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Sharing my vegan twist on a traditional Filipino dish with this Filipino Coconut Cauliflower Adobo. I’ve swapped the chicken for nutrient-packed cauliflower and slow-braised it in soy sauce, vinegar, and bay leaves. Coconut milk adds a touch of creaminess to this sweet and tangy adobo sauce making it especially delicious. This is best served over steamed rice with fresh avocado and a side of beans. The perfect healthy, 30-minute dinner, any night of the week.
It’s officially the deep, deep, deep winter around here. We had a cold, but beautiful, snow-filled weekend. At this point, I’m not yet sick of the snow and still very much embracing the cozy weather. Hoping you all are too, because it’s only mid-January and we still have a ways to go before spring!
As I mentioned Sunday, I decided to cancel a quick NYC trip to be able to spend some time with my mom for her birthday on Saturday. It was good I did because all the snow would have caused some travel issues, which I’m not so into. I was thankful to have a nice cozy weekend home and this coconut cauliflower adobo ended up being the perfect Sunday night dinner. It’s warming and hearty, yet light and healthy at the same time.
I first made this dish back before Christmas and I’ve been excited to share the recipe with you all for weeks. So happy the day has come!!
The inspiration.
Over the holidays my brother Red had his girlfriend, Hailey, here. We all LOVE Hailey so much, she is such a nice addition to our family’s Christmas celebrations. Hailey is part Filipino and every time she’s in town I’m excited to create a few Filipino inspired recipes.
Enter this easiest Filipino Coconut Cauliflower Adobo. No, it is not your traditional adobo, but it is my vegan take, and it sure is GOOD. It’s slightly inspired by last year’s Indian coconut butter cauliflower, but yet a completely different recipe with completely different flavors. This cauliflower is tangy, salty, and a touch spicy. It’s delicious served over rice.
The Details.
If you love a quick and simple recipe, this is for you. You need one sheet pan, one skillet, and only about thirty minutes from start to finish.
Start with the cauliflower. I like to charr it under the broiler to give it a bit of texture before tossing it with the adobo sauce. This will start the cooking process and ensure the cauliflower is crisp and not mushy or soggy.
While the cauliflower is charring in the oven, mix the sauce together using a few pantry staple ingredients, soy sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, and honey. It’s a slightly sweet and tangy sauce, but made a little creamy with the coconut milk.
Next, cook some garlic and shallots in a skillet, then toss in the sauce and the cauliflower. Simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the cauliflower. And that is it. Yes, that’s it. So super simple, but yet you’re left with the most flavorful, vegetable-packed dinner…that everyone will love.
Serving suggestions?
This is best served with steamed rice, topped with thinly sliced green onions, and finished with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Trust me, the rice is a MUST. If you want to be on the super healthy side, use brown rice, but either way, don’t skip the rice. The extra sauce soaks into the rice creating a delicious bite every single time.
If you wanted to make this meal heartier, I would recommend serving this with a side of black beans and maybe some fresh pineapple chunks for a nice tropical touch. Oh! And fried plantain chips would be a really fun and delicious addition as well. A very Filipino inspired (keyword being inspired) meal that’s perfect for these cold wintry days.
And lastly, I just have to say that this is truly a recipe that everyone really loves…even if they don’t enjoy cauliflower. I was shocked when my picky eating brothers gave this a try on New Year’s Eve. Everyone all agreed, this was the best dish of the night.
So, that should tell you right there…this is a recipe worth trying. When the brothers choose a vegetable-based dish over chicken, something about that dish must be REALLY GOOD.
Looking for a more classic Filipino style adobo? Try my one skillet adobo chicken or my pork adobo with pineapple from the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook.
If you make this easiest Filipino coconut cauliflower adobo, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easiest Coconut Cauliflower Adobo.
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 274 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (use more to your taste)
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup canned full fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup honey (if vegan, use maple syrup or 2 tbs sugar)
- 2 small shallots, halved or quarter
- 6 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 4 dried bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- steamed white or brown rice, for serving
- green onions and limes, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the broiler to high. On a large baking sheet, combine the cauliflower, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and a pinch of pepper. Spread the cauliflower in an even layer. Transfer to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes, until the cauliflower is just beginning to char.2. Meanwhile, in a large glass measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, honey, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of water.3. In a large skillet with sides, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shallots and garlic, cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the soy sauce mixture. Stir in the charred cauliflower. Add the bay leaves. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, until the sauce is thickening slightly. If the sauce thickens too fast, add ¼ cup of additional water. If the sauce is not thickening, simmer an additional 10 minutes. It's better to have more sauce than less sauce.4. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Serve the coconut cauliflower adobo over rice and top with green onions and a squeeze of lime juice, if desired
This post was originally published on January 13, 2020
Very good recipe! I actually found the salt level perfect (and ended up adding even more since I’m a sodium/salt fiend). So incredibly easy to make too. Made my vegan boyfriend coo, as well.
