Orange Cauliflower Chicken
Orange cauliflower is the vegan version of the classic Chinese take out dish orange chicken. Crispy cauliflower is coated in a sticky sweet and spicy orange sauce. This is the perfect way to indulge in your take out cravings! The cauliflower is baked not fried and this vegan orange chicken is also gluten free!
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make: This recipe is quick and simple and cuts out many of the time consuming steps in other recipes. Get everything you love about orange chicken: crispy cauliflower + sweet and spicy sauce without any extra steps!
- Great way to get in more veggies! If you have a picky eater in the house, this is a great way to get them to eat more veggies!
- Satisfy that take out craving! This cauliflower orange chicken is baked not fried and is much healthier than take out options! Although it may take more work, the end product is worth it, especially if you are trying to eat healthier.
- Quick and simple! This recipe is very simple to follow. Many of the other orange cauliflower recipes require you to batter each indivdual piece of cauliflower at a time. I don’t have time for that and I’m guessing you don’t either!
Ingredients
Crispy Cauliflower
- Cauliflower – you want to make sure you cut the cauliflower florets into bite size pieces. Try to make them all a similar size so they cook evenly.
- Oat flour – oat flour is made from ground up oats. You can easily make it at home if needed. It’s a bit denser than traditional flour. If you don’t have any, you can use any gluten free flour you have on hand.
- Almond flour – almond flour provides some texture to the batter and helps create a crispy crust on the cauliflower. If you don’t have almond flour or cannot tolerate nuts, you can instead use gluten free panko breadcrumbs or breadcrumbs instead. You will want to drop the battered cauliflower in a separate bowl of breadcrumbs instead of mixing them in to the batter like you do the almond flour.
- Dairy free milk – use any unsweetened dairy free milk you have on hand to help make the batter.
- Salt and garlic powder – these help flavor the cauliflower so they are delicious even without the orange sauce.
Orange Sauce
- Orange juice – I used organic orange juice from the grocery store, I don’t typically have freshly squeezed on hand but if you do, the flavor will be even more intensely orange.
- Coconut aminos (or soy sauce) – these help to give the sauce a good balance so that it’s not overly sweet.
- Rice wine vinegar – vinegar helps to also cut the sweetness of the dish while also helping to intensify the flavors.
- Maple syrup (or honey) – this is to add more sweetness to the orange juice. Be sure to really stir well if you decide to use honey to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the sauté pan and burn.
- Spices: Ginger powder, red pepper flakes and salt – you could also use fresh ginger but I don’t always have that on hand and didn’t want to add another ingredient you had to remember at the store. If you use fresh, you will want 1-2 tablespoons depending on how much ginger you like. Red pepper flakes add some spice to the sauce. If you need it to be very mild for children, you can omit and add them at the end to your own dish.
- Arrowroot powder (or tapioca or cornstarch) + water – arrowroot is a thickener and will quickly make your orange sauce thick and sticky. You have to be careful when adding arrowroot to hot sauces, as it will clump if it’s not first dissolved in room temperature water. That is why you are always advised to make a slurry – water mixed with arrowroot power and whisked until there are no lumps before adding it to the hot sauce.
How to make orange cauliflower
Start by preheating the oven to 425F.
Next cut the cauliflower off the stalk and into bite size florets. Remember it’s best if they are all a similar size.
In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, almond flour, dairy free milk, salt and garlic powder. Stir well. It will be thick.
Add the cauliflower florets to the batter and stir well, working hard to coat as many of the cauliflower florets as possible.
Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray it with avocado oil or olive oil spray. Add the cauliflower florets to the baking sheet. Take the time to separate each floret so it can get crispy, don’t overcrowd the baking sheet.
Bake at 425F for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove the cauliflower from the oven and carefully flip each one over so it can brown on both sides. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
While the cauliflower is baking a second time, make the orange sauce.
In a medium size skillet, combine all the orange sauce ingredients and stir well. Turn the stove onto medium low heat and allow the orange sauce mixture to come up to a simmer.
In a small bowl, combine the arrowroot flour and water, stir well to ensure there are no lumps.
Once the orange sauce mixture is simmering well, add the arrowroot slurry and whisk immediately. I like to actually start whisking while stirring in the arrowroot slurry to ensure no lumps are formed. Cook 1-2 more minutes until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. You should be able to run a spoon through the center and the sauce not quickly run back together. Once you get to this point, turn off the heat.
When the cauliflower is done baking, add it to a large bowl and pour the orange sauce over top. Toss well to coat the cauliflower.
Once coated in sauce, return the cauliflower to the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes to ensure it’s crispy, crunchy and full of flavor.
Let the cauliflower rest for 5-10 minutes to allow the sugars in the orange sauce to harden to make an even crispier crust. Serve with rice and additional orange sauce if desired.
Top tips
- If you love a saucy orange cauliflower, double the orange sauce and reserve half for plating. Drizzle the additional sauce on right before serving.
- Be sure to take the time to cut the cauliflower florets into similar size pieces so they cook at the same time. Otherwise, you could have pieces that burn while others are undercooked.
- If you want a thinner batter, increase the milk up to ¾ cup. You will need to spoon out the cauliflower with a slotted spoon to ensure you are not putting extra batter on the baking sheet. This requires more steps but may produce a more uniform coating on the cauliflower.
