So many great things you can do with a head of cauliflower! We turned this humble vegetable into an enjoyable experience: beautiful morsels of crispy, crunchy, cheesy, baked popcorn cauliflower. A dip on the side and your Panko and Asiago Crusted Popcorn Cauliflower appetizer is served!
The Benefits of Food Blogging
There is one thing I have to say about having started this food blog. It has inspired me in such great ways, and I am also loving working with my wife Nicoletta. Lately I have been craving simple appetizer food and as I was looking at other food blogs I happened upon "I am a Food Blog". I was inspired by a dish she made called popcorn cauliflower.
There are always healthy alternatives
I loved that it was healthy, baked not fried and looked so crispy, something Nicoletta would appreciate and knowing she loves baked cauliflower, I just had to try this recipe. So this one is for Nicoletta. My take on I am a Food Blog's popcorn cauliflower. However, I of course revamped it, to sooth my creativity and which I call Panko and Asiago crusted Popcorn Cauliflower!
Easy, breezy, and beautiful Panko and Asiago crusted Popcorn Cauliflower!
This dish is so easy to make! All you need is:
- a head of cauliflower
- some Panko crumbs, and Italian style bread crumbs
- grated Asiago and Parmigiano cheese
- a couple of eggs
- some seasoning
Now you're set to get these bad boys done. Likewise the preparation is as equally simple to an end result of texture and color!
Fond memories of a time ago
As a kid I always loved making breaded cutlets or batter coated vegetables. Likewise, I still love this process taking those beautiful morsels of cauliflower:
- Firstly, bathing them in the egg wash.
- Secondly, into the crumb dish to be well dusted in the Panko, Asiago, Parmigiano, and bread crumbs.
- Lastly, laid to rest on a parchment lined baking sheet ready for the hot oven!
From coated to a golden crispy brown!
Let's recap, we broke our cauliflower into nice bite size morsels, dipped them in our egg, then into the cheese and bread coating and onto a lined baking sheet! Furthermore time to put them into a nice preheated oven to be baked to a gorgeous golden brown. You can smell the cheeses melting, melding the Panko and bread crumbs, sealing in the juices of the cauliflower.
Nothing but wonderful texture and amazing flavor!
The taste of these amazing crispy coarse texture of the Panko crumbs and a finer texture of crispiness from the Italian bread crumbs being held by the rich egg wash, more so, the melted pungent flavor of the aged Asiago and Parmigiano Reggiano. Absolutely tantalizing!
The inner foodie voice!
Then I thought, self, who is my inner voice, what would be a great dipping sauce to go with these? And immediately, a lightbulb moment, how about a sweet chili, mayo, sriracha sauce?
A wonderful match!
A perfect match for these Panko and Asiago crusted Popcorn Cauliflower! This dipping sauce offers sweet, spicy, and that last kick from the sriracha, delicious and amazing compliment to the crispy coarse golden juicy morsels of cauliflower.
This Panko and Asiago crusted Popcorn Cauliflower is a winning dish in my opinion, but I am biased. Fun for the children and likewise, also the adults. Try this dish and see for yourself, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Also, if you are trying to get your kids to eat their vegetables, this would be one to really consider. The only thing left is to bite into this.
Panko and Asiago crusted Popcorn Cauliflower! Time for an appetizer!
If you're planning a small party, or just having an appetizer night with your family, whip up these wonderfully tasty morsels, and get dipping. More so, it would give us great pleasure to hear from you! Give us a little feedback on this recipe.
Song of the day, an amazing local band hitting the air waves strong: "Smoke Rings" by Royal Tusk.
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Panko and Asiago Crusted Popcorn Cauliflower
So many great things you can do with a head of cauliflower! We turned this humble vegetable into an enjoyable experience: beautiful morsels of crispy, crunchy, cheesy, baked popcorn cauliflower. A dip on the side and your Panko and Asiago Crusted Popcorn Cauliflower appetizer is served!
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
Ingredients
Cauliflower:
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 2 eggs
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- a pinch of paprika
- a dash of onion powder
- a dash of garlic powder
- 1 cup Panko crumbs
- ½ cup Italian-style bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Asiago
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano
Dipping sauce:
- ¼ cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
Instructions
Cauliflower:
- Trim leaves off of cauliflower. Cut cauliflower into small pieces, wash and drain well.
- In a bowl crack eggs in and beat well.
- Add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika. Mix well.
- In another bowl, combine panko crumbs, Italian bread crumbs, grated Asiago, and Parmigiano.
- Take cauliflower pieces and place in egg wash.
- Drain excess egg and place cauliflower into crumb mixture.
- Coat well and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place cauliflower into the oven and bake till golden brown, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Dipping sauce:
- In a bowl mix mayo and sweet chili sauce, then squeeze sriracha on top of mayo sweet chili sauce mixture.
