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Roasted Cauliflower Tacos Recipe With Smoky Garlic Sauce will impress your family or guests at your next taco night get together. They please the pallet with a punch of smoky garlic. The perfect vegetarian taco.
Why Make These Smoky Cauliflower Tacos?
- They are allergy friendly. Yep, vegan, dairy free and gluten free!
- Delicious. The flavor is unmatched.
- Easy to make.
- Healthy. They are nutrient dense.
Ingredients Needed
Cauliflower. This is the ultimate veggie. It is versatile and mild in flavor making it the perfect “meat” for this recipe.
Fresh Cilantro. This is optional however I love fresh cilantro and fresh greens with my tacos.
Tahini. The tahini really brings out a delicious side to the cauliflower. It’s for the sauce.
Liquid Smoke. This gives it a nice mild smoky flavor that will really wow your tastebuds. You can skip if needed.
Seasonings! This makes the tacos really explode with flavor.
Garlic. Fresh is best, this is for the sauce.
Honey. To help bring the sauce together.
Fresh Lime Juice. This goes into the sauce and can be served on the side for garnish.
How To Make This Recipe
- Step One: Season & roast the Cauliflower. This is my tried and true method to get the perfect roast on cauliflower. Preheat the oven to 425 º. Bake for 25-30 minutes
- Step Three: Mix up that smoky chipotle sauce! Patience is key here. You will want to incorporate the water slowly. It will eventually mix with the tahini well ad make it the perfect creamy, saucy constancy.
- Step Three. Build those tacos! Layer them with Arugula, the roasted cauliflower and sauce.
Recipe Pairings.
These tacos pair well with fresh salads like my Simple Green Salad or Kale Crunch Salad. You can also make it a fun fiesta and serve them with Smokey Queso or Pineapple Pico De Gallo.
Recipe Tips
- Roast the cauliflower to perfection by ensuring it’s in a nice hot oven. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
- If the tahini smoky sauce is too thick, add 2 more table spoons of water and blitz again. Continue this until your preferred consistency.
- Customize your way! Add red cabbage, pico de gallo , cilantro, lettuce, use salsa or chopped tomatoes. Everything goes great with these tacos.
- To Store Leftovers: Once cauliflower is cool, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, warm it in the oven for a few minutes or over the stovetop to keep it crispy. You could also reheat it in an air fryer, which will help crisp the cauliflower back up!
Recipe FAQs
I get this question a lot. I suggest using a mild cashew butter or peanut butter in place. It won’t be the same, but it should still pair well with the flavors.
It is the key to delicious recipes in my opinion. If you have ever had hummus, you have had tahini. It is a nut butter, mild in flavor and gives off a creamy perfect consistency when it is watered down a little. You will find it in the nut butter aisle of most all grocery stores.
Not a problem. I love liquid smoke in several of my recipes however, you can skip it. It won’t have quite the smoke flavor – but it will be delicious with the chipotle and paprika flavors.
Other Taco Recipes To Try
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Smoky Cauliflower Tacos
Equipment
- baking sheet
- small food processor or blender
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- 5-6 cups cauliflower, About 1 medium size head. chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt, *more to taste if needed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Smoky Garlic Sauce
- ¾ cup tahini (well stirred)
- 3 tsp lime juice
- ½ tbs liquid smoke, *more to taste if needed
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp honey
- ¼ cup water (keep on the side do not use it all at once!) , *This is to thin the sauce!
Toppings
- 1 avocado, sliced
- fajita or taco sized tortillas
- 4 tbsp cilantro (for topping)
Instructions
For the cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 420º. Chop cauliflower into equal bite sized pieces, add to a large bowl. Pour oil and seasonings over it and toss well to ensure everything is evenly coated.
- Lay cauliflower flat on a greased sheet pan. Bake for for 25-30 minutes or until it is browned and soft enough to pierce with a fork. * Pro-tip Put the sheet pan in while the oven is preheating. Placing the cauliflower on a hot pan helps to blacken it.
Smoky Garlic Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients except water to a bowl or high speed blender. Pulse/whisk. Then add water in slowly to thin the mixture out so it's spreadable like sauce. You may need less or more water than the recipe calls for since tahini can vary in consistency. Add little amounts, stir/pulse add more if needed. Tahini mixture will take a little while to accept the water and thin but it will eventually, be patient here!
- Once you have the mixture to your desired thickness, build tacos laying the arugula on the bottom, cauliflower and drizzle sauce generously over tacos. Top cilantro, avocado and extra lime wedge. Enjoy!
Notes
- Roast the cauliflower to perfection by ensuring it’s in a nice hot oven. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
- If the tahini smoky sauce is too thick, add 2 more table spoons of water and blitz again. Continue this until your preferred consistency.
- Customize your way! Add red cabbage, pico de gallo , cilantro, lettuce, use salsa or chopped tomatoes. Everything goes great with these tacos.
- To Store Leftovers: Once cauliflower is cool, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, warm it in the oven for a few minutes or over the stovetop to keep it crispy. You could also reheat it in an air fryer, which will help crisp the cauliflower back up!
- If you have extra sauce leftover, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! I didn’t need quite that much tahini sauce myself but will definitely make these again.
These were excellent I made them over the weekend and my family loved them.