This sticky sesame cauliflower is like your favorite Chinese takeout, but better. It’s easy to make, gluten free, vegan, and perfect as a simple entree or an appetizer for a crowd.
It’s no secret that I love sesame anything. Sesame chickpeas, sesame noodles, sesame tofu… it was about time I shared a sesame cauliflower recipe!
I’ve always loved (still do) sesame chicken from Chinese restaurants, but wanted to make a lightened up and vegetarian version of this oh so popular dish.
The cauliflower is coated in batter, baked until it’s crispy, then coated again in the best sticky sesame sauce that comes together in only 5 minutes.
Best of all? This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, refined sugar free, and truly so easy to make. It’s simple and flavorful, just the way I like things! Try my popcorn cauliflower or air fryer cauliflower next!
How to make sesame cauliflower
In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, arrowroot starch, garlic powder and non-dairy milk. Be sure to mix until no clumps remain and it looks like batter.
Feel free to add a pinch of salt, but the sesame sauce naturally has a good amount of sodium from the soy sauce so I personally don’t think it needs it!
Add the chopped cauliflower florets into the bowl and carefully mix to coat all of the pieces. Try not to be too rough, you don’t want the florets to break since slightly large ones work best for this recipe.
Alternatively, you can add the batter and cauliflower to a large plastic bag and shake it up to coat everything.
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes. During the final 5-10 minutes, we’ll prepare the sauce.
Mince the garlic very finely and add to a saute pan with neutral oil. I like to use a garlic press for this recipe since the sauce won’t be blended and very fine garlic tastes best. Saute for about 2-3 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Whisk in the sesame oil, grated ginger, honey or maple syrup, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sriracha. Let simmer.
In a small bowl, whisk together the arrowroot powder and water. Pour into the pot with the sauce. Let simmer over low heat until thick, whisking occasionally to prevent any clumps from forming.
When the cauliflower is done, let cool for about 5 minutes and then coat with the sauce. At this point it is done, but you can put it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to crisp up if desired.
Sprinkle with chives, sesame seeds and enjoy! You can serve this sesame cauliflower as a appetizer or enjoy it over rice for an entree.
Air Fryer Instructions
You can easily make this sesame cauliflower in the air fryer! Follow all of the instructions as usual, then air fry in a single layer in a preheated air fryer for about 12-14 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Then, toss with the sesame sauce and enjoy!
How to store
This recipe is definitely best served fresh! It doesn’t keep very well in the fridge because of the nature of baked/roasted cauliflower. I’d recommend serving within a few hours of preparing for best results.
If you do have leftovers, it will keep in the fridge for about 2 days. Just reheat either in the oven or air fryer to get some of the crisp back.
Lower the sugar!
For a lower sugar option, you can cut back on the maple syrup or honey a bit, though this will change the flavor slightly. I’ve made this with just a few tablespoons of honey and it’s still delicious.
You can use either honey or maple syrup for this recipe, but honey does get a bit stickier which works well in this sauce. However, either is perfectly delicious!
How should I chop cauliflower for wings?
Slightly larger florets work best for this recipe. I don’t recommend cutting them too small because they tend to get mushy as they bake. See the photos for reference.
Can I use another flour for the batter?
This recipe uses rice flour in the batter to keep it gluten free, but you can safely sub for a regular or gluten free all purpose flour if that’s what you have. Any neutral tasting flour should work just fine.
The arrowroot starch can be subbed for corn starch or tapioca starch. If you don’t have any, you can use extra rice flour with no problem.
Try these recipes next!
- Sheet Pan Sesame Tofu
- General Tso’s Chickpeas
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Bang Bang Cauliflower
- Orange Cauliflower
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Easy Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Cauliflower:
- 1 large head cauliflower 6-7 cups chopped
- ⅔ cup rice flour white or brown
- ¼ cup arrowroot starch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoon plain gluten free breadcrumbs can sub regular
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil olive, avocado, refined coconut etc.
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- ¼ cup honey or maple syrup*
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- ½ tablespoon arrowroot starch*
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, arrowroot starch (see notes for substitutions), garlic powder and non-dairy milk. Be sure to mix until no clumps remain and it looks like batter. If it seems too thick, whisk in a few extra tablespoons of milk.
- Add the chopped cauliflower florets into the bowl and carefully mix to coat all of the pieces. Alternatively, you can add the batter and cauliflower to a large plastic bag and shake it up to coat everything.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle on top the breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes.
- During the final 5-10 minutes, prepare the sauce.
- Mince the garlic very finely and add to a saute pan with neutral oil. Saute for about 2-3 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Whisk in the sesame oil, grated ginger, honey or maple syrup, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sriracha. Let simmer over low heat.
