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Ready in just 30 minutes, this sticky garlic cauliflower recipe is easy to make and so much better than takeout! And even though we’re using a vegetable with a high moisture content, it’s super crispy and totally vegetarian thanks to some simple and healthier preparation tips.
save this recipe!I know that as a food blogger, I should be comfortable with all types of cooking, but there’s one type of cooking that I just hate. And not because it’s unhealthy or anything, but because I’m a huge scaredy-cat who is already a walking fire hazard, even without the addition of this cooking method. Can you guess which one it is? Yep, frying.
I hate frying! But sometimes this aversion to frying helps me to create the best (much healthier dishes). Case in point, Asian-style cauliflower. We made General Tso’s cauliflower a while back, and today we’re changing it up to make sticky garlic cauliflower! And the secret to non-fried yet crispy cauliflower? A quick dredge in panko!
In the past, a few readers noted that they felt this recipe turned out too salty. So, I improved this recipe by omitting the salt and balancing out a few ingredients to round out the flavors. Happy eating!
Reader rating
“Loved this! I was worried about the salt so made sure to get the low sodium soy sauce and didn’t use salt anywhere else and it turned out wonderful! Can’t wait to make this again!” —Courtney
grab these ingredients
This sticky garlic cauliflower tastes like a treat. It’s totally vegetarian (obvi), and the outside is nice and crunchy with a fluffy and flavorful center! Jump to the recipe card for the quantities.
- Cauliflower: First, you will need ½ head of healthy cauliflower. This will break down to 4 servings.
- Flour: All-purpose flour will help the crunchy coating stick to the cauliflower florets.
- Eggs: We’ll use an egg wash consisting of two large eggs to act as glue for the coating.
- Breadcrumbs: Finally, the cauliflower will be complete with panko breadcrumbs. This Japanese-style breadcrumb is ultra-light and crunchy, helping to mimic the taste of deep frying!
- Cornstarch: First up for the sauce is 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. This helps thicken everything up a bit.
- Hoisin Sauce: Next, you will need ½ cup of hoisin sauce, a thick and flavorful sauce often used for glazing meats.
- Soy Sauce: From here, use ¼ cup of soy sauce.
- Garlic and Ginger: Next, add minced garlic and fresh grated ginger to brighten up the flavors.
- Sriracha: 1 tablespoon of sriracha will add a bit of heat.
- Rice Vinegar: Last but not least, complete the sauce with 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar to bring some acidity!
How to make homemade sticky cauliflower
Making this garlic cauliflower doesn’t have to be too time-consuming! If you’ve ever breaded anything with an egg wash, this will work much in the same way. This is just an overview, jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
First, preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Arrange your workspace by placing the flour, eggs, and panko breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. In a fourth bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and then set it aside.
Step 2: Cook the Cauliflower
Next, cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Working in batches, coat the florets in flour.
Set the pieces in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.
Step 3: Create the Sauce
Set a small saucepan over medium heat and add all of the sauce ingredients except the cornstarch and water slurry. Once the ingredients are hot, whisk in the cornstarch slurry and bring everything to a simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Drizzle the sauce over the baked cauliflower and gently toss to evenly coat.
try it in the air fryer
Want to enjoy extra crispy cauliflower sans the oven? Throw it in the air fryer! After breading with the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, you can toss these florets right into your air fryer for a more “fried” feel that tastes just as delicious as the oven-baked version!
FAVORITE AIR FRYER
After trying out a bunch of different air fryers, this is my favorite!
pairs well with
Sticky Garlic Cauliflower Recipe (Baked or Air Fried!)
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- ½ head cauliflower
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, 60 g
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs , 50 g
Sauce
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup hoisin sauce, 120 mL
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce, 60 mL
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp sriracha
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Arrange workspace, placing flour, egg, and panko in separate bowls. In a separate bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of water – set aside.
- Dredge: Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets. 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 all "Sauce" ingredients except for the cornstarch slurry. Once hot, whisk in the cornstarch slurry, then bring to a simmer, and cook for about 2 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Drizzle sauce over the baked cauliflower and gently toss to evenly coat.
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!
Easy recipe, especially for me being as clumsy as I am. I subbed the flour because I only had self rising & it came out well, but word of caution, do NOT sub low sodium soy sauce for regular, it made it way too salty. It was just my laziness not wanting to go back out.
Over all it was yummy! Thank you!
I followed all of the instructions to a tea and it was SUPER salty. Generally, it had pretty good flavor but I needed such huge scoops of white rice to drown out the salt, I ended up eating 2-3 pieces and tossing the rest. I think it was the recommended amount of hoisin. Very disappointed.
Sorry to hear it, Tara! Thanks for letting me know, I’ll get to retesting this one.
Loved this! I was worried about the salt so made sure to get the low sodium soy sauce and didn’t use salt anywhere else and it turned out wonderful! Can’t wait to make this again!
I just made this for dinner and I agree with another commenter that this recipe is WAY too salt. I used low sodium soy sauce too, added no other salt, and it was still too much. I’m starving and can’t stomach this dish 🙁
Thanks for your feedback, Lulla! We’ll retest and modify this recipe to include less salt 😀
Carnt wait to try this.
Hi Sarah, what would you recommend the settings be for air frying?
I would do about 375F for 8 to 10 minutes!
Oh my god…..my new favorite dinner.
So tasty.
Thank you Sarah-I love your food
YAY! So happy to hear it, Amy! 😀
Have you used frozen cauliflower with this or general Tso’s recipes? Fresh cauliflower is so expensive so am hoping that will work if well dried after thawing…what do you think? thanks
Hi CJ! Fresh cauliflower is really best here because it has the texture and crunch. I think frozen cauliflower would end up too mushy once it’s thawed and then cooked. Sorry about that!
Hi I love your content and made this tonight. I got the feeling that the 1/2 cup of Hoisin was too much but did it anyway. I WILL make this again but I think I’d want to reduce the hoisin. Maybe my hoisin was old🤔
Also was really salty!! The recipe is outstanding and I will make this again but will figure out how to lessen the salt…used low sodium soy too.