- Be sure to make the arrowroot slurry with room temperature water so that the arrowroot does not get clumpy.
- When whisking in the arrowroot slurry into the hot orange sauce, start whisking the sauce before adding in any of the slurry. This helps to ensure you don’t get any lumps. The sauce will start to thicken quickly so don’t walk away and continue to stir.
Other additions
- More spice: You can add 1-2 teaspoons of sriracha to the orange sauce to get a different kind of heat to the sauce besides the red pepper flakes.
- Veggies: If you want to add even more veggies, you can saute red, yellow or orange bell peppers and onion in a separate sauté pan and add them at the end for more veggies. Coat them in the extra orange sauce if you make it
- Fresh garlic – you can add fresh garlic to the orange sauce if you wish. I find that fresh garlic can sometimes overpower a dish, especially if it burns while you are cooking it. You will want to quickly saute the garlic before adding the rest of the orange sauce ingredients to the saute pan. If you have fresh ginger, you can saute it along with the garlic.
What to serve with orange cauliflower chicken
- White or brown jasmine rice
- Quinoa
- Steamed sugar snap peas or broccoli
How to make your own oat flour
Making your own oat flour is quick and simple. Add rolled oats or quick cooking oats to a high speed blender. Blend on high until the oats resemble a fine powder. You may need to stop and shake the blender a few times to ensure all the oats are finely ground. You can pour this through a sieve or fine mesh strainer to get out any large pieces that didn’t get finely ground. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: This vegan orange chicken dish is best made fresh or reheated in the oven or air fryer to get the crispy coating back. The coating will get soggy in the fridge. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezer: I do not recommend freezing this since the cauliflower will be soggy when defrosting.
To reheat
- Oven: Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and heat at 425F for 5 minutes.
- Air fryer: 375F for 3-4 minutes until crispy.
If you love this recipe, you should try
- Sweet and Sour Cauliflower
- Buffalo Cauliflower Salad
- Asian Zoodle Bowl
- Asian Spaghetti Squash Noodles
- Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
- Instant Pot Asian Chicken Pasta
Vegan Orange Chicken
$5.77 Recipe/$1.44 ServingIngredients
Crispy Cauliflower
- 1 medium head cauliflower - $2.65
- 1/2 cup oat flour - $0.25
- 1/2 cup almond flour - $0.73
- 1/2 cup dairy free milk - $0.29
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - $0.03
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder - $0.05
Orange Sauce
- 1.5 cup orange juice - $0.50
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup - $0.62
- 2 tbsp. coconut aminos - $0.36
- 1.5 tbsp. rice wine vinegar - $0.12
- 1 tsp sea salt - $0.05
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger - $0.03
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes - $0.03
- 1 tbsp water - $0.00
- 2 tsp arrowroot or tapioca flour - $0.06
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Cut the cauliflower florets from the stem. Cut the florets into bite size pieces, trying to keep them equal sizes if possible.
- In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, almond flour, dairy free milk, salt and garlic powder. Sitr well.
- Add the cauliflower to the batter in the bowl and stir well. Try to coat as many of the cauliflower florets as possible with the batter.
- Put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spray with avocado oil or olive oil spray.
- Pour the coated cauliflower onto the baking sheet, trying not to get any excess batter from the bowl on the tray. Take the time to space out each individual piece of cauliflower so they can brown without steaming.
- Bake at 425F for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove from the oven and flip each piece of cauliflower. Return to the oven and bake 10 more minutes.
- While cauliflower is baking, make the orange sauce. Combine all the ingredients except the arrowroot and water in a medium skillet.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium low heat.
- While the sauce is coming up to a simmer, combine the water and arrowroot flour in a small bowl. Stir well to ensure there are no lumps.
- Once the orange sauce is simmering, begin to whisk it as you pour in the arrowroot slurry you just made. Stir well. Cook 1-2 more minutes until the sauce is thick. Be sure to turn off the sauce when it reaches the consistency you like or it will continue to thicken.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven. Carefully transfer cauliflower to a large bowl. Pour orange sauce over the cauliflower and stir well.
- Once cauliflower is well coated, return the cauilflower back to the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cook for 10 more minutes at 425F.
- After baking, allow the vegan orange chicken to cool at least 5 minutes to let the coating get extra crispy.
Notes
- If you love a saucy orange chicken, double the orange sauce and reserve half for plating. Drizzle the additional sauce on right before serving.
- If you want a thinner batter, increase the milk up to ¾ cup. You will need to spoon out the cauliflower with a slotted spoon to ensure you are not putting extra batter on the baking sheet. This requires more steps but may produce a more uniform coating on the cauliflower.
- Be sure to make the arrowroot slurry with room temperature water so that the arrowroot does not get clumpy.
- When whisking in the arrowroot slurry into the hot orange sauce, start whisking the sauce before adding in any of the slurry. This helps to ensure you don’t get any lumps. The sauce will start to thicken quickly so don’t walk away and continue to stir.
- Fridge: This vegan orange chicken dish is best made fresh or reheated in the oven or air fryer to get the crispy coating back. The coating will get soggy in the fridge. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: I do not recommend freezing this as the cauliflower will get soggy when defrosting.
- Oven: Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and heat at 425F for 5 minutes.
- Air fryer: 375F for 3-4 minutes until crispy.
