Tasty Vegan Cauliflower Nuggets
These delicious baked Vegan Cauliflower Nuggets are a healthy and easy-to-prepare snack or appetizer. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce for a tasty anytime treat!
I love these vegan cauliflower bites because they’re crispy, tasty, and deceivingly healthy! Using just a few ingredients, they’re a super simple snack to whip up too.
As these vegan nuggets are baked instead of fried, you can easily avoid consuming too much oil, and you can feel good about serving them to your family & friends.
They’re lightly breaded with breadcrumbs and seasonings for a tasty crunch, but not soaked with grease from the fryer.
Many similar recipes for baked cauliflower nuggets just batter and bake whole florets. But I wanted to take this one step further to create cauliflower tots that are tastier and a more appealing vegan alternative to chicken nuggets.
I love serving these vegan cauliflower croquettes as an appetizer or snack. Pairing them with some other breaded veggies like these mushrooms and a variety of dipping sauces has become a game day favorite.
Kid-Friendly Vegan Cauliflower Tots
Also, if you’re looking for kid-approved vegan nuggets, these are perfect. Just serve with some ketchup (try my homemade ketchup!) or their favorite dipping sauce and they will gobble up their vegetables without even realizing!
Why You’ll Love These Vegan Cauliflower Snacks:
- Quick and easy to make
- Baked, not fried
- They’re vegan, dairy-free, sugar-free, and can be made gluten-free easily
- Store well in the fridge – ideal for meal prep
- Kid-approved
- Perfect for game day and parties
Cauliflower Nuggets Ingredients
- Cauliflower
- Flour
- Breadcrumbs
- Fresh parsley
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Olive oil
- Smoked paprika (optional)
How To Make Vegan Cauliflower Nuggets
Preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C
Chop the cauliflower head into florets. Cook in a steamer until fork-tender (approx 5-8 minutes)
Mash the cauliflower with a blender or by hand.
Add 3/4 cup of flour, parsley, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
If the mix is too wet, you can add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. But keep in mind that the mixture should be moist. It hardens up once baked.
Shape the paste into nuggets with your hands. Small nuggets are best for a smoother structure.
Coat each cauliflower nugget evenly with breadcrumbs (or panko)*.
Place each nugget on an oiled baking tray. Leave one inch of space between each of them as they do expand once cooked.
If you want to add a little extra flavor, brush olive oil mixed with smoked paprika over the top of the nuggets before baking.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes on each side, or until the edges start to brown and get crispy.
Enjoy warm with your favorite dipping sauces or keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
*To make this recipe gluten-free, you can replace the flour with almond or coconut flour, and use gluten-free panko instead of breadcrumbs.
How To Store Baked Cauliflower Bites
These baked cauliflower bites will stay fresh in the fridge for up to one week. Allow them to cool completely and then place them in an airtight container.
What To Serve With Vegan Cauliflower Croquettes
These vegan cauliflower croquettes can be served as an appetizer or side dish. For dipping purposes, I like to serve them with ketchup or a vegan ranch or buffalo sauce. You can use your favorite dipping sauce.
I often whip these up at the same time I make these easy breaded mushrooms and serve them both on a tray with dipping sauces.
Vegan Cauliflower Bites Variations:
- Use panko and almond flour instead of breadcrumbs and regular flour for gluten-free cauliflower nuggets
- Add garlic powder to the breadcrumbs for extra flavor.
- Add turmeric for color and nutritional value.
Check Out These Other Vegan Snacks:
Vegan Cauliflower Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower head
- 3/4-1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F / 190 °C
- Chop the cauliflower head into florets. Cook in a steamer until fork-tender (approx 5-8 minutes)
- Mash the cauliflower in a blender or by hand.
- Add 3/4 cup of flour, parsley, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
- If the mix is too wet, you can add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. But keep in mind that the mixture should be moist. It hardens up once baked.
- Shape the paste into nuggets with your hands. Small nuggets are best for a smoother structure.
- Coat each cauliflower nugget evenly with breadcrumbs (or panko)*.
- Place each nugget on an oiled baking tray. Leave one inch of space between each of them as they do expand once cooked.
- If you want to add a little extra flavor, brush olive oil mixed with smoked paprika over the top of the nuggets before baking.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes on each side, or until the edges start to brown and get crispy.
- Enjoy warm with your favorite dipping sauce or keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
