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.
Servings: 6
Calories: 111kcal
Ingredients
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
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower Bites
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Serve warm with Roasted Cauliflower Bites, tortilla chips, or crackers or atop burritos and tacos.
Notes
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
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.2g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 441mg | Fiber: 6.4g | Sugar: 6g
