spicy sheet pan cauliflower tacos
easy + easy = must this week!
Hot take: there’s a lot of wisdom behind the taco Tuesday trend. Tacos are a great, low maintenance weeknight option, especially if you have kids!
As the title suggests, these spicy sheet pan cauliflower tacos keep things in the easy lane (i.e. sheet pan recipe). You can also adjust them to your liking with topping and serving options.
I asked myself what else can I do with cauliflower? I’ve done A LOT with cauliflower because it’s like a shape shifter. You want it to sub as a chicken wing? Ok. You want it to make a pizza crust? No problem. You want it to replace rice? You got it. It’s wonderful.
I hadn’t tried a taco. So, I needed to make it happen.
In Plant-Based Delicious I use cauliflower in so many interesting ways – the base for a cheese sauce, as a steak, and as a filling for these tacos! But my inspiration for this recipe was a combination of two delicious things: black beans tacos and spicy cauliflower wings. I put them together and ya-ummm!
The mild heat comes from vinegar-based hot-sauce and the intense flavor is built from a delicious mixture of spices. We use the spices almost like a batter (ahh-mazing) for the cauliflower wings and bake them in the oven with some black beans until tender. If you’re serving a lot of mouths or really hungry people, I’d double the recipe. And like all amazing tacos, don’t hold back on the toppings.
Use whatever you love and even whatever is on hand.
I went for my favorites – avocado, salsa, fresh lime juice, cashew sour cream, lettuce, and red onions. Use whatever you love and even whatever is on hand. Look in your fridge, what’s there? Chopped cucumber or bell pepper, carrot or zucchini ribbons, sauerkraut, fresh herbs? Anything can work! My only suggestion is to have a wet topping like salsa or sour cream or a squeeze of lime as the filling is more dry than juicy once out of the oven.
Spicy Sheet Pan Cauliflower Tacos
Makes 8 tacos, Nut-free option
INGREDIENTS
Spice blend
2 tbsp (8 g) nutritional yeast
1 tbsp (8 g) chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sweet paprika
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Cauliflower and black bean filling
1 medium-sized head cauliflower, cut into 1˝ (2.5-cm) florets (about 5 cups [500 g])
1½ cups (258 g) cooked or canned black beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup (60 ml) vinegar-based hot sauce (e.g., Frank’s RedHot)
For serving
8 (5˝ [12.5-cm]) corn tortillas, or sturdy lettuce leaves
1 head leafy green lettuce, chopped, or ¼ head purple or green cabbage, shredded
2 cups (520 g) salsa of choice
1 red onion, finely diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, pitted and peeled, sliced or diced
Cashew Sour Cream (recipe in Plant-Based Delicious or here)
3 limes, sliced into wedges
HOW-TO
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the spice blend: In a small bowl, combine the nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper, and set aside.
Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower florets and beans. Drizzle the hot sauce over the top and toss to coat everything evenly. Now, spread half of the spice blend over the top and mix again. Then, add the rest of the spice blend and mix again until all the cauliflower and beans are coated.
Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip and redistribute in a single layer, then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is fork-tender and might be beginning to char on the edges.
Meanwhile, warm the corn tortillas in the oven or in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
Layer each tortilla with lettuce, salsa, spicy cauliflower and black bean filling, onion, tomato, avocado, cashew sour cream (if using) and a generous squeeze of lime juice.
Printable Recipe
Substitutions/Allergies/Intolerances
Cashew sour cream: You can use a purchased vegan sour cream (be a little critical of the ingredients) if you prefer or you can omit. You can also use sunflower seeds instead of cashews. The texture and taste will be a little different, but it will get the job done! Here’s the one I use.
Corn tortillas: You can use sturdy leaves, brown rice wraps, or whole wheat wraps instead of the corn tortillas if you don’t have any. In fact, you can omit the tortilla altogether and serve the cauliflower and black bean filling on cooked brown rice or quinoa (while still piling on the toppings).
Hot sauce: These spicy sheet pan cauliflower tacos aren’t overly spicy so you can add more for extra heat if you prefer. You can also reduce or eliminate the spiciness by using lime juice or aquafaba (the liquid in a can of chickpeas) instead of the hot sauce. The spices might not stick as well but it will still be a great meal. If you omit the hot sauce, add ¼ teaspoon salt to the spice mix.
Leftovers
I don’t think you’ll have any but if you do, they’ll keep wonderfully in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store the black bean/cauliflower filling and the toppings separately in the fridge.
Nutritional Highlights
Spices: It’s easy to overlook the nutritional properties of spices. We use them frequently, but they don’t get the praise they deserve. The truth is that spices offer us antioxidants and phytochemicals the same way whole foods do. Spices are a key part of an anti-inflammatory diet even when used in small amounts.
Cauliflower: In case you haven’t already figured it out, I’m obsessed with cauliflower. And if you’ve been around RSC for a while or you have my cookbooks, you are probably tired of hearing about it. But I can’t help myself from repeating it! Cauliflower and the cruciferous vegetable family are at the top of my superfood list. They’re nutrient dense, meaning they provide a lot of nutrition without a lot of calories, and they have been shown to have cancer preventing properties. Eat cauliflower (and all the cruciferous veg) whenever you can. I focus a lot on this food group in Plant-Based Delicious.
Black beans: One of my favorite types of beans. In 1 cup of black beans there 16 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, folate, magnesium, iron, and antioxidants! Yes, beans offer us an array of free radical fighting nutrients that help decrease inflammation.
Is there a way to print?
This looks amazing Ashley!