This general tso’s cauliflower is so crispy, delicious, and spicy-sweet! And it’s just as good as the fried version, while being so much healthier! Welcome to cauliflower heaven!
You guys went absolutely crazy about the cauliflower hot wings I posted on the blog a couple of weeks ago. In just a little over a month, they became one of the most popular recipes on the blog. And this is well-deserved. They’re sooo good! The recipe for the general tso’s cauliflower is actually similar to that of the cauliflower hot wings. However, the sauce and therefore the taste is totally different! While I used spicy BBQ sauce to coat the cauliflower hot wings, this recipe calls for homemade general tso sauce made with rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce.
To make the general tso’s cauliflower extra crispy, I rolled them in panko bread crumbs before baking them in the oven. So yummy!
What You’ll Need for This General Tso’s Cauliflower
The ingredient list for this recipe is rather short and you probably already have the majority of the ingredients in your pantry. As always, you can find the full ingredient list and the recipe instructions in a separate recipe box underneath the text section.
You’ll need:
- 1/2 head of cauliflower
- all-purpose flour
- unsweetened almond milk (it’s really important to use unsweetened milk for this recipe)
- panko bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
For the homemade general tso sauce you’ll need the following:
- rice vinegar
- soy sauce
- vegetable broth
- cornstarch
- brown sugar
- garlic
- ginger
- tomato paste
I would really recommend using homemade general tso sauce for this recipe. It’s just soo much better than store-bought sauce and it’s also pretty easy to make. You can prepare it while the cauliflower bites are in the oven.
Once the cauliflower florets are crispy (this takes about 25 minutes in the oven), you coat them with the general tso sauce. I absolutely LOVE it’s sweet and sour taste. BIG yum!!
I usually serve this vegan general tso’s cauliflower with rice and sprinkle it with sesame seeds and green onions.
I hope you like this general tso’s cauliflower as much as the vegan cauliflower hot wings. If you’re looking for spicy cauliflower wings, check out my cauliflower buffalo wings. Or have a look at my roundup of 20 game changing vegan cauliflower recipes. Cauliflower can be so versatile!
Sina – xx
Looking for more delicious cauliflower recipes? Then check out these cauliflower BBQ hot wings!
General Tso's Cauliflower
Ingredients
For the cauliflower:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- salt
- black pepper
- 1/2 head of cauliflower
For the general tso sauce:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- salt
- black pepper
Additional ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 green onions
- cooked rice
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 °F.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, the almond milk, and salt and pepper. Pour the panko bread crumbs on to a flate plate.
- Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Dip the florets into the batter, so they're completely coated. Then roll them in the panko bread crumbs.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the cauliflower florets on the baking sheet. Don't put them on top of each other. Bake for 25 minutes.
- In the meantime, make the general tso sauce. Add two tablespoons of water to the corn starch and stir well. Put aside. In a small sauce pan, heat the oil and sauté the garlic until it becomes lightly brown. Then add the ginger, the sugar, and the tomato paste. Cook for one minute. Then add the remaining ingredients (including the corn starch water mixture). Cook for 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken during this time.
- Coat the cauliflower florets with the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and enjoy immediately. I like serving the general tso's cauliflower with rice.
This is fantastic!!!! This is def one of the top three “faux” WFPB recipes I’ve ever made due to the unique techniques resulting in a chicken-like mouthfeel and spot-on sauce. I can’t thank you enough for sharing. This is a “do over and over…”. Looking forward to trying your other cauliflower recipes. It’s recipes like this that give the take-out feel with a better flavor and nutrition profile with the added value of a lower cost. Kudos and thx. I’ll always credit you and send folks your way when sharing. 🙏🏻
Excellent dish! On our favorite meal rotation now!
Fun recipe!! So delicious, it was hard to stop myself. I don’t remember the last time I had Gen Tso’s chicken, but this is so much better!!
I tried this recipe and it turned out good! I’m a novice cook and this recipe is pretty easy to follow. Most important, the end product is yummy.
This recipe was great, the breading/dredging process really makes it. The texture of the cauliflower was just like General Tso’s from the takeout place. Fairly easy to make and was a big hit. I didn’t have any brown sugar but used the sugar in the raw and it was just fine. I added in peppers, carrots and broccoli and it was perfect over rice. Thank you for this recipe – I’ll definitely make it again.
Is there a way to cut the carbs out of this otherwise healthy and good recipe?
Wow! I wasn’t expecting that this would be too good! I don’t eat cauliflower that often, but I guess I should! I will definitely try you wings as well. Thank you so much for sharing.
Oh my. This was outstanding. I chose your recipe over the others I found and I’m glad I did. My cauliflower took a bit longer, but no worries, ovens vary. I was short on time so I jazzed up a jarred sauce. But the real star was the method of preparation for the cauliflower. I *really* dislike dredging and breading but this way was quicker than I imagined and the results were so worth it. Thank you for sharing.
This is amazing!!! I’ve been wanting Chinese takeout so I made this instead! Delicious!