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If you don’t like tacos, we hope we never meet.
Seriously though, it’s time to drop everything and make the most delicious food known to man. We hope you’re wearing your stretchy pants. Prepare to devour these coconut crusted cauliflower tacos until no crumbs remain.
Table of Contents
📖 About
If tacos are on the menu, you best believe they will be ordered by us. We pride ourselves on researching tacos a lot for you guys. And by research, we mean eating them. Yes, we keep stuffing our faces to find the best tasting tacos for you to eat.
You’re so welcome.
When we were traveling in Mexico (oh great, another travel story), we had tacos for less than $1 each. We ordered 15. And yes, we ate 15.
There are so many different flavors that have stood out to us over the years, but the tacos that stuck in our minds were the ones made with cauliflower. So, this recipe is a blend of all our favorite taco varieties into one ultimate taco.
Speaking of tacos, do you want to know what can make a taco taste even better? The sauce. Do not under value the sauce. This is arguably the most important part of the whole taco. Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered with that too.
🍲 Key ingredients
- Cauliflower: we wouldn’t be true vegans if we didn’t know how to make cauliflower 100 different ways. This white broccoli look-alike is much like tofu in that it takes on the flavor of anything you put on it. Cauliflower offers the perfect replacement for fish or other meat in tacos. Plus, only 1 cup of this stuff provides you with 77% of your daily vitamin C requirements.
- Coconut shreds: not only do these give a subtle sweetness to the tacos, but they also provide a nice little crunch to the cauliflower florets. Plus, by adding this ingredient, you’ll be doing your body some good because coconut is high in a mineral called manganese, which is important for bone health.
- Almond flour: rich in vitamin E, low in carbs, and gluten-free. What more can you ask for in a flour? We opt for almond flour in this recipe because it adds an additional element of sweetness, and it has one of the highest nutritional profiles compared to other flours.
- Corn tortillas: well, it wouldn’t be a true taco recipe without corn tortillas. This is what gives the tacos an authentic feel. If you have the time to make your own, it’s definitely worth it. But, any corn tortilla is tasty in our minds.
Mix breading ingredients in a bowl Dip the cauliflower in milk, then breading mixture
🔪 Instructions
To start, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F, and line two baking pans with parchment paper for the cauliflower.
Chop up the head of cauliflower into bite size florets, which is not the easiest process, but we promise it’s worth it. Then, get the breading ready by combining all dry ingredients in one bowl and the plant milk in another.
Dip each floret of cauliflower in the plant milk, then coat it in the breading mixture and place on your parchment-lined pan. Bake the cauliflower for about 35 minutes, or until they start to turn a golden brown and the inside feels tender. We love the way turmeric turns the cauliflower a golden colour.
While your cauliflower is baking, prep your slaw by mixing chopped veggies and dressing ingredients in a large bowl. You can also prep any of the optional sauces you want to include like guacamole, spicy chili–garlic aioli, or creamy cilantro lime dressing.
Before serving, heat up your corn tortillas either in the microwave or in a skillet on the stovetop. You don’t need any oil, simply heat them for about a minute on each side in the pan.
Then, build your taco by smearing creamy guacamole on the bottom, then some tangy slaw, crispy cauliflower florets, spicy pickled jalapeños, cilantro, and sauce on top.
🌡️ Storage
Since the cauliflower breading will soften, these tacos are best consumed immediately. But, if you do have leftovers, you can re-crisp the cauliflower in a toaster oven or oven on 300 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes.
All ingredients should keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.
💭 Budget tips
We think everyone should be able to eat better for less, so here are a few tricks to make this recipe even more affordable:
- Use all-purpose in place of almond flour
- Buy your coconut in bulk at Costco (it’s way cheaper there)
- Skip the bell pepper completely
- Hold off on the garnishes
🍴 Tasting notes
These tacos are so tasty, you’ll wish you made a double batch. They’re:
- Crispy
- Savoury
- Spicy
- Tangy
If you try this for dinner, please rate it and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
Coconut-Crusted Cauliflower Tacos
Equipment
- 2 baking pans
- 2 small mixing bowls
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Tortillas
- 12 small corn tortillas ($0.69)
Cauliflower
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped in florets ($3.08)
- ½ cup plant milk ($0.14)
- ¾ cup shredded coconut ($0.55)
- ¾ cup almond flour ($0.73)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast ($0.48)
- 1 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 2 tsp chili powder ($0.02)
- ½ tsp turmeric ($0.01)
- ½ tsp sea salt ($0.01)
Cabbage Slaw
- 1 ½ cups purple cabbage, shredeed ($0.24)
- ½ medium red bell pepper, julienned ($0.41)
- 2 tbsp lime juice ($0.24)
- ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped ($0.14)
- ½ tbsp any neutral oil ($0.06)
- 1 tsp maple syrup ($0.05)
- Sea salt & pepper to taste ($0.02)
Garnishes optional
- Pickled jalapeños
- Cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 recipe guacamole
- 1 recipe spicy chili garlic aioli
Instructions
Cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 375°F, and line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine coconut shreds, almond flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, chili powder, turmeric, and sea salt. Pour plant milk of choice into another bowl (we used soy).
- Chop up the head of cauliflower into bite size florets. Dip each floret of cauliflower in the plant milk, then coat it in the breading mixture and place on your parchment-lined pan.
- Bake the cauliflower on 375°F for 35 minutes, or until they start to turn a golden brown and the inside feels tender.
Cabbage Slaw
- While your cauliflower is baking, prep the slaw by adding shredded cabbage, julienned bell pepper, and cilantro into a large mixing bowl.
- Add in maple syrup, any neutral oil, lime juice, sea salt, and black pepper to taste. Combine, and set aside.
Extras
- While you're waiting for the cauliflower, prepare guacamole and spicy chili garlic aioli. Drain a can or jar of pickled jalapeños and chop some more cilantro for garnishing.
- Once cauliflower is done, heat up your corn tortillas in a skillet on the stovetop. Without any oil, heat them for 1 minute on either side. Alternatively, you can also heat them in the microwave wrapped in a clean tea towel.
- Build tacos by layering guacamole on the bottom, followed by cabbage slaw, cauliflower florets, pickled jalapeños, chopped cilantro, and sauce.
Notes
- These tacos also taste great with our creamy cilantro lime dressing.
- If the breading isn’t sticking as well towards the end of the cauliflower florets, add more flour.
- Nutritional information and prices do not include optional ingredients.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more tasty dish ideas, check out our:
- Guacamole and tortilla chips as a perfect appetizer to any meal.
- Spicy chili-garlic aioli to drizzle all over tacos, burgers, fries, and more.
- Cilantro lime dressing if you want a fresh and creamy sauce to keep in your fridge at the ready.
- Sweet potato and bean enchiladas for a Mexican inspired dish bursting with flavor.
💬 FAQ
Yes, you can absolutely use another flour besides almond. You can try coconut flour or all-purpose flour with varied results.
You’ll know when the cauliflower is done because the outside breading will be turning a golden brown color, feel crispy to touch, and the inside will be tender.
If you don’t have access to maple syrup, agave nectar also works great in this recipe.
Liked it very much. I’m a light weight when it comes to heat so this was the pushing my limit. I thought I could also add some pineapple.
Hi Michele,
That’s a good thing to note. Some pineapple would make a delicious addition to tame down the spice. Thanks for the comment!