How to Make Gluten Free Breaded Cauliflower With Nacho Cheese
Seasoned and roasted Cauliflower bites are perfect for dipping into this spicy, vegan nacho cheese sauce. Low-fat and gluten-free!
Super Bowl Sunday is almost here. If you're looking for a snack that you can eat without guilt while all of your friends and family are stuffing their faces with chips and guacamole, have I got a treat for you. Make that two treats!
There are plenty of low-fat dips out there–I have almost two dozen right here–but I often have trouble finding low-calorie foods to scoop them up with. Homemade baked tortilla chips are fine, but they're far from calorie free. And I can chomp on only so many carrot sticks before I start to turn orange. These cauliflower bites are the perfect scooper: cooked but still a little crispy and healthy but highly seasoned.
Plus, here is my new favorite party dip. I've been making vegan nacho cheese sauce for years, mixing the sauce from my Macaroni and Cheeze with salsa, but I really love this version for its flavor and for the fact that it contains no nuts, seeds, or nut butters. Instead, it gets some of its richness and color from mashed sweet potato.
I start with a base of lightly-flavored cheese sauce and stir in a can of the original Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Chilies, which gives it a medium-spicy flavor. Rotel makes several flavors, so if you're a spice-lover, you can use their hot version and if you don't like the spicy, use the mild version. Whichever one you choose, you will be amazed at how rich and cheesy this spicy dip tastes.
Thank you to reader Judith for suggesting Buffalo cauliflower bites for the Super Bowl edition of my newsletter. And thanks for the inspiration from PETA's Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower "Wings" and The V Word's Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower Bites. Both recipes look delicious, though I'd skip the oil and substitute my Tofu-Cashew Mayo for the margarine.
For more Super Bowl party ideas, be sure to subscribe to NewsBites. I'll be mailing out the Super Bowl edition to new subscribers all this week, so it's not too late.
Roasted Cauliflower Bites with Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
You can turn these into Buffalo Bites by tossing them with your favorite hot sauce after they've baked for 15 minutes; then continue baking until done.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6
Roasted Cauliflower Bites
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt optional or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder optional
Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup plain sugar-free non-dairy milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast see note below
- 1/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potato or canned pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 10-ounce can Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Chilies or salsa diced tomatoes drained and liquid reserved
- chipotle chili powder to taste
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Roasted Cauliflower Bites
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Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
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Cut the cauliflower into individual bite-sized florets. Try to keep them about the same size. Rinse them in a colander under running water. Shake off excess water but don't dry. Spread them out on the baking sheet.
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Combine all seasonings in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the cauliflower, turning the florets so that all sides are seasoned. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes; turn florets and bake another 15 minutes or until they are beginning to brown in spots. Remove and serve warm with nacho cheese or other dipping sauce.
Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
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Put all ingredients except Rotel tomatoes and chipotle into the blender. Blend at high speed until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until mixture becomes very thick. Stir in the drained tomatoes. If sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon or so of the reserved tomato liquid. Check seasoning, and add chipotle powder to taste if you'd like it spicier.
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Serve warm with Roasted Cauliflower Bites, tortilla chips, or crackers or atop burritos and tacos.
I use an unfortified nutritional yeast called Foods Alive after discovering that vitamins used to fortify yeast can be harmful.
Makes about 2 cups. Each serving is a quarter cup. Nutritional data uses 1 cup of plain soymilk. Other plant milks will change data.
Cheese sauce alone: 46 calories, 6.5g carbohydrates, 4g protein, 168mg sodium
Each serving is 1 point on Weight Watchers Freestyle program.
Nutrition Facts
Roasted Cauliflower Bites with Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 111 Calories from Fat 5
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.5g 1%
Sodium 441mg 19%
Carbohydrates 20.2g 7%
Fiber 6.4g 27%
Sugar 6g 7%
Protein 9g 18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine Vegan
Keyword roasted cauliflower, vegan cheese sauce
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Happy, healthy snacking!
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How to Make Gluten Free Breaded Cauliflower With Nacho Cheese
Source: https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2014/01/roasted-cauliflower-bites-vegan-nacho-cheese-sauce.html/comment-page-1