This vegan Kung Pao Cauliflower is a quick and easy weeknight meal! A spicy, savory homemade sauce comes together in just minutes and makes a world of difference in this dish. This recipe is from my cookbook The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook.
When I’m craving Chinese take-out, I like to make this healthier, meatless version of Kung Pao Cauliflower at home.
Confession: I’m not really someone that goes crazy over cauliflower. I don’t try to turn it into tacos, pizza, bread, or desserts (no, no). But I do love it as rice, mashed potatoes, or used in tasty vegetarian dishes. And it works really well for Kung Pao.
This easy vegan dish comes together in about 30 minutes from start to finish, making it even quicker than take-out in most cases. If you have one, a wok or piping hot cast iron skillet works perfectly for this Cauliflower Kung Pao.
This recipe uses two ingredients you may not be familiar with—sambal oelek (a spicy chili paste) and lemony Sichuan pepper. Both of these can likely be found at your local supermarket or Amazon (see below), and bring this Kung Pao sauce to life. These ingredients are also what makes this dish spicy, so feel free to alter the heat to your taste.
Sambal oelek is a spicy chili paste made from chili peppers, vinegar, and salt. Fragrant Sichuan pepper, commonly used in Chinese cuisine, possesses a numbing heat.
Those two ingredients, along with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and vegetable stock compose the sauce for the Kung Pao Cauliflower.
Give me an ice cold Tsingtao and this Cauliflower Kung Pao and I’m set! Who needs take-out?
The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook is available on May 21st on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, IndieBound, and more! For the next generation of home cooks, The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook serves up fresh and healthy recipes that reinvent the possibilities of cast iron cooking. Learn more here!
I hope that you make and enjoy this Kung Pao Cauliflower! Have you ever tried creating your favorite take-out dishes at home? How about making them meatless? Let us know in the comments below!
Ground Sichuan Pepper | Sambal Oelek Chili Paste | Toasted Sesame Oil | Organic Rice Vinegar
This post contains affiliate links and are always products I use in my own kitchen & highly recommend!
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Kung Pao Cauliflower (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This vegan Kung Pao Cauliflower is a quick and easy weeknight meal! A spicy, savory homemade sauce comes together in just minutes and makes a world of difference in this dish. This recipe is from my cookbook The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook.
Ingredients
For the cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 scallions, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the sauce
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat a 12” cast iron skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon of vegetable oil and the cauliflower florets. Arrange the cauliflower in one even layer and try not to overcrowd the pan. You can do this in two batches, if needed.
- Cook the cauliflower, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp-tender. Season with sea salt and pepper. Remove the cauliflower and set aside.
- Add the other tablespoon of oil and cook the bell peppers and shallot in the hot skillet until crisp-tender. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Make the sauce while the vegetables are cooking by combining the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sambal oelek, sesame oil, brown sugar, Sichuan pepper, and fresh ginger. Stir together the vegetable stock with the cornstarch until dissolved and add to the sauce. Whisk until incorporated.
- Pour the sauce into the pan with the peppers and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir the cauliflower into the pan and toss everything to evenly coat with the sauce.
- Serve over steamed white rice with chopped scallions and peanuts on top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving, without rice
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 13g
- Sodium: 1432mg
- Fat: 15.5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 25.1g
- Fiber: 5.2g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
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Made this for dinner tonight! Delicious, it’s a keeper!
★★★★★
Thank you, Christa! So happy you enjoyed!
Thank you for sharing your beet root juice. I love beets, and would very mch like to try this juice for my hypertension. Thank you for the warning that beets could cause kidney stones., which means I have to go easy on it. Am also starting to go vegan as at my age, I feel that I should switch to veggie. May I rate the juice instead? I believe it would be very good. Actually I drink the stock from the beet root that I boil and I find it refrshing even without ice.
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We are crazy about cauliflower at home. It’s sold very cheap in our supermarket and it’s a great and filling healthy option, so we buy it a lot. New recipes are always appreciated to change things up at home, so thanks!
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Not really into cauliflower but this makes me wanna go and cook! I’m on keto as well so this one’s good right?
Wow such a nice way to make family eat cauliflower. I totally loved the presentation.
Tiffany, your recipes look so delicious! I would really like to make this for the family!
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Kung Pao Cauliflower is one of my favorites! It’s really tasty and yummy for sure! Yum Yum!
★★★★★
I love how versatile cauliflower is! It’s so yummy and easy to make. I use it now in everything!
This looks amazing! What a great & healthy alternative to typical Chinese takeout!
I am definitely pinning this recipe. It is something my entire family would love – and it’s hard to please everyone when it comes to dinnertime.
★★★★★
This looks brilliant. and much more healthy than defied chicken.
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Cauliflower is my fave vegetable! Excited to make kung pao cauliflower for the family! 😀
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Looks really good! I love this vegan twist to Kung Pao. I will save the recipe and make this soon as I have all ingredients together.
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I would definitely love this. I am a big cauliflower fan, for a really long time. The sauce looks amazing.
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Yummy yummy! I love cauliflower. I would definitely make this minus the peppers.
That looks amazing! I would eat my weight in it. I love the flavors here.
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