Take Taco Tuesday to the next level with vegan Crispy Cauliflower Tacos! Made with baked cauliflower, these meatless tacos are sure to make a vegetable lover out of just about anyone! They’re gluten-free and oil-free.
Vegan Tacos
By now it’s no secret that I love vegan tacos. When my omnivore friends hear me raving about tacos, they usually ask what kind of taco fillings I use. My answer: just about anything I can get my hands on!
I love stuffing tortillas with black beans, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, seitan, soy curls, and even vegetables. Cauliflower has become my veggie taco filling of choice recently. I love to make them with buffalo cauliflower and coleslaw, and barbecue cauliflower tacos are a favorite, too.
Crispy Cauliflower
I recently made my Cornmeal Crusted Brussels Sprouts recipe as an appetizer to go with dinner. They were so tasty that I was left wondering what else I could encrust in cornmeal. Broccoli would be really good. Maybe some sliced okra. But crispy cauliflower started calling my name. And of course, my first thought was to make tacos with them!
Crispy Cauliflower Tacos
There’s just something magical that happens when crispy baked cauliflower is folded into a tortilla. Top them with a little avocado and some shredded cabbage and you have yourself one incredible meal.
Soft tortillas are my vehicle of choice for my vegan tacos. If you prefer hard shells, go ahead and use them. I like to top these with shredded cabbage or lettuce, and sliced avocado. And, I finish them off with a drizzle of Chipotle Lime Dressing or hot sauce. You can top them with whatever your favorite taco fixings are.
How to Make Crispy Cauliflower Tacos
These Crispy Cauliflower Taco recipe is super easy to make, and it only requires a few ingredients.
- First, you cut the cauliflower
- Next, you mix together the almond milk and chickpea flour.
- Then, you mix together the cornmeal, taco seasoning, and nutritional yeast.
- To coat the cauliflower pieces, first you dip them in the chickpea flour mixture, and then you coat them in the corneal mixture.
- Once all of the cauliflower is coated, you bake them for about 25 minutes. (They’ll need to be flipped about half way through.)
- Finally, you load up your tortillas with crispy cauliflower and your favorite fixin’s!
Why Chickpea Flour?
A few people asked if my Cornmeal Crusted Brussels Sprouts recipe would work with a flour other than chickpea flour. Unfortunately, the answer is no. The same goes for this recipe.
Chickpea flour can be used as an egg replacer of sorts in vegan recipes. (I love to use it to make omelets and frittatas.) When mixed with liquid, it acts as a binder, so it’s essential in this recipe. The cornmeal won’t stick to the cauliflower without it.
Chickpea flour is sometimes called garbanzo bean flour, besan, or gram flour. It’s made from ground chickpeas, and it’s high in protein and gluten-free.
Crispy Cauliflower Tacos
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite non-dairy milk
- ¾ cup chickpea flour
- 1 ¼ cup cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 medium-sized head cauliflower stem and leaves removed
- 12 6-8 inch corn tortillas gluten-free if needed
- 3 cups purple cabbage shredded
- 1 avocado sliced
- Drizzle Chipotle Lime Dressing optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To cut the cauliflower, slice it the way you would slice a loaf of bread, about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Break about any slices that seem too large.
- In a shallow bowl, mix together the chickpea flour and almond milk. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly.
- In another shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, nutritional yeast, taco seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Dip each cauliflower piece in the chickpea flour mixture, then dredge them through the cornmeal mixture.
- Place the cauliflower on the baking sheet. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower pieces are crispy and golden brown, flipping them after about 15 minutes.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven.
- To make the tacos, place a few pieces of cauliflower in a tortilla with a little shredded cabbage or lettuce and a few slices of avocado. Top with a drizzle of Chipotle Lime Dressing or hot sauce, if using.
Other vegan taco recipes you might enjoy include:
More Cauliflower Recipes You Might Like Include:
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, these look FABULOUS, Dianne! I love that you bake them, too - so much easier than pan-frying!
Dianne
Thank you, Becky! I hope you enjoy them!
Cadry
Your buffalo cauliflower is a fan favorite over here. So I'm all over this idea! Got to love tacos with even more crunch.
Dianne
Thank you, Cadry! So glad you're enjoying the buffalo cauliflower!