Whether you are vegan or an omnivore, you will love this fried cauliflower recipe! Lightly battered, crispy, and perfectly tender inside, this will be your new favorite way to eat cauliflower! These cauliflower nuggets give you the taste and satisfaction of chicken nuggets without the meat.
They can be used as a vegan substitute for buffalo wings or in your favorite Asian-inspired dishes like orange cauliflower or sweet and sour cauliflower "chicken."
I must confess, fried cauliflower is a little obsession of mine! It may sound a little boring, but once you try it you'll be hooked! When fried, the cauliflower has a moist, surprisingly meaty texture inside with a light crispy texture outside.
Jump to:
- ❤️ This recipe is
- 🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- 🔪 Helpful tools
- 🥄 How to make fried cauliflower
- ✨ How to deep fry cauliflower
- 📖 Seasoning Variations
- 🍲 Serving suggestions
- ✨ Are cauliflower nuggets healthy?
- 🥗 Want a healthier baked alternative?
- ❓ Can I air fry these nuggets?
- 🌟 More recipes you will love
- 📋 Fried cauliflower recipe
❤️ This recipe is
- vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free so nearly everyone can enjoy it!
- fast and easy to make - cooks in less than 3 minutes!
- a perfect vegan appetizer.
- delicious served over rice with your choice of sauce.
- great for dipping and kids love it!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Cauliflower Florets - I usually just buy a head of cauliflower and cut the florets into bite-sized pieces. You can also buy a bag of florets ready to go. (You need to use fresh, not frozen cauliflower).
- Flour - for the batter. You can use all-purpose wheat flour or a gluten-free flour mix. (I find that gluten-free actually has a lighter and crispier texture).
- Corn Starch - to make it crispy. When cornstarch is fried, it gets very crispy.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder - just a little of each helps the batter puff up a little and gives it a lighter feel.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Onion and Garlic Powder - for flavor.
- Tumeric - for flavor and color. It gives them a nice golden brown color.
- Canola Oil - for frying the cauliflower in. You will need enough so that your nuggets can float and turn in the oil with ease. I like canola oil because it has a very neutral taste and a light texture. It also has a high smoke point, so it will be stable and won't smoke or break down. You can use any other neutral-flavored oil that you like.
🔪 Helpful tools
- Deep Frier - This is not totally necessary, but it makes it much easier because you can control the temperature of the oil and you have a basket to get out all of the nuggets at once when they are done cooking.
- Tongs - to allow you to drop the breaded cauliflower into the hot oil without getting too close and accidentally getting splashed with it. (Don't put the breaded cauliflower into the basket before submerging, or the batter may stick to the basket).
🥄 How to make fried cauliflower
Prepare the Cauliflower
- Wash the head of cauliflower under running water then shake the water off of it.
- Cut the cauliflower florets off the head of the cauliflower and into bite-sized pieces removing the large stem in the center of the head. (Try to keep the pieces a similar size, so they cook at the same rate).
Make the batter
- Put the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. (Flour, corn starch, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, baking soda, and baking powder).
- Pour in the water and stir the batter until it becomes a smooth paste.
- Put the cauliflower pieces into the batter and toss until well-coated.
✨ How to deep fry cauliflower
- Heat oil to 334° F.
- Use tongs to pick up the pieces of coated cauliflower and place them into the hot oil. (It will bubble and spatter so stand back).
- Allow cooking in the oil for 2-3 minutes until the bubbling slows down and the cauliflower nuggets are golden brown.
- Immediately remove from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve hot!
If you don't have a deep fryer - you can use a saucepan filled with about 3-4 inches of oil. A thermometer that goes up to 400° F will also be helpful. You can then use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the cauliflower from the oil.
Frying temperature - I find that 334°F is the perfect temperature to fry cauliflower. I don't fry it quite as hot as some other things like french fries because I want it to cook slowly enough to cook the cauliflower all the way through. However, don't cook it lower than 325° F or it will absorb too much oil and get soggy instead of crispy.
If you don't have a thermometer - you can test the temperature of your oil by cooking one piece first. You know that you have the right frying temperature if it bubbles vigorously when you first put it in and then the bubbling slows way down after about 2-3 minutes and you have a crunchy golden brown cauliflower nugget that is cooked through.