- Take cauliflower out of the oven and place it in a dish with a small ramekin of the dipping sauce by its side.
- Ready to serve.
Notes
If you have some leftover you can freeze them and reheat them in the oven when you're ready to use them again.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: appetizer
- Method: ovenbaked
- Cuisine: vegetarian
Keywords: cauliflower, panko crumbs, Italian style breadcrumbs, Asiago cheese, Parmigiano cheese, eggs, oven baked, vegetarian, appetizer, oven baked,
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Meaghan says
I love 'I am Food Blog' popcorn cauliflower so I can't wait to try yours!! This looks like a great appetizer to serve a crowd or just as a snack while entertaining.
Hi Meaghan
I was pleasantly surprised at the flavor and texture of the cauliflower and to beat all they were baked, not greasy at all. You are definitely right about being a great party appetizer. Thank you so much for your comment. Have a great evening
Loreto
Marie says
I don't see how you could have created a recipe that appealed to me more. Cauliflower, fried in a cheesy crumb, served with a spicy? I'm seriously craving these clever bites right now. I think they would be an amazingly crowd-pleasing snack too! I have all the ingredients I need in the fridge right now, so these will be on the menu this weekend, for sure.
Hi Marie
I am so happy that you like these beauties, so crispy and tasty with the Panko, Italian bread crumb and Asiago, crust nice and golden brown and those cheesy bits melted yum and yummy. I would have to believe that most people if you had a party would eat them up and throw in that sweet chili sriracha dip, success.
Have a great day and thank you so much for taking the time to comment on our labors of love.
ceecee says
I am always looking for new ways to serve cauliflower! I love that this is baked - makes it even beter!
ceecee
Thanks ceecee yes baked means less fat, less fat means happier soul, happier soul means good life. lol
Loreto
Hilary says
Oh, doesn't that look tasty! Will definitely have to try. Love that you made your own variation!
Thank you Hillary. I just had some that I froze and just heated up the oven and got them nice and crispy again, still as delicious as the first day. I did pack them well in about three rounds of plastic wrap then into a zip lock freezer bag. I usually have to do my own twist on recipes except when it is a traditional Italian plate. Have a great night and thanks again.
Loreto
Elaine @ Flavour and Savour says
This looks so easy and I'll bet kids would love it too!
Thank you Elaine for commenting.It is so easy give it a try get the kids involved in the mix and they will appreciate these even more knowing they helped. I love watching kids when they are so excited about doing something. Their eyes bright, beautiful.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
Oh yeah to this recipe!! Love cauliflower anything but especially when its coated in panko crumbs and asiago cheese!! YUMMY!
Hi Karrie hey congrats on the TV spot what an accomplishment. Also thank you again for the wonderful comment as usual. Karrie you are going to love this appetizer. The amazing thing is that I wanted to see if I froze some after they were baked and re heat them in the oven, and guess what they tasted as good as the first time, vanished in seconds with that kick of a dip. Take care and happy cooking.
Loreto
demeter | beaming baker says
Loreto, it's so nice that you stumbled across i am a food blog. That site is incredible--there are so many wonderful ideas there. I love that you created this recipe based on her cauliflower popcorn. It would be hard for me to say no to this panko and asiago crusted deliciousness! 🙂 I used to make panko-crusted cauliflower with teriyaki sauce. You've reminded me to dig up that recipe and enjoy the flavors of cauliflower again. Nice to meet you, Loreto. Can't wait to hear from Nicoletta as well.
Thank you so much for responding to my comment, that sounds great too teriyaki dipping sauce yum. This sharing thing is a wonderful adventure so many beautiful people to meet and share with and new friends to encounter. Nicoletta would love to meet you she is a great person and so talented you will like her.
Loreto
Lisa Solonynko says
What a great way to get everyone to love cauliflower. We have include this recipe in a roundup of recipes we love. It links back to this page so that everyone can check it out. Great job!
http://cookerynation.com/crunchy-breaded-recipe-roundup/
Thank you so much Lisa, I was quite surprized at the outcome of this recipe. The fact that it was baked and the crust that formed to make those lovely moist morsels a great textural experience, made these a real hit in our home. I hope you get a chance to try them.
Have a great week.
Loreto
Allyssa says
Thanks a lot for sharing this! very helpful!
★★★★★
Your very welcome Allyssa, I sure do hope you get to try these, they are super uber delicious and fun.
Have a wonderful foodie week!
Ramya says
Sorry just saw this now will be making this soon i never hsd panko and asiago crusted popcorn before perfect for my office snacks will dm you guys if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hi Ramya
Yes the panko crumbs and Asiago is a great coating for the cauliflower. When you bake it in the oven it is like the shape of popcorn but even more delicious!
Thanks for looking at these, wonderful little morsels of joy and deliciousness!
Cheers!