This post is brought to you by Sprouts Farmers Market
Football season can be hard for those of us trying to eat vegetarian. Sliders and wings galore, so I stopped into Sprouts Farmers Market to pick up some organic veggies and some ingredients that I needed to make a yummy alternative to some popular Big Game staples. Healthy super bowl recipes are hard to come by, so I was up for the challenge. I decided I wanted to make buffalo cauliflower bites and some zucchini fries. While I was making them my kids said they wanted to try them also, so I decided to make a BBQ version as well for the kids. Boy are they good, all of them.
I’m so in love with Sprout’s, I wish they had one closer to me because they a bunch of bulk buys, and organic foods to choose from. They have their own store brand that I can find organic or non-GMO items for my family. They also offer a great weekly sales ad and coupons that can be used in-store.
I’m getting excited about Big Game Sunday, mainly because of all the yummy eats that everyone makes. We aren’t even fans of football, but any excuse to get together with friends and family to eat good food and laugh at funny commercials is ok in my book. 
I started by preheating the over to 450°. You’ll also need to prepare your baking sheets. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then place a cooling rake on top. Spray the cooling rack with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
I began chopping the cauliflower and zucchini for each recipe. You want the cauliflower to be in bite-sized pieces so that it is like eating a crispy chicken nugget. For the zucchini, cut it in half and then into slivers like a french fry. 
I started with the buffalo / BBQ bites because they take longer to bake. Whisk the milk, flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Place the cauliflower pieces into the batter and use a spatula to coat all of it. In a separate bowl add in the Panko bread crumbs. Putting in a few pieces at a time, cover the battered cauliflower with Panko bread crumbs and place them on your prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cauliflower for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven. Dip half the batch (or however many you need) into the buffalo sauce. For the BBQ ones, you will need to thin the sauce a little first in order to make it “dip-able” depending on the brand of BBQ sauce you end up using. To do this simply add a few drops of water at a time and mix it with a fork until you get it to the consistency you need to coat them. Then place them back on the baking sheet to back an additional 10 minutes.
For the zucchini fries, you are going to need a bowl for flour dredging, another for some beaten eggs, and the last for your bread crumb mixture. Blend Panko, bread crumbs, grated parmesan, and Italian seasoning together in a bowl. Start by dipping the zucchini into the flour, then the egg, and finally into the bread crumbs. Cover each one and then lightly press the zucchini into the breadcrumbs to make sure they are coated well.
Place each one on the prepared baking sheet, making sure that they aren’t touching. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown edges appear.
A crunchy vegetarian option that everyone will enjoy!
Buffalo or BBQ Cauliflower Bites with Zucchini Fries
Ingredients
- Cauliflower Bites:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Pinch of paprika
- 2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- buffalo sauce / or BBQ sauce with a touch of water
- Zucchini fries:
- 3 zucchini
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°
- Prepare baking sheets with aluminum foil with a cooling rack on top. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cauliflower bites:
- Chop cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine milk, flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper in a bowl.
- Add cauliflower to batter and use a spatula to slowly mix and coat all of the cauliflower.
- Place Panko breadcrumbs into a separate bowl. Shake any excess batter off of the cauliflower and then coat with Panko. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Dip cauliflower into sauce and then place back on baking sheet.
- Bake an additional 10 minutes.
- Zucchini Fries:
- Slice zucchini in half and then into strips.
- Blend Panko, breadcrumbs, parmesan, and Italian seasoning in a bowl.
- Dredge in flour, then beaten egg, and then into breadcrumbs making sure to coat.
- Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.