📖 Seasoning Variations
The basic batter recipe is great when eating with a sauce drizzled over them or on the side for dipping. However, they're also delicious (and crispier) eaten with the seasoning cooked into the batter for this simply add the following to the batter mixture.
- Cajun - 1-2 tsp of cajun seasoning mix like Tony Chachere's or equivalent. (If the seasoning mix has salt reduce the salt you add)
- Extra Spicy - 1/2 tsp paprika plus 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- Mexican - 2 tsp taco or fajita seasoning plus 1/4 tsp cumin.
- Popcorn Chicken Style - 1 tsp poultry seasoning plus 1/4 cup of cornmeal.
🍲 Serving suggestions
You can eat them plain as soon as you are done frying or you can dip them in vegan honey mustard, barbeque sauce, vegan honey garlic sauce, cilantro lime sauce, or ketchup.
You can also put it over rice and drizzle it with sweet chile sauce or Asian-style orange sauce to make orange cauliflower or sweet and sour sauce for sweet and sour cauliflower.
It's also delicious when served with vegan buffalo sauce and vegan blue cheese dressing for authentic-tasting vegan buffalo cauliflower wings!
✨ Are cauliflower nuggets healthy?
This is a recipe for fried cauliflower. It's not meant to be health food, however, the process of deep-frying actually cooks the food with less oil being absorbed than if you were to pan-fry it.
Cooking your food in hot oil above 325° F makes your food crispy without absorbing as much oil as if you had pan-fried it. You can read more about deep frying in this article by Jessica Gavin.
🥗 Want a healthier baked alternative?
If you want a crispy cauliflower nugget without frying, use my roasted cauliflower nuggets recipe. These nuggets are delicious, yet cooked on a cookie sheet in the oven.
You can also use this recipe and place these coated cauliflower pieces on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake them at 425°F for about 45 minutes, turning 1/2 way through.
❓ Can I air fry these nuggets?
No, it's not a good idea to put my battered version in your air fryer since the batter is wet and will drip all over the inside. You can use my roasted cauliflower nuggets recipe in the air fryer since it has a drier coating.
🌟 More recipes you will love
- Vegan Popcorn Chicken
- Crispy Deep-Fried Tofu
- Easy Cauliflower Stuffing
- Vegan Cauliflower Risotto with Spinach
- Tofu Fries
- Fried Oyster Mushrooms
- Zucchini Fries
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Fried cauliflower recipe
Fried Cauliflower
Equipment
- deep fryer - helpful, but not necessary.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower about 4 cups of florets
For the batter
- 3/4 cup flour gluten-free flour mixes work great!
- 2 tablespoon corn starch or potato starch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (reduce for lower sodium or if using seasoning with salt in it)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 cup water
For Frying
- 3 inches oil for frying
Instructions
Prepare the Cauliflower
- Wash the head of cauliflower under running water then shake the water off of it.
- Cut the cauliflower florets off the head of cauliflower and into bite-sized pieces removing the large stem in the center of the head. (Try to keep the pieces a similar size, so they cook at the same rate).
Make the batter
- Put the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. (Flour, corn starch, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, baking soda, and baking powder).
- Pour in the water and stir the batter until it becomes a smooth paste.
- Put the cauliflower pieces into the batter and toss until well coated.
Deep Fry the Cauliflower
- Heat oil to 334°F (168°C)°.
- Use tongs to pick up the pieces of coated cauliflower and place them into the hot oil. (It will bubble and spatter so stand back).
- Allow to cook in the oil for 2-3 minutes until the bubbling slows down and the cauliflower nuggets are golden brown.
- Immediately remove from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve hot!
Video
Notes
- Cajun - 1-2 tsp of cajun seasoning mix like Tony Chachere's or equivalent. (If the seasoning mix has salt reduce the salt you add)
- Extra Spicy - 1/2 tsp paprika plus 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- Mexican - 2 tsp taco or fajita seasoning plus 1/4 tsp cumin.
