I’m not exaggerating when I say that this Baked General Tso’s Cauliflower tastes better than the Chinese takeout we all know and love (but without the frying or meat!)
Longtime readers might recognize this oldie, but I just had to bring it back from the depths of the blog. Partially because it was deserving of some fresh new photos, and mostly because I was having some serious Chinese takeout cravings. Some reasons why this Baked General Tso’s Cauliflower is so excitement inducing:
Because it tastes JUST like Chinese takeout. You know, the sticky, flavor-packed American-style Chinese takeout (huge deal for us expats who are hankering for a taste of home)
And because even though it’s 100% cauliflower, the texture and flavor is 100% delicious. And because I couldn’t stop eating this until the tulip-man had no choice but to roll me out of the kitchen.
Oh, and because it’s not fried but baked (panko breadcrumbs + baking make it perfectly crisp)!
General Tso’s Cauliflower Ingredients
Cauliflower: Bite-sized cauliflower florets make up the base of this recipe, which cooks to tender perfection in the oven.
Breading: To create a crispy coating without frying, we’ll bread the cauliflower in flour, then egg, then panko bread crumbs. This goes quickly if you have a second set of hands to help you out!
General Tso’s Sauce: While the cauliflower cooks, we’ll whip up a quick sauce to coat the cauliflower. A combination of garlic, ginger, broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato paste, which we’ll thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Feel free to spice it up with a pinch of red chili flakes!
How to make General Tso Cauliflower
Making this General Tso’s Cauliflower is so easy, friends, although I’ll admit it can take a little while to dredge the cauliflower. Here’s how to make it:
- Chop cauliflower into chunks
- Dredge the chunks in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs
- Bake until crispy (in your oven or air fryer)
- Coat with General Tso’s sauce
- DEVOUR
This General Tso’s Cauliflower is best served over a pile of rice or quinoa. Pair it with something fresh, like these Vietnamese Spring Rolls!
If you loved this recipe, be sure to try out Sticky Garlic Cauliflower and Sticky Orange Cauliflower! The base of the recipe is almost the same, with different sauces that taste like your other Chinese takeout favorites!
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- ½ head cauliflower
- ½ cup flour 60g
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 50 g
- ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
General Tso's Sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil 15 mL
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- ½ cup vegetable broth 120 mL
- ¼ cup soy sauce 60 mL
- ¼ cup rice vinegar 60 mL
- ¼ cup brown sugar 50 g
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste 30 g
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp (30 mL) cold water 15 g
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C)*. Arrange workspace, placing flour, egg, and panko in separate bowls. Mix salt and pepper into panko. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets.
- Dredge: Working in batches, coat the florets in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy.
- Sauce: Set a small saucepan over medium heat and add the sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant, then add remaining sauce ingredients except the cornstarch mixture. Whisk to combine and bring to a simmer. While whisking, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture. It should thicken quite quickly; if not, continue simmering until thick.
- Assemble: Drizzle sauce over the baked cauliflower and gently toss to evenly coat. Serve cauliflower over warm rice or quinoa.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
Susanne says
Loved it!!!
Sarah says
Thanks, Susanne! 😀
Karen says
hi.. wonder if you could use stevia instead of sugar?
Sarah says
Hi Karen, I haven’t tried this substitute but I have a feeling using pure stevia instead would affect the texture. The sugar, when melted, brings a bit of stickiness to the sauce, which I’m not sure you would get with stevia. Perhaps you could try a brown sugar stevia blend? 🙂
Namita says
Hi!
I really want to try this, any idea what I could use as a substitute for eggs?
