Quick Cauliflower Tacos Recipe

Cauliflower is obviously oh-so-popular right now. After all, there's cauliflower rice, cauliflower steaks, and cauliflower pizza crust. If you love this white veggie but desire a new way to enjoy it, you'll want to try this cauliflower taco recipe by Miriam Hahn, like, ASAP. "I love roasted cauliflower," she told Mashed. So why not create tacos out of it? We are so on board, especially since Hahn told us, "These tacos have lots of flavor. They are spicy, tangy, and creamy all at the same time."

Indeed, the crunchy taco shells along with the cabbage combine to offer just the right mix with the roasted cauliflower and a creamy, avocado-based sauce. We love how you can customize this meal to your spice preference, with Hahn noting about her inventive recipe, "It can be spicy with the full amount of chili powder, but you can use less, and it will be mild."

Either way, this colorful, healthy meal comes together in just 20 minutes!

To make quick, tasty, and colorful cauliflower tacos tonight, add the following fresh ingredients to your shopping list: a head of cauliflower, a lime — this recipe calls for five tablespoons of lime juice — garlic, cilantro, shredded purple cabbage, and an avocado. 

You will also need avocado oil, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, garlic powder, a can of white beans, and 12 taco shells. 

Hahn added an unexpected ingredient to her recipe: apple cider vinegar, which gets added to the avocado sauce. "The apple cider vinegar gives a little tang to the sauce," she explained. Incidentally, she noted about the beyond-simple sauce, which comes together with less than ten ingredients, "This sauce can be used for tons of other things. It is amazing, and I love that there is no oil in it, keeping it nutrient-dense instead of calorie dense."

Take your tacos from concept to the kitchen table by first preheating your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit on the "convection roast" setting. "Regular roast works if you don't have a 'convection' setting," Hahn says.

Now, cut the cauliflower into small florets. Of course, this process can create a mess, so why not try Ina Garten's cauliflower-cutting hack? Basically, you'll start by placing the veggie on its head and cutting out the core, then cutting up the leftover, smaller fragments of cauliflower.

Next, make the seasoning that will coat the cauliflower by mixing the avocado oil, garlic clove, one to two teaspoons of chili powder, "depending on how spicy you want it," a teaspoon of cumin, smoked paprika, and one teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Toss the mixture with the cauliflower. Lay out the deliciously seasoned veggies on a baking sheet, and cook them for about 20 minutes.

While your cauliflower is roasting away and smelling quite incredible while it does, you can go ahead and make the sauce. For this step, Hahn notes, "You need a blender or food processor because one of the ingredients, the cilantro, needs to fully break down." So, to your blender or food processor, add your de-pitted avocado, three tablespoons of water, three tablespoons of the lime juice, your apple cider vinegar, cilantro, one teaspoon each of salt and cumin, and the garlic powder.

Blend everything until the sauce is nice and smooth. Hahn notes you can add more water if you want the sauce to be thinner.

After 20 minutes, you will remove your cauliflower from the oven, but quickly warm up the taco shells just beforehand. Now, you're ready to assemble your tacos.

The tacos are assembled by layering your cauliflower into the shells. Next, add your shredded purple cabbage, your white beans, and the sauce, with Hahn explaining, "I chose white beans because I felt they complemented the cauliflower best." Not a fan? "I have used black beans also, and that is delicious too," Hahn told Mashed.

And now, enjoy! As Hahn told us about this fast, family-friendly feast, "The tacos leave you feeling light and energized instead of heavy, like Mexican food sometimes can." In that spirit, how about enjoying your tacos with a Mexican street corn-inspired salad? Or perhaps Mexican rice?

No matter how or when you eat your tacos — because it so doesn't have to be a Tuesday — be sure to bookmark this meal so you can return to it anytime you need a hot, not-heavy, satisfying meal in a jiffy.