Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

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cauliflower tacos
Have everyone fill his or her own tacos.

We had these several weeks ago for a quick meal — everything can be made ahead and reheated for dinner, which is what we did — that we decided that we’d make them again, and turn the recipe into a post, so others can try Cauliflower tacos, too. The real key here is seasoning and roasting the cauliflower, which brings out a lot of nutty flavor, turning a somewhat bland vegetable into an outstanding vegetable.

We didn’t follow any recipe; basically, we played everything by ear, but we have roasted cauliflower before, so it wasn’t really anything new to us. Still, we consider this to be a 100% Scratchin’ It original recipe.

Since this is intended for tacos, and we know that people like a whole variety of toppings on their tacos (we went with black beans, grated cheese, and shredded kale, because that’s what we had on hand and ready), we’re going to show you just the cauliflower roasting, although we will say that these are best with Scratched Tortillas, which are easier to make than you might imagine. We did.

Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

Servings: 6 tacos
Author: Shawn

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower broken down into 1/2 inch florets and pieces
  • 2-3 Tbs canola oil
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds toasted and ground
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
  • In a large bowl, combine oil and spices. Add cauliflower and toss until coated.
  • Divide cauliflower between baking sheets and roast, stirring about halfway through, until browned and crispy in spots, about 45 minutes.
  • Use as filling for your tacos.

Ingredient discussion:

Okay, these are your tacos, so break out what you like on them: Salsa Verde, Pico de GalloJalapenos, Sour Cream, Frioles Refritos. And don’t forget tortillas. If you’re up for some serious scratchin’, we provide recipes for all of these. Or use what you have on hand.

pices for roasted cauliflower
We like to take a photo of our spices before mixing. That way, we can remember what we used.

Of course, feel free to mix up the spices according to your tastes. We only have cumin seeds, so we toasted them for 5 minutes before grinding. If you have cumin powder, that’s fine. If you want spicy, add some sort of red pepper.

Procedure in detail:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment for easy cleanup. Trust us on this; if you don’t want to be scrubbing baking pans for 15 minutes, parchment is required. We buy it online in large rolls and wouldn’t do without.

spice slurry
The oil will help the spices stick to the cauliflower, and, it’ll help the cauliflower crisp up nicely.

Mix spices. In a large bowl, stir the oil and spices into a thick slurry. Feel free to taste and adjust by dipping a cauliflower floret into the mix and popping it into your mouth.

Toss cauliflower. Add the cauliflower and toss until it’s evenly coated, and little to no spice slurry remains on the bottom of the bowl.

roasting cauliflower
Try to get the cauliflower in single layers, with a bit of space between the pieces, so they’ll roast, and not steam.
roasted cauliflower
Doesn’t that look delicious? It was, and we didn’t save any.

Roast. Divide the spicy cauliflower  between the two prepared pans, spreading it into a single layer, if possible. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring about halfway through, or until  nutty brown with a few black crispy spots. While it’s roasting, prepare your other taco ingredients and make tortillas (or, at least, heat up the tortillas).

making cauliflower tacos
We used the cauliflower as the base ingredient for our tacos.

Build tacos. You know how: scoop up cauliflower, add cheese, beans, lettuce, and whatever else you like.

We really like these tacos; the cauliflower and beans have a texture that’s somewhat like rice and beans, but is a little spicy. And, it really is easy to roast cauliflower. The hardest part is breaking it down into the small florets. Don’t be tempted to skimp and use larger pieces, as they won’t brown as well, and browning’s what adds the great taste. Easy five stars.

Worth the trouble?

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