How to make vegan cauliflower steak with egg free breading - with this quick and easy recipe, a delicious vegan dinner is 30 minutes away!
recipe originally published August 9, 2012
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Breaded Cauliflower
Whether you are planning entrees for your Plant Based Holiday or just planning Thursday night dinner, vegan cauliflower steak is a delicious option. This incredibly quick and easy recipe is a crowd pleaser, and can be dressed up with any flavor you want.
- Gravy? Cauliflower steaks over mashed potatoes with gravy? Holiday perfection.
- Cheese sauce? Like a deliciously low carb mac and cheese alternative.
- Simple marinade, no breading? Serve over a brightly dressed crisp salad.
Once you make cauliflower steaks, you will see what a quick and easy recipe it is, and how many serving and flavor options there are.
How to make this recipe
The prep for making cauliflower steaks is literally 5 minutes. Maybe less, if you are quick with a knife.
Begin by trimming the leaves and stem from the whole cauliflower. One whole cauliflower makes two steaks, with extra cauliflower left over. (I often chop these into florets and roast at the same time. Sometimes I throw them back in the fridge for another recipe, or the freezer for a smoothie.)
The breading for this is two steps - the wet and the dry. There are several egg free breading options, and for the breading I use gluten free panko or blended up crunchy cereal (like a corn flake, rice puff or crisp Chex style).
Dip and coat and into the oven!
Egg free breading
There are so many options for the wet coating before breading, you don't need to use eggs. Depending on the recipe, our go to mixtures begin with a base of:
- vegetable broth
- water
- olive oil
- dairy free milk
- nut / seed butter
- hummus / tahini
- vegan mayonnaise
Starting with one of these, we then add ingredients for flavor, like ground spices and tamari. For thicker bases like nut butter, hummus, or mayonnaise, we add water for a thinner consistency. You can also use a spatula or knife to spread these on the cauliflower before dipping. The breading just needs something to stick to, and a thicker base will make a thicker breading.
Roasting without breading
These vegan cauliflower steaks are delicious without breading, too! We usually choose a marinade and plan to serve the steaks with a sauce (like the cheese sauce pictured), chutney, gravy, or other topping.
The best method for a roasted cauliflower steak with no breading: use one or more of our egg free options above as a marinade, and season with salt, pepper, and / or your favorite seasoning.
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Cauliflower Steak
with just a few minutes of easy prep, you will enjoy this fresh and flavorful "steak" dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth, dairy free milk, or water
- 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter (or your favorite nut butter)
- ½ teaspoon gluten free tamari
- ¼ cup gluten free panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon ground fennel
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. If using air fryer, line the basket with a parchment round.
- Remove outer stem and greens from cauliflower, slice vertically into two halves. At the largest point of each half, slice one 1-inch piece (for a total of two steaks, reserve remaining cauliflower for another use).
- In a shallow bowl, combine broth, seed / nut butter, and tamari.
- In a flat dish, combine panko crumbs with ground fennel, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt.
- Dip each cauliflower steak into broth mixture, coating completely including edges. Place each cauliflower steak into panko crumbs, coating all sides completely.
- Arrange steaks on a prepared (parchment lined) baking sheet. Bake at 400 °F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully turn each cauliflower steak over. Return to oven and roast for another 15 minutes.
- Cooking in air fryer: place steaks in parchment lined basket, air fry at 400 °F for 8 minutes. Remove and carefully turn cauliflower over. Return to air fryer for another 7-8 minutes at 400 °F.
Notes
dairy, egg, and gluten free, vegan recipe
Egg free breading
There are so many options for the wet coating before breading, you don't need to use eggs. Depending on the recipe, our go to mixtures begin with a base of:
- vegetable broth
- water
- olive oil
- dairy free milk
- nut / seed butter
- hummus / tahini
- vegan mayonnaise
Starting with one of these, we then add ingredients for flavor, like ground spices and tamari. For thicker bases like nut butter, hummus, or mayonnaise, we add water for a thinner consistency. You can also use a spatula or knife to spread these on the cauliflower before dipping. The breading just needs something to stick to.
Roasting without breading
Cauliflower steaks are delicious without breading, too! We usually choose a marinade and plan to serve the steaks with a sauce, chutney, gravy, or other topping.
The best method for a roasted cauliflower steak with no breading: use one or more of our egg free options above as a marinade, and season with salt, pepper, and / or your favorite seasoning.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 267Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 415mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 12gSugar: 11gProtein: 16g
nutrition calculations results vary by calculator, are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace medical advice or treatment.
about Kristina:
Kristina is spabettie! She found cooking at an early age, and created spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. Kristina turned her culinary training into sharing vibrant vegan food! Read more...
spabettie / Kristina Sloggett is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Richa says
i love that crunchy gf breading! i think this will fare much better than a toasted cauliflower slice for the non vegetable liking crowd:)
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack! says
Shiiiiiiiit. I've been wanting to try my hand at making cauliflower steaks, but the way that you breaded these just blew my mind! Another recipe for my endless to-do list! <3
Kate | Food Babbles says
This looks AWESOME!! I am headed over right now to grab this recipe and I'm adding it to my meal plan for the week. WOW!
erinwyso says
Kristina, This sounds DIVINE! I will definitely give this one a try!
Heather @ Better With Veggies says
Cauliflower Steak?! Oh my gosh - you have done it again!! 🙂 So interesting!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
Yeow! I would be in holiday bliss too! I still think you should hop a plane to CO for the weekend... with wasabi chocolates. 😉
Abby says
Even though I could never eat anything they made, I do miss the smells and sights and sounds of a big family Thanksgiving meal. Last year my mom still made a small meal for her and her friend, but I don't think she can even afford that this year. Instead we're going to go to the home with Gram and hang out there for the big meal and just enjoy the company (and hope it smells better than normal.) 😉
Your ideas? Genius. I would love to come hang out!
Heather (Where's the Beach) says
Those look amazing! I hope you have room for me and Jason!! 😉 Our menu pretty much never changes. That can be good and bad. I don't get to be creative, but then I also don't have to stress about it. I do have to make something for a work potluck though.