These Breaded & Fried Cauliflower Nuggets are the perfect game day snack! Even when you’re not into sports, you’ll love these crispy veggie nuggets. It’s almost unbelievable that these are made with cauliflower! Dip them into BBQ sauce and enjoy!
I really don’t know how to begin to describe these Cauliflower Nuggets because they are UNREAL. You have to try them for yourself to find out how amazing these are!
They are super crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. It’s almost unbelievable that it’s cauliflower!
These Breaded & Fried Cauliflower Nuggets are my favorite thing to make with cauliflower right now (and probably forever). I always felt that cauliflower is the meh-cousin of broccoli, but these nuggets made me fall in love with the vegetable for real.
Served with BBQ sauce, these are the perfect snack for game day get-togethers or parties!
How to make Breaded & Fried Cauliflower Nuggets
The Ingredients
The ingredients you will need for these CauliflowerNuggets are super basic. You can find the whole recipe at the end of the post. But here’s an overview:
cauliflower
frying oil (strain leftover-oil and reuse it!)
for the batter, you will need:
flour,
water,
and spices
for the breading, you’ll need:
fine breadcrumbs,
panko flakes,
flour (to make sure the cauliflower florets are coated completely),
sesame seeds,
and spices
If you don’t have panko flakes at home, no worries, just use more fine breadcrumbs! If you’re missing some of the spices, feel free to experiment with what you have!
If you’re unsure about frying, I’ve compiled a couple of tips on how to deep-fry in a pot.
More Cauliflower Recipes you will love
Looking for healthier, baked wings? > Baked BBQ Cauliflower Wings
Want spicy wings? > Spicy Cauliflower Wings
Golden Cauliflower Rice
Tandoori Cauliflower Wrap
Cauliflower Rice
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
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I hope you enjoy these cauliflower nuggets as much as I do! Let me know if you give them a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Breaded & Fried Cauliflower Nuggets
Bianca Haun | Elephantastic Vegan
These Breaded & Fried Cauliflower Nuggets are the perfect game day snack! Even when you’re not into sports, you’ll love these crispy nuggets. They are quick and easy to make!
For the batter: In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, paprika powder, turmeric powder. Add water and whisk until it’s a smooth batter.*
For the Breading: Combine all the ingredients listed above for the breading in a bowl.
Heat the frying oil in a pot.** Make sure you don’t fill the pot more than half the height of the pot to prevent oil from spilling over.
Then take one cauliflower floret at the stem, dip it in the batter, then in the breading (make sure it's coated well), then carefully lower it into the oil. Work in batches (4-8 nuggets depending on the size of your pot). Let them fry for 8 minutes until golden brown.
Transfer the cauliflower nuggets onto a paper towel to remove excess oil.Repeat until you’ve used up all the cauliflower florets. They are absolutely delicious dipped in BBQ sauce or sweet & sour sauce!
Notes
*You can adjust the consistency of the batter by adding more flour if it’s too thin and more water if it’s too thick. Ideally, it should be between a crepe (thin batter) and a pancake batter (thick batter).
**If you have a deep-fryer you can use it of course!
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The secret to giving cauliflower the perfect texture when battering and frying, is to not parboil it. When you fry cauliflower with batter, it also cooks the cauliflower. So if you parboil beforehand, you will end up with mushy cauliflower.
Eggless batter is a valid vegan substitute for the traditional batter used to fry fish, vegetables or meat: the basic mixture is the same – water and flour – but there are as many variations as there are possible additional ingredients.
Fried cauliflower contains 1.6 g of saturated fat and 8.5 mg of cholesterol per serving. 85 g of Fried cauliflower contains 3.40 mcg vitamin A, 13.7 mg vitamin C, 0.09 mcg vitamin D as well as 1.24 mg of iron, 27.20 mg of calcium, 130 mg of potassium. Fried cauliflower belong to 'Fried vegetables' food category.
Cauliflower has a very high water content, so it won't get crispy if you bake the florets crowded together. "Be sure to give each floret a bit of room so that the they have space for airflow. I'd also recommend baking them on a silicone baking mat," says Blay.
If you're planning to roast the cauliflower whole or slice it into steaks, slice off the thick stem at the base. Drop the whole cauliflower head upside-down into cool, salted water. Let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes to remove dirt, residue and bugs.
The typical three-step process is flour, eggs and then breadcrumbs. Instead of the egg, Moskowitz recommends a mix of cornstarch and water, which, when stirred together, forms a slurry. It, too, is an effective glue, and you may even notice more crispness to, say, your chicken parm.
Try mixing in a small amount of cornstarch. Rather than mixing the dry cornstarch directly into the food you're trying to thicken, first make a slurry of cold water and cornstarch. Multiple ratios can work, but one part cornstarch to two parts water is a good place to start.
Nutritionally, cauliflower is lighter in calories and carbs than potatoes and is more nutrient-dense. That's why it's popular among the low carb and weight loss communities.
Unlike chicken wings, cauliflower is free of cholesterol and low in fat and saturated fat. It's also packed with fiber and antioxidants, making it a powerful food for heart health!
Drought and rising costs have led to a reduction of the acreage in Spain, and just like in other European producing areas, adverse weather conditions have also caused production losses. The demand is far outstripping the supply in Europe and prices are reaching unprecedented levels.
Why is my cauliflower fried rice soggy? You don't want to cook the cauliflower too long, or it might end up too soft. All it takes is about three minutes to make it tender, but don't cook it much longer than that.
The key to nonmushy cauliflower lies in how you cut it: Break apart the large head into smaller florets.Now take your knife, and starting at the stem end of the floret, slice about halfway down and snap apart.
Crowding the cauliflower on the pan could make them cook up mushy and a bit soggy. Leave some space between the florets. Be sure not to use too much olive oil to cook them.
Arrange blanched cauliflower in single layers on drying trays.Dry at 140 degrees F (60°C) in an oven or dehydrator. If necessary, turn large pieces over every 3 to 4 hours during the drying period. Vegetables can scorch easily toward the end of drying, so monitor more closely as drying nears completion.
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