Sharing my healthier twist on a classic Asian dish with this better than takeout Vegan Kung Pao cauliflower recipe. This recipe is a blend of oven-roasted cauliflower, bell peppers toasted in a sweet, spicy, and sticky homemade kung pao sauce. I’ve switched the deep-fried chicken for nutrient-packed cauliflower and swapped the deep frying with oven roasting and air frying.
This vegetarian version of the Kung pao recipe is a healthy, and delicious alternative to its classic sugary version. It has a quick 20 to 25 minutes of cooking time and requires only basic pantry staples.
Whenever I have cauliflower on hand, my go-to dishes to make are crispy air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites, sticky sesame cauliflower, Air fryer cauliflower, vegan cauliflower curry, and spicy Kung pao cauliflower.
You’ll Love Asian Cauliflower Recipe
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free
- Tossed in an easy 10 minutes kung pao sauce
- Made with wholesome // healthy ingredients // packed with spice and heat
- Its secretly healthy for kids or picky eaters (cauliflowers are baked instead of deep-fried)
- Easy to make Asian recipe with just 7 ingredients
- A tasty snack, appetizer, or the best side dish
- The best sneaky way to get your family to eat more veggies!
What is kung pao cauliflower?
Vegan Kung pao Chicken (or cauliflower) is a traditional Chinese spicy stir fry side dish, which involves baked chicken, peanuts, dried or fresh chilies, and veggies. The sauce is known for being made with very minimal ingredients like soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; basically, it’s a little bit salty, sweet and sour flavor.
Obviously, cauliflower isn’t the classic ingredient in this recipe. But I wanted to make it a vegan and meatless recipe, so I swapped it out with baked cauliflower and I really loved it more – it turned out really crunchy and crispy!
Ingridents for Kung Pao Cauliflower
- Cauliflower: Chopped cauliflower florets almost bite-sized pieces. We can’t make vegan kung pao without cauliflower florets, right? It’s not just a healthy alternative to chicken, it is also packed with nutritions and which is the best sneaky way to get your family to eat more veggies!
- All-purpose flour: You can use the traditional or certified gluten-free all-purpose flour for the batter.
- Salt and pepper: Adds a touch of flavor to the batter.
- Spices and seasoning: Specifically, we’ll use garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Plant-based milk: Any milk works, as long as it is unsweetened. I have used unsweetened almond milk.
- Soy sauce: Use light soy sauce instead of dark(traditional) soy sauce. The dark one has a strong flavor. Try to use the low-sodium soy sauce or else the sauce will be too salty. For a gluten-free sauce recipe, use low-sodium tamari.
- Rice vinegar (or balsamic vinegar): You can use seasoned or unseasoned, both works.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce. You can also use tapioca starch or arrowroot starch.
- Maple syrup: Honey (not vegan) or any sweetener of your choice eg: coconut sugar, brown sugar, etc.
- Smoked paprika (optional): To give a spicy hint to the kung pao sauce.
- Water: for the sauce
- Sesame oil: It gives an amazing sesame flavor to the sauce, without overpowering it. Do not skip this!
- Bell pepper: this recipe calls for red bell peppers, but you can also use a mix of green, red, and yellow.
- Onions: Sliced finely.
- Ginger and garlic: Finely chopped (or minced)
- Peanuts or cashews: use roasted cashews or peanuts. For some extra crunch!
How do you make kung pao cauliflower?
Step 1: Roast the Cauliflower florets and Bell peppers
Preheat the oven to 450F. And start by seasoning the cauliflower florets. In a large mixing bowl take all-purpose flour, corn starch and add the cauliflower florets and toss a few times. Pour in the milk and toss again.
Arrange the cauliflower and bell pepper in a single layer on the baking tray and roast them for about 15 minutes or until browned and fork-tender.
Step 2: Make the Homemade Vegan Kung Pao sauce:
- Heat a skillet over medium flame and add sesame oil, add chopped ginger, peppers and saute them for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Take a small bowl and add maple syrup, soy sauce, and vinegar. Whisk them properly and add them to the skillet.
