These tasty cauliflower tacos feature heavily spiced roasted cauliflower, mashed avocado, shredded cabbage, and pickled onions. We also add a drizzle of lime crema, making the tacos extra special. Jump to the Cauliflower Tacos Recipe
How to Make Our Favorite Cauliflower Tacos
We tried various cauliflower taco recipes, but these simple roasted cauliflower tacos are our favorite. To make them, we toss raw cauliflower with a generous amount of spices and then roast in the oven until tender and caramelized.
For the spice mixture, we combine ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little cayenne pepper when we want some heat.
This combination of spices makes the cauliflower toasty, smoky, and delicious! It also adds the most lovely color. When the cauliflower is all roasted, we add a pop of fresh flavor with a squeeze of fresh lime.
We love this spiced roasted cauliflower so much that we’ve shared it before.
Here’s our original chili lime roasted cauliflower for you to look at with extra tips for buying and preparing cauliflower. Also, here are our spicy cauliflower burritos with the same cauliflower inside (I love having these made in advance for easy dinners).
You can build your tacos however you like, but here’s how we do it:
- Warmed quality tacos — Make them extra special and try our homemade corn tortillas or these soft flour tortillas
- Mashed avocado — I prefer mashed to slices since it guarantees avocado in every bite (we do the same for our shrimp tacos)
- Shredded cabbage or lettuce
- Roasted cauliflower
- Drizzle of lime crema or lime sour cream (our recipe is below)
- Pickled onions — here’s our recipe for how to make them
- Extra lime wedges on the side
More Cauliflower Recipes: Try our chimichurri cauliflower steaks or this herby chickpea and cauliflower salad.
Try Homemade Tortillas
Have you ever tried making tortillas for tacos? We started making them last year and haven’t looked back. Here are two recipes for you:
First, we have homemade corn tortillas. You combine masa harina with water and then press them out into tortillas. They are quick to make and taste much better than anything you can buy at the store!
And then, here’s our homemade flour tortillas. These are also pretty simple to make. Combine flour with water, oil, and a little salt, and then roll them out into flat disks. They are cooked in a similar way to corn tortillas and taste amazing!
Chili Lime Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These delicious roasted cauliflower tacos feature roasted cauliflower tossed with ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. We love building our tacos with mashed avocado, shredded cabbage, and pickled onions. We also add a drizzle of lime crema, making the tacos extra special.
You Will Need
For the Tacos8 corn tortillas or flour tortillas
1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into small florets
2 tablespoons olive oil, grape seed oil or neutral flavored oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder or use our homemade chili powder, see notes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 to 3 lime or lemon wedges
1 medium avocado, mashed
2 cups thinly shredded cabbage or lettuce
Lime crema, recipe below
Optional toppings: pickled onions, pickled jalapeños, fresh cilantro leaves, crumbled or shredded cheese
Lime Crema (Lime Sour Cream)1/2 cup crema or sour cream
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Pinch of salt
Directions
- Roast Cauliflower
1Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat — lining the pan is not entirely necessary, but this does help with cleanup.
2In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with the oil, salt, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Add the seasoned florets to the baking sheet. Spread them out, facing as many of the flatter edges down onto the baking sheet so that they brown nicely.
3Roast until the edges are crisp and brown and the insides are tender, 20 to 35 minutes. After 20 minutes, stir the cauliflower to promote even browning.
4Remove the cauliflower from the oven and toss with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
- Make Lime Crema
1Combine the crema (or sour cream) with a teaspoon of lime juice and a pinch of salt. Taste, and then add more lime juice as needed.
- Assemble Tacos
1Wrap tortillas, in two stacks, with aluminum foil. Place into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warm.
2Spread a tablespoon or so of mashed avocado onto each tortilla. Then add a handful of shredded cabbage, some roasted cauliflower, a drizzle of the lime crema, and any additional taco toppings — try pickled onions, crumbled or shredded cheese.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Crema is a thickened tangy cream (similar to sour cream). We buy ours at a local Mexican market, but you might find that your local grocery store sells it. If you cannot find it, use sour cream as a substitute.
- Any chili powder will work for this recipe, but we love using ancho chili powder, which tastes sweet, fruity, and mild. We also love substituting our homemade chili powder blend, which is packed with flavor.
- Smoked Paprika is made from dried and smoked pimiento peppers. It adds a deep smoky aroma and flavor. Unless noted on the packaging, it isn’t typically hot (spicy) and instead is mild and a bit sweet.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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This recipe is amazing. My husband and I have made this a couple of times and love it! The cauliflower picks up the flavors of all the spices and we didn’t miss the meat at all. Delish!!
I used your fabulous vegan mayonnaise recipe for the crema, and it was perfect!