This easy, no-fry Breaded and Baked Parmesan Cauliflower is first dredged in a seasoned breadcrumb mixture and baked, then coated in garlic butter for an irresistible, buttery and cheesy finger food or side dish!
JUMP TO RECIPEThis ultra crispy and flavorful Baked Parmesan Cauliflower with garlic butter is a delicious way to make even the biggest cauliflower skeptic want to eat the whole pan! With a super flavorful cheese-infused breading, and a simple and tasty garlic butter drizzle, this Baked Breaded Cauliflower makes a great snack or side for any day of the week!
This recipe works great because it uses a panko breading mixture that is slightly moistened with olive oil, which promotes great browning and flavor as the cauliflower bakes in the oven. Without that extra step, you'd have more of a splotchy browning, with mostly white breading.
The little bit of oil helps transfer heat and promotes Maillard browning, which gives the breading it's golden brown color and crisp texture. I use a similar method for my Crispy Air Fryer Salmon, and it works beautifully there, too!
Table of Contents
- Why you'll love this recipe
- Ingredient Notes
- Tips for Perfect Baked Cauliflower
- Storing and reheating leftovers
- Faqs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- More great appetizer recipes
Why you'll love this recipe
Crispy and flavorful. With extra light and crunchy panko breadcrumbs, tangy parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, the breading perfectly coats and seasons the cauliflower. Once its baked, you'll drizzle it with garlic butter for even more flavor! You could put garlic and parmesan cheese on pretty much anything and I'd eat it. It's just such a good flavor combo!
Less fat and mess than frying. These Baked Parmesan Cauliflower bites are made with a seasoned parmesan and panko breading that is moistened with a bit of olive oil, so they get nice and brown and crunchy, without a ton of extra oil and the mess an saturated fat of deep frying.
Great for snacking, or as a side dish. These crispy cauliflower bites are my favorite way to incorporate more veggies into tailgates or party spreads! They also make a great side dish alongside easy mains like Grilled Harissa Honey Chicken, Baked Cheeseburger Sliders, or Sloppy Joes!
Ingredient Notes
One large head of cauliflower, or bagged pre-cut florets. If you are using a whole head of cauliflower, you'll remove the leaves and core, an cut into florets. You want to keep the size of them relatively uniform, as smaller pieces may be prone to burning. And if you like, you can save the leaves for chopping up and using in a stir fry, like my Chicken Cashew Stir Fry!
Panko breadcrumbs. Go for unseasoned panko, since you will be seasoning the mixture and adding Parmesan cheese. I prefer Panko for this recipe, as it is lighter, and makes for crispier cauliflower. Skip the regular, coarsely ground variety of breadcrumbs for this recipe. Panko has better texture and crispy coating, while standard breadcrumbs may be dense and soggy.
Olive oil. This will moisten the breadcrumb mixture, and promote even browning. Consider it like oven frying, you still get that crisp texture from the oil, but with a lot less.
Crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and grated parmesan cheese. Along with salt and pepper, these will give the breading great flavor, and just a touch of heat.
Flour, milk, and eggs. You'll coat the cauliflower florets in flour first to help the egg and milk mixture cling nicely to each floret, then dredge in the panko mixture. When breading, you'll gently press the moistened breadcrumb mxiture to the florets to help it stick and stay in place while baking.
Don't forget the garlic butter!
When the Baked Parmesan Cauliflower is ready, you'll mix melted butter and fresh minced or pressed garlic together, and drizzle over top for extra flavor!
Tips for Perfect Baked Cauliflower
Prepping your sheet pan. Use cooking spray to coat the pan, or bake on parchment paper to make sure the cauliflower doesn't stick, and make cleanup easier. I love using pop up parchment sheets, as they cover the pan, but still allows the cauliflower to get nice and crunchy. Also- they are pre-cut, and super easy to work with!
(Gently) Press the breading. To make sure you get maixium breading coverage, gently squeeze the breading as you dredge to help it adhere to the cauliflower.
Keep your cauliflower uniform in size. If you have really big and really tiny pieces, they won't cook evenly, and the smaller pieces might burn while the others get tender. To get the best results, keep the florets relatively uniform in size.
Breaded Baked Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe
Equipment
- cooking spray or parchment paper
- large sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, core removed, cut into florets, (or 1 lb bagged prepped florets)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup milk (whole milk or 25)
Sauce/Coating:
- 4 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 cloves minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 2. Clean and cut the cauliflower into individual florets. 3. Add the panko breadcrumbs, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese to a large bowl and mix together with a fork until well combined. Add the olive oil and mix well until breadcrumb mixture is moistened. 4. Set up a dredging station: Add flour to a large bowl. Whisk eggs and milk together in a smaller bowl. Set bowl with breadcrumb mixture last. 5. Get your baking sheets ready by spraying them with cooking spray, or lining with parchment, and set them aside. 6. One at a time, dredge the cauliflower in flour, shake/tap off excess, then coat in the egg/milk and allow any excess to run off. Toss in breadcrumb mixture, and squeeze gently in your hand to help breadcrumbs adhere in a thick layer. Repeat until all cauliflower is coated, and transfer to prepared baking sheets as you go. 7. Once all florets are breaded, transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown. 8. Once cauliflower is baked, melt the butter and whisk together with minced garlic. Drizzle the garlic butter evenly over the baked cauliflower wings. 9. Serve cauliflower warm with ranch or blue cheese for dipping!
Notes
Storing and reheating leftovers
To store any leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can air fry at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, or reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until warmed through.
Faqs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I use an air fryer?
Yes! You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer basket to avoid overcrowding, but you can make these in the air fryer in a single layer in a basket sprayed with cooking spray, for 20 minutes at 400 degrees f, flipping carefully halfway through.
Can I use another type of cheese for the breading?
You want to use a relatively dry cheese like parmesan for these so they stay crispy when baking. Grated asiago, Pecorino Romano, or Manchego cheese would all be great options.
How do I keep my cauliflower from getting soggy?
To keep things crisp, be sure to make sure there is not a lot of excess milk and egg, and let excess run back into the bowl before dredging. Don't add more olive oil than recommended, and be sure to use light and airy panko breadcrumbs, rather than traditional well ground breadcrumbs, which are prone to sogging out in the oven.
More great appetizer recipes
If you love this Baked Parmesan Breaded Cauliflower recipe, you'll love these easy apps, too!
Try my easy bite-sized Baked Chicken Bacon Ranch Meatballs!
Make a batch of my cheesy and delicious Salami Cheesesteak Wontons.
Use up that leftover rotisserie chicken to make my Easy Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders.
Get fancy and make my decadent Crab Imperial Stuffed Mushrooms.
Try my flavorful Asian-inspired Mongolian Beef Ramen Egg Rolls!
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