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Skip the takeout and try this General Tso’s cauliflower instead! Crispy, saucy, and downright addictive (peep the dozens of 5-star reviews!), this plant-based twist on the Chinese classic delivers all the flavor without the frying—or the meat. Bonus: it’s ready in 30 minutes and can be baked or air-fried!
save this recipe!This Is Way Better Than Takeout
This General Tso’s cauliflower is an oldie but a goodie—and for good reason. It tastes just like your favorite sticky, flavor-packed Chinese takeout, but with a plant-based twist that’ll knock your socks off.
Yes, it’s made entirely from cauliflower, and yes, the texture is mind-blowingly tender and meaty. Smothered in a tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy General Tso’s sauce, this dish brings bold, addictive flavors you’ll want to drizzle on everything!
Reader rating
“This was super tasty, even my meat loving husband rated it highly. And I loved that it was baked not fried.” —Cheryl
Here’s What You’ll Need
It really doesn’t take much to make this General Tso’s cauliflower!
Jump to the recipe card for exact measurements—this is an overview.
- Cauliflower: Cut your cauliflower head into bite-sized florets for even baking and tender bites.
- Breading: To create a crispy coating without frying, we’ll bread the cauliflower in flour, egg, and salt and pepper-seasoned panko. You can use regular breadcrumbs in a pinch, but your florets won’t be as crispy.
- Sauce Flavor Makers: We’ll combine sesame oil, fresh garlic and ginger, veggie broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato paste to create our flavor-packed General Tso’s sauce. Feel free to spice it up with a pinch of red chili flakes!
- Cornstarch: Lastly, we’ll thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and cold water).
Craving More Takekout?
For another takeout-inspired twist on cauliflower, try my bang bang cauliflower (with chickpeas!).
General Tso’s Cauliflower (Baked or Air Fried)
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 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 coat.
- Serve cauliflower over warm rice or quinoa.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
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!
Thanks for letting us know how it went! 😀
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!
Sounds like a great idea, I’ll have to try that!
Does this recipe work with frozen cauliflower? If you are not sure, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sarah! I think it would work, but definitely thaw the cauliflower completely first then dry it a bit before breading.
Gluten free version?
You could us an all-purpose GF flour 😀
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.
So happy to hear it! Enjoy! 😀
I added dried arbol chilies to the sauce whole, while cooking like at the take away. It was delish.
Was not a fan of the sauce or the cauliflower…
Really good! Served with fried rice!
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!
YUM! Sooo delicious. And fun to make! Will be making this again and again. I think I’ll add sriracha or chilli crisp to the sauce next time for a little bit of heat. Thank you!!