Amazing! I am so glad you could all enjoy this! Thank you Sophie! xTieghan
I’ve made this recipe at least 6 times since you’ve posted. Last time I tripled it so that I could have more leftovers! A couple of times I’ve added eggplant, which picks up the flavor really nicely. Thank you for this recipe! And for the many others I’ve used along the way!
Thank you Lily!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Love your recipes. Followed this recipe word for word and full fat coconut milk is what I always use. The sauce never thickened. It was delicious and I am going to try it again. Any suggestions?
Hey Carli! For a thicker sauce just simmer 10-15 minutes longer, the sauce should thinken right up the longer it bubbles away on the stove. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi, hoping to make this recipe tonight. I have a question about the white vinegar- I only have 2 options available to me- white wine vinegar or white malt vinegar. Which would should I use? I’m not in the States and I can’t find just plain distilled white vinegar! Thanks a million!
Hi Rose! I would use white wine vinegar! That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Very disappointed in this one. Normally every recipe is spot on but the end result of this was that everything tasted like soy sauce. None of the other flavors came through, I couldn’t taste coconut or honey and the sauce never thickened to what I was expecting. I think this would be great with major tweaks to the sauce.
Hi Valerie! I am so sorry to hear that! Are there any questions I can help you with? Or anything that went wrong? Please let me know! xTieghan
Sooo good! Loved this recipe. I did find it a little too salty, so will use less soy sauce next time. I added carmelized onions and mushrooms, and topped with avocado. Delish. I’m slowly working my way through all of your recipes. X
Thank you so much Maya!! I hope you love them all! xTieghan
3/4 cup soy sauce? That seems like an awful lot.
Hi there! If you feel like that is too much soy for your taste, why don’t you use what sounds good to you? I would recommend starting with at least 1/4 cup soy sauce. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I was so excited to make this last night, but was sad about how it turned out. It was SO SALTY. I followed the recipe exactly except for using lite coconut milk instead of full-fat. Could that substitution have really messed it up that badly? I really want to add more healthy veggie dishes to my arsenal. Any thoughts on how to make this less salty?
Hey Jen, sorry this came out salty for you. Next time try reducing the soy sauce to 1/3 cup. That will be much less salt. Also, make sire to use low-sodium soy sauce. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
How are you achieving the reddish color in your sauce? I went over the recipe multiple times thinking something must be missing. I followed instructions exactly and my sauce never thickened and had more of a brown hue (mirroring the listed ingredients). Halp!
Hi Sarah, I am sorry, I am not really sure of the red color you are referring to. Mine is brown too! To thicken the sauce, just simmer an additional 5-10 minutes. The sauce should thicken right up. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I love the chicken adobo recipe that I have, so when I saw cauliflower adobo, you had my attention! This recipe is delicious, I didn’t even miss the chicken. I enjoy your version of so many recipes, and as usual, this recipe allowed me to follow the recipe and then flavor it to my taste, I added sliced ginger instead of shallot, I had the ginger but not a shallot. My husband went back for seconds and so did I…..great recipe Tieghan!
Hi Cindy! I am so glad you tried this and loved it! Thank you so much! …Seconds are always a good idea haha xTieghan
I LOVE almost all of Half Baked Harvest recipes. In fact, this may be the first that I did not like. I am commenting, not to be negative, but to share that I think that there is way too much soy in this. I followed the instructions carefully, and the results were atypically for an HBH recipe, not good. I love both of my HBH cookbooks! I applaud Tieghan. I do not applaud this recipe.
Hi Cannon! I am so glad you have been loving my blog and recipes! Are there any questions I can help you with? I hope you continue to love my recipes! xTieghan
You are the queen of sauces. We love this dish. You always have clear directions. Thank you again for another Great dish!
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl! I am so glad you enjoyed this one!! Thank you so much! xTieghan
just made this tonight and oh man I will be making this again! Love when you come through with awesome veg recipes. I only had reduced fat coconut milk on hand which worked fine, just decreased the water a bit. Amazing!
Thank you so much Lindsay! xTieghan
Made this dish twice this week and absolutely loved it. I next time I would use ½ of soy sauce (standard one) instead of ¾ as the saltiness can be overwhelming. Overall, great weeknight dinner! Thanks so much Tieghan!!
Thank you Magda! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
My sauce never reduced/thickened so with all the time on the stove, the cauliflower ended up being too soft. Not sure what I did wrong? I brought the liquid to a boil and simmered it for longer than the recommendation.
Hi Keira! Why don’t you try boiling the sauce for 5-8 minutes before adding the cauliflower to help it thicken up properly for you. I think that should help! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan