Sweet & spicy oven baked cauliflower wings served in crisp boston lettuce cups with a homemade beet tahini dip. This is the perfect dish for a light and refreshing meal to enjoy as an appetizer or a light lunch.

We love how versatile cauliflower is and enjoy it most served as wings. The subtleness of the beet tahini adds a nice earthy balance to the spiciness of the wings and a touch of colour to the dish! Alternatively, you could serve this with your favourite store bought hummus or dip for a quicker meal.

The great thing about cauliflower wings is that they can easily be meal prepped for lunches as they tend to reheat fairly well. Turn them into a meal by serving them overtop a leafy salad, even over rice with some shredded carrots, edamame, radishes, and garnish with microgreens as a healthy plant-based power bowl.

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Please enjoy and bon appétit!

Print Recipe

Szechuan cauliflower lettuce wraps with a beet tahini sauce

sweet & spicy cauliflower wings made into a simple healthy appetizer served with crisp lettuce cups and a beet tahini sauce

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Appetizers

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• For the wings
• 1 cauliflower head cut into florets
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup of almond flour
• 1 TBS cornstarch
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 TBS lemon zest
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 head boston lettuce or romaine lettuce
• garnish: cucumber sesame seeds, scallions, peanuts, lemon wedge
• Beet tahini sauce
• 3 small-medium red beets boiled & peeled
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1 TBS tahini
• water
• For the sauce
• 1/2 cup sriracha
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking oil.
• To make the beet tahini, bring a small pot of water to a boil just enough to cover your beets. This should only take a few minutes. Once the water is boiling add your beets and bring to a simmer. Cook until soft when pierced about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly for a few minutes.
• While the beets are cooking you can begin to prep the cauliflower wings. Start by washing and patting dry the cauliflower head before cutting into bite sized florets.
• For the dredging: In a shallow bowl, combine the milk, flour and cornstarch. The mixture should resemble a thick batter. In a separate shallow bowl combine breadcrumbs, spices and salt and and pepper.
• Individually dip the florets into the wet mixture using a fork lightly coating to ensure no excess liquid and transfer into the panko mixture to coat evenly. Place each piece onto your baking sheet leaving a bit of space in-between in a single layer. Repeat this step until all of your cauliflower is coated. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower turns golden.
• In the meantime, combine all the ingredients to make the sauce. and set aside. Taste and adjust if needed.
• At this point your beets should be ready and cooled slightly. Peel the skins off (it should come off fairly easily) and cut into quarters.
• Place the beets, garlic, and olive oil into a food processor and pulse. You can also use a blender if you prefer. Add the remaining ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside. Add more maple syrup and a bit of water for a creamier sauce if needed.
• Once the cauliflower is nice and golden, remove from the oven and place into a large mixing bowl. Pour the sauce overtop and toss to evenly coat. Return to the baking sheet and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until crispy. Let the cauliflower cool for a few minutes.
• Serve this family style by placing cauliflower onto a serving dish, garnish with peanuts, cucumber, scallions, cilantro, sesame seeds and with a side of lemon. Tower your lettuce facing down to ease staking and serve with the beet tahini on the side. Alternatively you can prepare each lettuce cup individually by adding a few pieces of cauliflower, your garnishes and topped with some sauce. Either option works fine.