Rice flour gives these Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites a special crunch that’s not easily achieved without frying!
Video Tutorial for Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites
The inspiration
A while ago when I was buying rice flour to make Tong Yuan (Chinese sweet rice dumplings), I accidentally bought regular rice flour instead of the glutinous flour that I actually needed. So I’ve had that sitting around since. Then more recently, I scored a ginormous head of cauliflower for two dollars! Two dollars! I don’t know how it is where you are, but two bucks for even a regular head of cauliflower would be an incredible price.
I immediately knew I needed to make my favourite cauliflower dish: Beer-Battered Cauliflower. But I would only need half the head. For the other half, I decided to make something a little less indulgent but just as satisfying. The result: Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites.
How to Make Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites
To make sure all the cauliflower pieces get crisped up properly, cut the florets down to small, even-sized single bite pieces. Then they get coated in a batter of rice flour, seasonings and water. After only 20 minutes in the oven, they are ready to enjoy. They are best served fresh out of the oven as they do lose some crispness when they get cold.
Turn them into Honey Garlic Crispy Cauliflower bites by tossing them in a couple tablespoons of my Vegan Honey Garlic Sauce, then roasting for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Confused as to how HONEY could be VEGAN?! Well, THIS “Vegan Honey” is actually made with apples, lemon and vegan-friendly sugar by humans. No stealing from bees! We can surely support bees without taking their hard-earned food!
The result is a fairly healthy snack that tastes amazing and is great for snacking on during an at-home movie night.
Crispy Baked Cauliflower dipped in Vegan Honey Garlic Sesame Sauce
More Movie Night snacks:
Printable Recipe for Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites
Vegan Crispy Baked Cauliflower Bites
These baked cauliflower bites get wonderfully crispy and crunchy thanks to a rice flour batter. Packed with Vitamin C, K, and folate, these make a delicious but healthy snack or side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 lb of cauliflower [450g]
- 1/3 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup water [118ml]
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (double amount if not using nutritional yeast)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F or 232°C.
- Wash, dry and cut up the cauliflower into single bite sizes. The pieces should be fairly small, about the size of a pinky finger, and similar in size to ensure even cooking.
- Mix together all of the other ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add the cauliflower pieces and mix well until all the pieces are well coated.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper for easy clean up. Divide the cauliflower between the two baking sheets, spreading out the pieces so they don't touch. The space between them will help them crisp up properly.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then flip the pieces over and rotate the trays.
Bake for another 10 minutes or until the largest pieces of cauliflower are cooked though and crispy. - Taste test and add salt and pepper if desired. You can serve as is or with dipping sauce.
For another variation, toss them in hot sauce or Vegan Honey Garlic Sauce then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. The sauce will soften the cauliflower a bit but the edges should still crisp up again after baking.
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Hi Mary. Love your site and recipes. Really appreciate the extra tips you give like storage info. I’d like to know if I can use homemade rice flour? Just uncooked, finely ground grains of rice. I like brown rice mostly. Which type of rice do you think would be best for this recipe? Thanks
Hi Dana,
thanks for the kind words. I’m not sure about homemade rice flour just because I’d worry about getting it fine enough. It should be fine if you’re using brown rice flour just as long as it is fine enough. Good luck!