- *Only follow this step if using maple syrup and not honey.* If using honey, the sauce should thicken on its own naturally. In a small bowl, whisk together the arrowroot powder and water. Pour into the pot with the sauce.
- Let simmer over low heat until thick, whisking occasionally to prevent any clumps from forming. Once thick, remove from heat.
- When the cauliflower is done, let cool for about 5 minutes and then coat with the sauce. At this point it is done cooking, but you can put it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to crisp up if desired.
- Sprinkle with chives, sesame seeds and enjoy!
Elaine says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Will definitely make it again.
Thank you Claire!
Chelsea says
Great sauce!
I overcooked the cauliflower because my oven is only working in broil and I didn’t check in enough.
The broil setting on the second 5-10 extra minutes after applying sauce made for a nice crisp to the cauliflower though!
My fam loved it! We added some of the extra sauce to leftover rice and it was killer.
Jacqueline Smith says
This was so delicious and my husband loved it, said he would eat it again. Some of my kids are vegan and gluten free so I will definitely be making this next family dinner. Thank you
Jacqueline Smith
Susan Downing says
I have been a vegetarian but for the past 10 months totally vegan. This is, by far, the best recipe that I have tried. I honestly am at the point, after trying experimenting with various recipes, to just cook recipes from #eatwithclarity. They are absolutely delicious!! I am going to try the Orange Tofu tonight. Thank you Claire
Claire Cary says
Thank you so much Susan! Makes me so happy to hear.
Akilah t'Zuberi says
Soy sauce is not gluten free. Might want to sub with Tamari.
Claire Cary says
Tamari is listed in the recipe card 🙂 Most people, like myself, will know to use tamari over soy sauce if dealing with a gluten allergy. I only write soy sauce in stead of tamari because a lot of non-gluten free people may not know what tamari is.
Hannah says
This tasted really good but the batter was very thick and difficult to work with. Not sure if it was because I used corn starch instead of arrowroot starch? I definitely want to try again and see if it turns out better!
Claire Cary says
Try with half the amount of starch next time, that should help! The batter, it should be thick, but if it’s too thick and hard to work with, just add more milk! Cornstarch does absorb liquid differently than arrowroot, so that could be it!
ldm says
mde it twice tastes good
EilaRain | Women's Health Coach says
Delicious, simple, and husband approved! I doubled the recipe and my husband ate almost everything (besides my small portion, lol). Since we didn’t have any honey or maple syrup at the house, I just left that out and it was still great. I added extra lime in the sauce which was yummy. Thanks for the cauliflower inspiration 🙂
Claire Cary says
Yay! So glad it worked out without the sweetener. Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Brittany says
Such an easy and delicious recipe! I’ve made this twice since discovering this recipe. I love how most of the ingredients are staples for me therefore making it super easy and quick to whip together. Flavors are delicious and well balanced with the sweetness and just a touch of heat which I enjoy. I used raw honey instead of syrup and found I still had to use the arrowroot/water mixture to thicken the sauce. It worked like a charm without making the sauce overly sticky or thick. I had leftovers which I think heat up just fine when you stick them back in the oven to reheat. I’m trying not to make this dish every week though because the sugar is pretty high for me but it’s so tasty. If I allowed myself I could eat this a couple times a week! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Brittany! So happy you liked it. You can always cut back on the amount of maple syrup in the recipe, I’ve done it before and it still turns out great! Most people just prefer a bit more sweetness, but either way works!
Lilmom says
Super yummy, quick and easy. Double the sauce, you won’t regret it!
Claire Cary says
More sauce on everything is always a good idea 🙂
Saskia says
This was surprisingly easy and quick to make, and so delicious! I’ll definitely make this again soon.
Claire Cary says
Thank you!! SO happy you liked it, Saskia!
Kishan says
Such an easy recipe to follow. The sauce was so tasty! It could be used for other dishes too!
Claire Cary says
Thanks Kishan! So happy you liked it.
Michelle @ Big Little Bites says
So I made this last night, and it was DELICIOUS! The cauliflower crisped perfectly in the often, and even stayed crisp until hubs was home from work hours later. The only trouble I had – was with the sauce thickening. It had already thickened on its own under medium-low heat, but I still added the arrowroot starch and water mixture per the recipe – and this made it so thick that it just all clumped together in one sticky and gooey ball that wouldn’t adhere to the cauliflower. I think next time I will try it without the arrowroot and water mix? Definitely making it again ☺️
Claire Cary says
Thanks for the feedback Michelle! If you’re using honey instead of maple syrup, I’d leave out the arrowroot mixture and have made a note of this in the recipe. So happy to hear you liked it!