30 minutes or less easy Vegetarian Recipes
This is basically vegan orange chicken; cheap and healthy and incredibly delicious. Even if you're not actually vegan, you should give this a try as an incredibly tasty alternative to your usual meat-heavy dinner.
Posted June 6, 2019 by Mike
Pretty much everyone knows and loves orange chicken, Panda Express’s greatest dish. This is a slightly more authentic, much much healthier vegan version that you can feel good about eating every night if you want. It’s not deep fried, oily, or difficult, and it’s utterly, utterly delicious. A tangy, bright, and slightly sweet sauce comes together with lightly crispy cauliflower and forms something that tastes not even close to just vegetables. If you’re not used to eating veggies as a main, this could be a dangerous gateway to a whole new world of veggies for dinner. If you are, well you’re in for a treat.
Cooking Notes
You may need to adjust the sugar content to suit you because it’s not possible to predict the sweetness of the orange you end up with. Taste the sauce before you toss in the cauliflower and go for a little sweeter and richer if you’d like; unlike meat, the neutrality of the cauliflower can absolutely absorb the extra flavor.
Cauliflowers should be cut fairly small; the smaller, the crispier, the more satisfying, within reason. We’re looking for about inch wide pieces.
What do you need?
A non stick skillet and a baking sheet. Cooking spray is highly recommended.
How do you serve it?
Serve with rice, fried noodles, and maybe a healthy side salad.
The Dinner & Chill Oven Baked Orange Cauliflower Recipe
Serves 1-2
- 1 large cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 cup orange juice (about half an orange)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
1. Preheat your oven to 450ºF and cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Add a little oil to the foil and rub it around with a paper towel to coat. Break up your cauliflower into small florets, then coat with oil (preferably with cooking spray; toss in a large bowl if not) and season well with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer your cauliflower to a ziplock/plastic bag along with 2 tablespoons of corn starch and shake well. Arrange the cauliflower onto your foil lined baking sheet.
3. Bake your cauliflower for 30 minutes at 450ºF.
4. While the cauliflower is baking, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of water in a cup and stir into a smooth slurry.
5. Make your sauce by combining orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Add the corn starch slurry to it and bring to a boil, then take off the heat and stir until a smooth and glossy sauce forms. Set aside and relax with a glass of wine until the cauliflower is done.
6. When your cauliflower is crispy and brown, toss it in the sauce until everything is evenly coated. Top with sesame seeds and chopped green onions with a side of rice, and enjoy!
Welcome to Dinner & Chill, a new series focusing on quick & easy weeknight dinners with easy to find ingredients, no special equipment, low prep, and low effort. Less shopping, less chopping, less mopping, more eating.
10 Comments
Fanny says:
July 1, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Should the orange juice come from an orange or is store bought ok?
Reply
Stephanie says:
July 4, 2019 at 11:00 am
we used a fresh orange, but you can use store bought, if it’s the kind that’s “freshly squeezed.” different orange juices will have different amounts of sugar too. hope that helps!
Reply
Jana says:
August 7, 2019 at 2:15 pm
I find it pretty interesting how “easy to find ingredients” (as you write in the Dinner & Chill description) depend on where you are. I had to go to two stores today to get all the things neccessary for this recipe – soy sauce and especially rice vinegar are not so easily available in Austria, where I am based.
But the rest of your description came to be true for me: Low prep, low effort and ready in little time. Thanks for the interesting recipe, never tried anything similar before!
Reply
jmaluku says:
August 15, 2019 at 4:51 am
Hi Jana, I am living in Austria as well, where did you get the rice vinegar?
Reply
Sara says:
March 11, 2020 at 10:48 am
Looks soooo tasty! I have to be low sugar. How can I reduce or eliminate the sugar in this recipe?
Reply
Brenda says:
April 15, 2020 at 1:05 pm
Would love to try this but the 1/2 cup sugar scares me into thinking it’s not that healthy. Is there any substitutes you have tried for the sugar?
Reply
Stephanie says:
April 16, 2020 at 12:54 pm
hi brenda,
you can dial down the sugar from 1/4 cup (it’s not 1/2 a cup) to 2 tablespoons or use honey instead!Reply
Ashley says:
January 24, 2021 at 7:08 pm
This recipe was fantastic!! Super yummy. I added in a little extra fresh orange juice because I love the flavor. Also, I think I would turn the cauliflower halfway when cooking in the oven to crisp evenly. I will definitely be making this again though!! Thank you.Reply
Leave a Reply
Read
Read
Read
Recipe Roundups
5 Best Mashed PotatoesMy best mashed potato mix-ins and flavors. Warning: very fancy mashed potatoes ahead.See the list
Sunday Brunch
Corned Beef HashHomemade corned beef hash just might be the best breakfast you eat this yearBest meal of the week
Basics & How To
How to Cook GyozaHow to make gyoza from scratch like an expert.Let's do it
Bread
Ricotta ToastMove over avocado toast, ricotta toast is here to stay.I Knead this
