Kentucky Fried Cauliflower (vegan)
My Kentucky Fried Cauliflower is made with 11 types of herbs and spices. Find out just how similar it is to the Colonels own recipe by making it today!
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KFC but make it vegan!
I am a self proclaimed “junk food vegan”. Although I love feeling nourished by a spicy lentil stew or a roasted aubergines with red pepper freekeh, I love fake meats, vegan cheese pizzas and lots of other fast food imitations.
KFC was one of my favourite fast food chains when I ate meat. I’ve therefore been trying to recreate it ever since I went vegan.
I now think I’ve cracked it. I had to master the combination of (1) getting the right herbs and spices (2) covering the cauliflower in batter and (3) cooking the cauliflower.
The results of my experiments are found below!
The secret KFC spice blend
KFC’s spice blend is a well kept secret. Well, sort of…
Supposedly the only copy of the recipe, signed by Colonel Sanders himself, is held in a safe inside a vault in KFC’s headquarters.They are so worried about the secret getting out that the spice blend is made in two halves. That way neither factory knows the full recipe!
In 2016 the recipe was leaked by Joe Ledington who had married into Colonel Sanders family. He claimed he had found a copy of the original recipe in a scrapbook! Since then the recipe has been circulating on the internet and it’s the 11 herbs and spices listed in that recipe that I use for my own Kentucky Fried Cauliflower recipe, the perfect alternative for vegan’s who missed KFC.
How to get that signature crispy coating
One of the key parts to this recipe is dredging the cauliflower florets in the batter.
I use what is sometimes called the “wet/dry hand” method. I make the flour and spice mix, keep half to one side then mix the other half with oat milk. With one hand I take a piece of cauliflower and roll it in the wet batter before placing it in the dry flour mix. This is the hand that gets very messy.
With my dry/clean hand I then cover the cauliflower with the dry mix until it is evenly coated. I then place it straight in the pan to shallow fry.
You need this combination of wet and dry to get the best coating on the cauliflower.
What makes KFC so good?!
Did you know that KFC isn’t deep fried?
So it’s not just that magic spice blend that gives KFC it’s distinctive texture and flavour. In fact, they use a pressure fryer. Pan (or shallow) frying supposedly took too long for a fast food restaurant and deep fat frying produced dry unevenly cooked chicken.
Because we are using cauliflower instead of chicken I too found that deep fat frying cooked too quickly and the oustide was dry. Shallow frying does take too long when you’re trying to cook a piece of cauliflower all the way through. But it’s also essential to getting that fried flavour. I therefore use a combination of frying the cauliflower in a pan with oil then transferring to the oven to finish cooking through. That way you get tender cauliflower and crisp batter.
The recipe
Kentucky Fried Cauliflower
Ingredients
- One head cauliflower
- 300 g flour
- 4 teaspoons paprika
- 3 teaspoons white pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon thyme
- 0.5 teaspoon basil
- 0.25 teaspoon oregano
- 150 ml oat milk
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 170C / 325 / gas mark 3.
- Break the cauliflower into small and medium sized florets.
- Prepare your work station by mixing the flour with the spices (your dry mix).
- Transfer half of the dry mix to a bowl and slowly pour in the milk while whisking until you have a smooth batter (your wet mix).
- Add the oil to a frying pan and heat on a medium heat until the oil is piping hot and ready to fry.
- Take your first cauliflower floret and with your right hand, dip it into the wet mix and ensure it's coated well. Let any excess wet mix drip off into the bowl.
- Drop this into your dry mix then, with your left hand, coat it in the dry mix all over.
- Immediately put this in to the pan to shallow fry.
- Repeat this process and place the cauliflower florets in a circle going clockwise. This will help you to remember the order they went into the pan.
- After 5 minutes begin rotating them to crisp up the other sides. You will need to do this 3 or 4 times depending on the size of the floret.
- Once crispy all over, transfer to a baking tray and place into the oven.
- Repeat until all of the cauliflower pieces have been cooked.
Nutrition
Serving suggestions
I serve my Kentucky Fried Cauliflower with shoestring fries, coleslaw and a corn on the cob. It was always my order when I visited KFC before I was vegan. Of course you could make your own gravy if you wanted! But I like the sweet corn and the creamy coleslaw to offset the rich, salty battered cauliflower.
More vegan recipes
If you like this recipe then why not browse the full range of vegan recipes on the blog.