Thank you 🙂
Sarah says
Hi Namita! Cream or plain yogurt would work, or for dairy-free you could try “flax eggs“
Ken says
Sorry, Sarah – but this one just didn’t deliver for us. A week ago we ordered an order of General Tso’s Cauliflower as an appetizer for our table of friends at a local brewpub, and it lasted about 5 minutes. Salty-sweet, crisp, hot and munchable. These were almost certainly deep-fried and probably not vegetarian. Also probably way more sugar than I’m shooting for in my diet. I ate them anyway, with gusto. So I was excited when I saw your post for a home-baked version (we don’t deep-fry anything in this house, ever.) Sadly, the comparison was not favorable. I fear that there’s something essential in the deep-frying process needed to caramelize the sugar in the glaze, for starters. I would love to be proven wrong in this! I may experiment with tweaking your recipe, starting with less tomato paste, more brown sugar, and less vinegar. I saw another recipe for G T ‘s sauce that insisted on using a certain Chinese dark vineger, and thankfully our Asian grocery down the street carries it. Wish me luck.
Sarah says
Sorry to hear, Ken! Thanks for your thoughtful review and I would love to know if you make any changes that put this recipe back in your favor! 😀
Liz says
This was delicious! It’s sure to become a staple in my house 🙂
Sarah says
Yay! So happy to hear, Liz! 😀
GW says
This really is better than the original. Thanks
Sarah says
So happy to hear! Enjoy! 😀
Jennifer S says
I made this for my daughter and she loved it. She does not like cauliflower, either
I did use store-bought sauce, though…
Hanna says
This was so delicious! Next time I’ll double the sauce though—or maybe my cauliflower head was a lot bigger. It didn’t fully coat them. But still worth it!
Sarah Bond says
Good to know, thanks for the tip Hanna! 😀
Teena says
I would love to try this, but I would prefer to use my air fryer. How long should I air fry it?
Sarah says
Great question, Teena! I would do 375°F (190°C) for 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy! 😀
Carmen says
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing. Love how the ginger comes thru!
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, Carmen! 😀
Cheryl says
Thank you, this is the first time I have been to your site and tried a recipe (found you on Pinterest). I have to say well done, this was super tasty, even my meat loving husband rated it highly. And I loved that it was baked not fried. Well done!
Sarah says
Ah so happy to hear it, Cheryl! 😀
Destiny and SaVanna says
Turned out so deliciously!! The only issue we had was not enough sauce and egg. We had an abnormally large head of cauliflower, probably GMO unfortunately LOL. Also the egg and breadcrumbs ran out, and the sauce didn’t drench the cauliflower like traditional General Tso’s would. I suggest doubling the sauce recipe, and the egg and breadcrumbs if you have a bigger head of cauliflower like we did hehe. This turned out amazing, nonetheless! Thanks Sarah!
Sarah says
Thanks for letting us know how it went! 😀
Melissa says
I had this last night and it was soooo good. Only thing I changed up was how I breaded the cauliflower. I made a pancake like batter out of flour and almond milk, dipped the cauliflower in that, then rolled it in the bread crumbs. Worked amazing, way less messy, and one less step!
Sarah says
Sounds like a great idea, I’ll have to try that!
Sarah says
Does this recipe work with frozen cauliflower? If you are not sure, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Sarah says
Hi Sarah! I think it would work, but definitely thaw the cauliflower completely first then dry it a bit before breading.
Jay Brodbar says
Gluten free version?
Sarah says
You could us an all-purpose GF flour 😀
Lili says
I’ve made this recipe twice now, and I can safely say that it’s foolproof! My only adjustment is that I use 2 tbsp of rice vinegar instead of 1/4 cup, but that’s just my flavor preference. I also like to bake the cauliflower for the full 20 minutes to get it really crispy. A really delicious, filling, and healthy meal.
Sarah says
So happy to hear it! Enjoy! 😀
Julie says
I added dried arbol chilies to the sauce whole, while cooking like at the take away. It was delish.
Douglas Bergeron says
Was not a fan of the sauce or the cauliflower…
Beverly valletta says
Really good! Served with fried rice!
karlo says
Yooo, this was delicious! We added onion as well for the sauce and carrots in beginning, just added more ummff to the flavour, also we did more sauce because it seemed like it would be to little for the amount of cauliflower we had and it was good decision. Thank you for the recipe!