- Let it boil for a few minutes on medium flame and then turn the flame down and cook for a couple of more minutes and let it reduce slightly.
- In a bowl make the cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch and water and whisk them until smooth (without any lumps), then pour it on the pan and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes until thickens.
Step 3: Mix roasted cauliflower and bell pepper
And the final step is to add all the roasted veggies to the sauce and toss and mix until everything is coated with the sauce perfectly.
What about Kung Pao Tofu?
This vegan kung pao can be made with either cauliflower or tofu. My favorite is kung pao tofu, as tofu is the best source of plant-based protein and very easy to cook. So how to make kung pao tofu?
The ingredients and the sauce are the same, but you can skip the baking portion. You just need to press the tofu for about 10 to 15 minutes, cut them into dice sizes, and fry them on the skillet until nicely brown.
You can try both versions of kung pao and let me know in the comment section, which one is your favorite.
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- Make sure to cut the cauliflower florets into the same size to ensure even roasting and browning.
- While baking the cauliflower florets, leave some space between each piece, so the cauliflower will release steam and turn extra crispy once baked.
- If you do not have a large baking tray, then bake the cauliflower in separate trays or batches.
- If you make this recipe ahead of time or not serving the dish immediately, let the cauliflower cool a bit before tossing them in the sauce. This way the cauliflower will stay crispy and crunchy.
- I have kept this recipe very simple and did not include the batter in the cauliflower. However, adding batter really elevated the taste of the recipe, well it only takes extra 2 ingredients and 1 simple step for battered cauliflower. If you’d like to try the battered version of cauliflower in the recipe, use the recipe from my air fryer buffalo cauliflower recipe (just the batter part, not the buffalo sauce!).
More Recipes to Try –
- Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
- Sticky sesame chickpeas
- Air Fryer Crispy Cauliflower
- Chickpea Tikka Masala
- Vegan Thai Red Curry
- Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
FAQs
What’s the difference between kung pao and General Tso?
While Kung pao cauliflower and general Tso’s cauliflower both ridiculously delicious Chinese stir fry recipes, yet they are quite different from each other.
General Tso’s tofu or cauliflower are breaded and fried and traditionally do not contain vegetables.
Where kung pao cauliflower or tofu is not breaded and is either pan-fried(traditional method) or baked with deliciously roasted veggies like bell pepper( red, green, or yellow) and onions.
Unlike general Tso’s recipe, kung pao also features roasted cashews or peanuts for some extra crunch!
How to make gluten-free kung pao cauliflower?
Yes, you can easily make this recipe gluten-free. Use certified gluten-free versions of flour, soy sauce (tamari), arrowroot starch (sub tapioca starch).
These are all easily available in grocery shops or supermarkets and even online retailers, Amazon.
Cauliflower batter Version:
I’ve kept this recipe really simple and quick and did not include the battered version of cauliflower.
However, adding batter to your cauliflower can elevate your dish to another level. The battered cauliflower required additional 2 ingredients and added 2 minutes to the total time.
If you’d prefer to try the battered cauliflower, you can use the recipe from my Crispy buffalo cauliflower recipe (just follow the batter part, not the buffalo sauce!). You’ll need –
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup of plant-based milk ( unsweetened almond milk)
- Salt and pepper as per the taste
What does Kung Pao taste like?
Kung pao sauce has a bold flavor that is sweet, sour, and savory and with a hint of heat from the pepper.
It’s delicious and glossy which is thickened with cornstarch/ tapioca starch, and because it has such a strong flavor, this Chinese stir fry has less sauce than other classic take-out recipes like sticky sesame cauliflower, general Tso’s tofu, and sticky sesame chickpeas.
How many calories in Kung Pao Cauliflower?
For more information visit here
- Serving Size: 1 serving, without rice
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 13g
- Sodium: 1432mg
- Fat: 15.5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 25.1g
- Fiber: 5.2g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
