delicious 💞
So glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for stopping by!
I was sceptical when I tasted the batter as it was soo floury raw but cooked it was amazing! Only batter I’ve tried that gets and stays crispy from baking and not deep frying!
Used about half or a quarter of the syrup though but that’s very individual 🙂
Awesome!
This recipe was great! I used white whole wheat flour instead of rice flour, and added shelled edamame and quinoa to turn it into a balanced meal.
Wonderful flavors! Cannot wait to make it again!
Could I use glutinous rice flour? And if so would I still use the starch?
not for frying/ batters. glutinous rice flour will give a sticky texture..you cant deep fry the batter but its normally used to make sweet desserts
can this be made ahead then cooked again to finish it?
Yes I recommend preparing the cauliflower and waiting for the next time to bake it with the sauce
Excellent recipe – loads of flavours. Easy and quick – perfect for busy weeknights. I had tried various similar recipe but nothing compared to this winner. Great job!
❤️❤️
This is a great recipe. I am not a very experienced cook, but this recipe was easy to follow and delicious. I look forward to making it again and again!
Awesome
Really good flavor, love the blog in general and have done 4-5 recipes including this one which was a hit around the table.
One question if you have the time. It seemed my sauce kept separating and never gotta that stickiness I was looking for, you know what that might be? Maybe I skipped the boiling step? Or the oil/water? I added cornstarch and that didn’t seem to make a difference.
Thanks again!
Did you boil to thicken the sauce?
I *recall* doing that step, but doesn’t mean it actually happened. 🙂 Really appreciate your quick response and all of your recipes!
The oil kind of stays separate until it boils and thickens. Just cook a bit longer
So looking forward to making this, in fact about to now! But is there anything I could replace the cornstarch/tapioca with as I don’t have either in right now. Xx
If you are using rice flour then you need the starch. Else use just all purpose
I made this dish earlier this afternoon and it’s absolutely delicious! Next time, I believe I’ll make it with Soy Curls, the sauce and batter are SO GOOD!
Thank you so much for your recipes, they’re easy to follow and the flavors are amazing!
Music to my ears, thank you!
This is an excellent and easy recipe that we go back to again and again.
I’m so happy you liked it!!
This is an excellent recipe. I’ve made it before and just made it again yesterday. It’s delicious and I wouldn’t change a thing!!!!
P.S. My omnivore bf loved it so much that he used your recipe with chicken instead of cauliflower. I feel like he’s broken some kind of unwritten rule by doing this. It’s quite unsettling to say the least.
i’m glad you wouldn’t change a thing =)