- Popcorn Chicken Style - 1 tsp poultry seasoning plus 1/4 cup of cornmeal.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
I used your recipe but added a 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp chow mein seasoning (was being brave) and 1 Tbsp ground flax before adding the water. Then when cooled mixed in my favorite Asian sauce with a splash of soy sauce and topped this on a bed of steamed rice and carrot shavings. Very versatile recipe. Ty so much. 😊
Try lining your sink or a large plate with paper towels and set a cookie cooling rack over it then allow the fried Cauliflower to cool on that it will keep them crispy in my experience compared to cooling on the paper towels makes them a bit soggier. Thank you for a yummy recipe.
You can put a cooling rack over a sheet pan also and let them cool. I’ve been doing fried cauliflower since the early 70’s. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for a better idea 😊
I really enjoyed cooking and eating your fried cauliflower recipe. I was going through some creative vegetable dishes to try something different from my style of cooking, to enjoy a new taste and found your recipes, which are really awesome. Although I am not a vegan, but an omnivore. Still I love my vegetables almost every other day. Thank You for the recipe and your efforts.
I'm so happy that you are enjoying my recipes, Neil! This fried cauliflower is one of my personal favorites! 🙂
Omg this is a amazing recipe! Thank u so much for sharing I'm 6 months in my vegetarian journey and this was absolutely astauoishing can't wait to try more of ur recipes!
You're welcome! I'm glad that you liked it! It's my favorite way to eat cauliflower! 🙂
My first time trying the recipe..I'm in Love🤗..I even added onion rings and they fried up wonderfully with that batter..going to add Cajun seasoning next time..I did add Lemon pepper to the mix! Definitely a Keeper!!!
I'm so happy that you liked it, Melodie! 🙂
Excellent, simple recipe! I had been looking for a simple batter coating for cauliflower and possibly other vegetables. Works very well! Some recipe comments here about steaming the cauliflower first. My experience is the cauliflower easily cooks sufficiently when deep frying......steaming first is not needed and may over cook the cauliflower. Thanks Monica!!
You're welcome, Robert, I'm glad that you liked it. I agree with you, I have tested steaming the cauliflower ahead of frying, but it's overcooked that way. Allowing it to cook during the frying process works perfectly.
I’ve been making this cauliflower for years except that I pre-boil my cauliflower a little and I use flour then egg then Panko crumbs with the cheese sauce over it at the end thanks for sharing the recipe
I’ve done deep fried cauliflower for years but I use flour then egg then Panko crumbs but I steam my cauliflower for a while and let it cool before breading it then it’s cooked in the same way and I use a cheese sauce over the top it’s rather elegant. The cauliflower can be steamed and refrigerated the day before
Can you use an air fryer for this recipe?
The batter is fairly drippy, so you may not want to put them in your air fryer. You could put them on a cookie sheet and bake them at 425° F for about 45 minutes.
Monica, thank you for posting this delicious recipe! I have been searching the web for weeks on the perfect fried cauliflower with no avail... until today. My husband absolutely loved it! This will be in meal rotation. I’m looking forward trying other recipes on your site.
I'm so happy that you and your husband loved it! I'm pretty obsessed with this stuff too! 🙂
Hey sounds like a great recipe and am going to try it out tonight, just wondering if these are any good reheated the next day?
You can put it on a cookie sheet and bake it to help crisp it up again, but it's best eaten fresh and hot! Enjoy! 🙂
Ive not yet tried it yet but have you tried it with almond flour n arrow root starch??
I've never tested it with either of those, but please let me know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
I've tried a very similar baked recipe (from ChocolateCoveredKaty). I used almond flour, I think some of the other commenters did too. I liked it. But I prefer to use at least one other flour with it for best texture. 🙂
They turned out great! Added dry ranch packet for seasoning.
I'm glad that you liked it, Nichole! 🙂
Tried them today and they were crispy on the outside and lovely and soft on the inside beautifully cooked. The batter was so easy to make, I have tried other mixtures but this has been a real winner. I will definitely make this again and try some other flavourings. I can see this becoming a favourite in our household thank you.
Thanks Maggie, I'm so happy that you liked them. I have a serious addiction to these cauliflower nuggets! 🙂
I'm totally addicted to these nuggets! I've made this recipe about 5 times in the last few weeks! They are so crispy and have the perfect seasonings. (I 've been making the Cajun version).
I have the same problem, Kristin! 🙂
OMG! These were the best homemade cauliflower wings! They taste even better than the ones that I get when I go out to eat. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy that you liked it, Rob! Thanks for leaving a comment! 🙂