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Cauliflower Taco Meat. Easy 1 Pan Cauliflower Walnut Crumble. No Skillet needed .Use in tacos, wraps, burrito, nachos, salads! Vegan Glutenfree Soyfree Recipe. Can be nut-free. Jump to Recipe
Tacos need a filling that is flavorful, has texture, is easy and versatile. This Cauliflower Walnut filling fits perfectly! All the flavor, all the texture! Change up the spices and herbs for variation in flavor.
Pulse the walnuts and onion in a food processor, then pulse cauliflower, spices. Then spread the mixture and bake until preferred consistency. No stove top cooking needed. 1 Processor to 1 baking dish.
Change up the flavors to preference. I use my own chili powder blend. Change that up with different Mexican chilies for flavor variation. Add some bbq sauce for bbq crumble and clumpier. Use Cajun blend or Jamaican jerk blend. This taco “meat” is bean and lentil free. Add some spiced beans or refried beans to the tacos if you like.
Add this Taco meat to this Enchilada, or Spanish Rice Bowl, top these Nachos or add to this Lentil Tortilla Soup.
More Taco fillings, easy Carrot Walnut Taco Meat, Mango BBQ Soycurl/jackfruit Tacos. Berbere Spiced Jackfruit Tacos so much flavor!, Chipotle Shredded Butternut Tacos
Cauliflower Taco Meat - Cauliflower Walnut Taco Filling
Ingredients
Cauliflower Walnut "Taco" Meat:
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 jalapeno, optional
- 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 1/2 medium tomato, , or 2 tbsp salsa, or oil packed sundried tomato
- 2 tbsp or more chili powder blend, (recipe that I use below)
- zest of a lime
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cilantro Avocado Cream:
- 1 avocado
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 tsp or more salt
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- a dash of black pepper and cayenne
Chili Blend:
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp paprika, (1 tsp sweet and 1 tsp smoked or 1.5 sweet and 1/2 tsp smoked for less heat)
- 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder or flakes
- a good dash of ground cinnamon, , all spice/clove, black pepper, cayenne
Instructions
- Line a large baking dish with parchment. Preheat the oven to 375 deg F (190 C ).
- Process the walnuts, onion and jalapeno until coarse mixture in a food processor.
- Add cauliflower florets and tomato and pulse a few times to break some of the large cauliflower pieces.
- Add the spices, salt, zest, 1 tsp oil and process until the cauliflower is evenly shredded. If using store bought chili blend, add 1/4 tsp or more chipotle chili flakes/powder and dashes of ground cinnamon, clove and black pepper for additional flavor.
- Transfer the cauliflower walnut mixture to the parchment lined baking dish. Spread evenly.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. Move the mixture around twice in between. The onion should start caramelizing and the mixture should be crumbly but not overly dry. (taste the mixture carefully when moving it around the second time and add salt, spices if needed **). Bake until desired consistency.
- Cilantro Avocado Cream: Blend all the ingredients with 1/3 cup or more water until smooth. Add more lime juice or salt to taste.
- Assemble the tacos in warm tortillas with warm taco meat, salsa, avocado dressing, cilantro, jalapeno/pickled jalapeno and serve. Or add the taco meat to burritos, Nachos, Enchiladas, Salads.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Mine did not get crumbly at all 🙁 it stayed pretty moist. Maybe too much cauliflower? Tasted great though!
I’m so excited to try this! If I can only find riced cauliflower, how many cups of riced cauliflower should I use? Shelves are pretty empty right now 🙁
I love all of your recipes! Every single one has been a hit, thank you so so much!!!
My 3 and 5 year olds don’t typically like store-bought faux meat products but they loved this! Thank you!!!
yay!
I never post reviews or comments about recipes, but I had to after making this. It was absolutely delicious! My husband and I loved it and next time doubling it so we have leftovers 🙂 so so good! Thank you and all your recipes I have made have been delicious!
awesome!
Made this last night, was delicious! I did end up separating the mixture across two cookie sheets because it made so much and was not browning, that seemed to work. Everyone loved it and the avocado sauce was probably the biggest hit!
awesome!
I am a new cook, and new to veggie grocery shopping, I apologize for my ignorance but can you tell me the ratio of cauliflower to walnuts? Or how many cups of cauliflower to use ? Thank you !
1 small head cauliflower is 300 to 400 gm and 1/2 cup walnuts is about 60 gm
What weight should the cauliflower have?
300-350 gm
Thanks 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Devoured by entire family! Thank you 🙂
yay!
I just made this -AWESOME! I did substitute frozen riced cauliflower for fresh to save time-still turned out wonderful. I think the basic recipe would work well using different seasonings (basil, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, maybe some fennel) as a pasta topping or lasagna filling.
awesome! yes definitely.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! My husband and daughter loved it! The flavor was amazing! My daughter said the veggie meat was her favorite part of the taco. This will be a weekly for us! Thanks for sharing!