There is nothing more delicious than cauliflower nuggets with vegan cheese when we talk about vegan nuggets. I have made cauliflower nuggets in the past, but I wanted to bread them this time.
I think this time, I just skipped trying steam the cauliflowers and decided to blend it in my Vitamix blender until it was like a dotted mince. That was a scary moment, fearing it may become like cauliflower smoothie. But luckily it worked well!
One of the most awesome ingredients I used here is Daiya vegan mozzarella shreds. It’s soy free and has the most delicious, melting cheese flavor I’ve ever tried.
Please be noted that the cauliflower will be softer and wetter if you don’t squeeze out as much water, so be sure to do that well! You may also wish to bake them slightly longer if you feel that the nuggets are not cooked enough or too wet.
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup vegan mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons corn/tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon brown rice flour
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- A few sprinkles ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon whole wheat pastry flour (or other flour)
- ¼ cup dry bread crumbs (I used Trader Joe’s organic bread crumbs)
- 2 tablespoon corn meal
- 1 tablespoon golden flaxseeds
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon flaked onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon Himalayan salt
- A few sprinkles ground pepper
- A pinch of red pepper flakes
- Cut away the stem and greens from the cauliflower and rip it into small florets. Put it in a high speed blender like Vitamix and use a food tamper to push down while pulsing them quickly, to let them become mince.
- You may need to use a spoon to stir it around.
- Once the cauliflower is all minced up, put it in a strainer and squeeze out as much water as you possibly can from it. The mixture should be extremely thick. You may even want to put it through a cheesecloth.
- Put it in a bowl. Peel the garlic and finely mince it and add it in the bowl along with the vegan mozzarella cheese, corn/tapioca starch, brown rice flour, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano and ground pepper. Stir until it’s completely even.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs (try not to use those that are filled with oil if possible), corn meal, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, flaked onion, garlic powder, chia seeds, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Give it a good stir.
- In another bowl, combine the almond milk and flour together and stir until it dissolves.
- Spray some non-stick cooking oil on a 9×13 inch oven tray.
- Use your hands to take a small handful of cauliflower mixture and shape it into a nugget. Dip it slightly into the almond milk and flour, then coat it with the crumbs.
- Repeat until all the cauliflower mixture is done. You may end up with more crumbs and liquid.
- Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, then flip each of the nuggets over and bake for another 30 minutes (about 50 minutes-1 hour in total) until both sides are golden brown. Please also note that the thinner your nuggets are, the faster they will cook.
- Serve with hot sauce (like Cholula) or ketchup.
