These vegan cauliflower parmesan bites are a wonderful way to enjoy cauliflower. Plus, they’re gluten-free and easy to make- a fun Italian spin on cauliflower wings.
While my ancestral heritage is primarily German, Icelandic, and British, I think that I must have some Mediterranean blood, given my deep affinity for Italian, Greek, and Middle Eastern food. (But then again, don’t we all love Mediterranean food? Ha.) Indeed, many of the recipes that I share here are inspired by the cuisines of that region of the world, and today, I am adding to that collection with these vegan cauliflower parmesan bites. They’re a fusion of Italian and North American cuisines, taking the concept of cauliflower wings into vegan Italian territory with a batter of chickpea flour and a garlicky cashew parmesan coating.
You can enjoy these as an appetizer with a dish of marinara sauce for dipping, or make a sandwich of them by layering them on bread or pitas with the marinara sauce and perhaps some of my basil pesto cashew cream over top. I created this recipe over the Christmas break, and I served them alongside my Mediterranean Chickpea Burgers.
vegan cauliflower parmesan bites ingredients
While you might think that these cauliflower bites look complicated to make, they are actually very simple, and require just a handful of ingredients. The batter is made with chickpea flour, non-dairy milk, sea salt, basil, oregano, and pepper, and the cashew parmesan contains cashews, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and garlic powder.
how to make them
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Chop the cauliflower into medium florets and place in a bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, non-dairy milk, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper until no lumps remain.
- To make the cashew parmesan, place the cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder in a food processor and process for 10-15 seconds, until coarsely ground. Transfer into a flat-bottomed dish.
- To make the bites, set up an assembly line with the cauliflower, chickpea flour batter, cashew parmesan, and baking sheets lined up from left to right.
- Take a cauliflower floret and dunk it into the chickpea flour batter, coating all sides evenly. Gently shake off excess batter. Next, dip it into the cashew parmesan, rolling to coat all sides. Transfer onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat step 6 with the remaining cauliflower, arranging it on the baking sheets in such a way that there is at least half an inch of space in between each piece. This ensures that it browns properly and gets nice and crispy.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, flipping at the 11-12 minute mark.
- Transfer onto a serving platter and enjoy with warmed marinara sauce.
notes
- Depending on the size of your cauliflower, you might not need all of the chickpea flour batter. You can always save it for another batch of vegetables- this recipe works with virtually any vegetable you have lying around in your fridge, including broccoli and Brussels sprouts!
- To make this recipe nut-free, use sunflower seeds in place of the cashews in the parmesan, and use nut-free milk in the batter.
more mediterranean recipes
- Mediterranean Lentil Bowls with Kale Caesar Salad
- Mediterranean Tofu Scramble
- Loaded Mediterranean Sweet Potato Fries (Vegan)
Well, I hope that you love these vegan cauliflower parmesan bites! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Finally, I’ll be posting a recipe for Jerk Tofu Burritos here on Friday, so be sure to check back for that- it’s fantastic, and one of my favourite fun Friday dinners!
Enjoy!
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Vegan Cauliflower Parmesan Bites
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan cauliflower parmesan bites are a wonderful way to enjoy cauliflower. Plus, they’re gluten-free and easy to make- a fun Italian spin on cauliflower wings.
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into medium florets
Chickpea Flour Batter
- ¾ cup chickpea flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch each fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cashew Parmesan
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For serving
- Warm marinara sauce
- Fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (That might seem high, but trust me- it works for this particular style of recipe.) It is very important to use parchment paper here- if you don’t, the cauliflower will likely stick to your baking sheets.
- Chop the cauliflower into medium florets and place in a bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, non-dairy milk, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper until no lumps remain.
- To make the cashew parmesan, place the cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder in a food processor and process for 10-15 seconds, until coarsely ground. Transfer into a flat-bottomed dish.
- To make the bites, set up an assembly line with the cauliflower, chickpea flour batter, cashew parmesan, and baking sheets lined up from left to right.
- Take a cauliflower floret and dunk it into the chickpea flour batter, coating all sides evenly. Gently shake off excess batter. Next, dip it into the cashew parmesan, rolling to coat all sides. Transfer onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat step 6 with the remaining cauliflower, arranging it on the baking sheets in such a way that there is at least half an inch of space in between each piece. This ensures that it browns properly and gets nice and crispy.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, flipping at the 11-12 minute mark.
- Transfer onto a serving platter and enjoy with warmed marinara sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian American
Keywords: vegan cauliflower parmesan bites
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