This post may contain affiliate links.
These Cauliflower Tinga Tacos are loaded with spicy chipotle flavour for a vegan taco that packs a punch! They’re topped with avocado crema and cilantro for an easy, delicious, and healthy dinner! Also try these Black Bean Corn Quesadillas next!
We all know cauliflower can be pizza crust, nuggets, or rice (like in these Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls). But today, cauliflower is being transformed into the best taco filling ever!
Vegan roasted cauliflower tacos
These Cauliflower Tinga Tacos are naturally vegan and made with roasted cauliflower for some amazing bold flavour! The cauliflower gets roasted to crispy perfection, tossed in a spicy tinga sauce with chipotles, chilli and garlic and stuffed into some grilled corn tortillas. Drool.
Roasted cauliflower makes a great meat alternative for tacos since it has a really nice bite to it and is mega satiating. Roasting the cauliflower also helps it build some great flavour which is really important when making a vegan taco filling!
I use a dairy-free sour cream to top these tacos to keep them vegan-friendly, but you can skip out on this entirely or add some vegan cheese to top these off instead.
Roasting or not, if you have leftover cauliflower, use it to make these Thai Peanut Cauliflower Wings, and this Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Mac and Cheese for your next dinner!
How to make cauliflower tacos
To make these cauliflower tacos, start by cutting your cauliflower into florets. You want the florets to be small enough so they fit nicely inside the taco shells.
Then, roast the cauliflower in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy. While your cauliflower is baking, you can prepare the sauce and any additional ingredients for the tacos.
When the cauliflower comes out of the oven, toss it in the tinga sauce and fill your taco shells right away.
A few notes on the recipe
I highly recommend using corn tortillas for this recipe and heating them directly on your stove top or an open flame. (If this isn’t an option for you, just toast them slightly.) This will totally change the flavour of the tortillas, and make them taste SO GOOD with your tacos!
The tinga sauce is a little bit on the spicy side, so this is definitely a recipe for those who like heat! If you want to make the sauce less spicy, simply add 1/2-1 chipotle pepper instead of 2.
I like to puree my avocado and sour cream together to make an avocado crema. This is a great
More cauliflower recipes to try
Cauliflower Tinga Tacos
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Entree
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Spicy and tangy these cauliflower tinga tacos pack a punch!
Ingredients
Cauliflower tinga
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4-5 tbsp water
Other
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded cabbage
- cilantro
- avocado
- sour cream (vegan or regular)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Coat the cauliflower with olive oil and roast for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Heat olive oil in a small pan on medium-high heat then add the onion and garlic let cook for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and let cook on medium for 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce on the roasted cauliflower and toss together until evenly coated.
- Toast your corn tortillas and fill them with the cauliflower tinga and toppings.
Notes
Don’t forget to toast your corn tortillas! This makes them taste SO good!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taco
- Calories: 140g
- Sugar: 4g
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 4g
If you tried these Cauliflower Tinga Tacos or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
These cauliflower tinga tacos were AMAZING!! They are packed with so much flavors..definitely won’t miss the meat! 🙂
Thanks so much Vai! Happy you enjoyed!
So good. I used purple cauliflower and it gave it amazing color
Thanks Allison! That much be so pretty with purple cauliflower!
Excellent. Loved this recipe.
This was amazing, and it’s already on my list to repeat again next week. Since I became vegetarian, I’ve missed tacos greatly. This is the first recipe that’s satisfied my Mexican-food cravings. I like heat so I added a lot of Chipotle peppers. I also increased the amount of the sauce since the peppers would go to waste anyway and saved sauce on the side. I added the sauce when reheating the leftovers since cauliflower tends to dry out, and it was even better the second time!
Thanks for the review Heather! These tacos are great if you like a little heat. Great idea to keep some extra sauce for leftovers!
This was AMAZING! I didn’t realize how spicy the chipotles were and I added 3 b/c I figured they were going to waste if I didn’t use them! Thank God for the cabbage (which I soaked in vinegar for an hour to pickle them) and the lime with Avocado. Really cut through the spice. I burned a few tortillas trying to toast them on the gas range, this will require a bit of practice to perfect. We will definitely make these again!
Thank you so much Lisa! Chipotle can definitely have a kick!!
These were delicious!!! They will definitely continue to be a weekly dinner hit!!!
Thanks so much Holly! So happy you like the recipe 🙂
Wow. This is spicy. Fortunately I used only one small pepper. The sour cream, mixed with avocado and cilantro was good on top and saved the day. I don’t have a huge tolerance for spice, though so it may be fine for the heat lovers.
Hi Gayle, if you like to make this less spicy you can add less chipotle to it 🙂
Loved this recipe a lot! A win for my husband too who has not been completely on board with the meat reduction in our lives. Will definitely continue to make!
Thanks for the review Courtney! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Is it 2 chipotle peppers or a can? Your sauce looks like it has a lot more peppers.
I used more because I like the spice, but 2 is a good standard for flavor!
Hi Jess, how do you balance the heat from the chipotle peppers? In your sauce looks like there are tomatoes is that just an illusion? I may opt for adding a little bit of tewed tomatoes just to keep the heat down 🙂
Hi Violet, there are no tomatoes in the sauce! Chipotles are naturally spicy so if you don’t like spicy food this may not be the best option for you. You can always leave out the chipotle peppers and use roasted tomatoes in the sauce instead!