Cauliflower Black Bean Tacos
Spiced cauliflower black bean tacos are packed with flavor and the perfect weeknight dinner recipe! This vegan cauliflower taco recipe is the ultimate healthy comfort food, and once you try it, it will go on your list of favorites to put in the monthly recipe rotation.
Made with pantry and fridge ingredients, these cauliflower black bean tacos with spicy tahini sauce are great for taco Tuesday or a meatless Monday meal, since they are ready in about 45 minutes.
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make – this healthy sheet pan meal is so easy to make. Coat the cauliflower in spices, roast on the sheet pan and add the black beans at the last few minutes of roasting in the oven for a super simple meal! Serve in taco shells with your favorite toppings!
- Simple, healthy ingredients – these chipotle cauliflower tacos are made with pantry and fridge staples that you likely always have on hand! If you don’t tend to have fresh cauliflower on hand, you can use frozen with little adjustments to the recipe.
- Versatile – use the cauliflower black bean taco mixture in a variety of ways and change the toppings based on what you love or have on hand. Instead of tacos, you can use it for salads, lettuce wraps, burritos or in quesadillas. You can also use this over rice or cauliflower rice for a quick vegan inspired meal.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower, cut into bite size florets – you can cut the cauliflower from one large head of cauliflower or use bagged cauliflower florets that you cut down to bite size pieces. You don’t want super large pieces of cauliflower or it will steam and not caramelize when roasting.
- Extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) – this helps the spices to stick to the cauliflower and also helps to ensure you get those great crispy edges on the cauliflower that make it irresistible.
- Spices: Chili powder, garlic powder, salt, cumin, smoked paprika – these spices are what transform the cauliflower into the perfect taco filling! The cumin and smoked paprika provide a deep smoky flavor which goes so well with the perfectly charred cauliflower.
- Black beans – you want to rinse and drain canned black beans or rinse the cooking liquid from homemade black beans.
- Taco shells (optional) – I like to use the almond flour based taco shells from Trader Joe’s or Siete Foods. You can use corn tortillas or your favorite gluten free tortilla here! Siete Foods and Thrive Market both make a great crunchy grain free taco shell if you prefer hard tacos instead!
- Toppings – use whatever toppings you love! Check out the list below for some great ideas!
Chipotle Tahini Sauce
- Canned chipotle in adobo – chipotle in adobo provide a spicy, smoky element to the sauce. The more of these you use, the spicier the sauce will be.
- Tahini – tahini helps to create a thick and creamy sauce without any dairy. Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds and has a consistency close to that of drippy almond butter or peanut butter. You can find it in most grocery stores (check the nut butters or international foods section) and is often used in hummus! If you don’t have tahini, you can use almond butter or sunbutter.
- Apple cider vinegar – this provides some tang to the sauce and helps to cut through the spice from the chipotle peppers.
- Water – water helps to thin out the sauce. You may want to add more water than indicated in the recipe if you prefer to have a tinner sauce.
- Spices: Turmeric, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt – these help to provide a balance, smoky flavor to the sauce. If you don’t have turmeric, you can simply omit it.
How to make cauliflower black bean tacos
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces.
In a small bowl, combine the spice blend together.
Put cauliflower florets in a large bowl. Drizzle them with olive oil and ¾ of the spice blend, stir well ensuring all the cauliflower florets are well coated in the spices.
Place parchment paper down on a large baking sheet. Add cauliflower florets and bake at 450F for 30 minutes.
While cauliflower is baking, rinse and drain the black beans. Add the black beans to the same bowl as you stirred the cauliflower in. Add the rest of the spices and stir well.
After 30 minutes in the oven, take the cauliflower out and stir it around on the baking sheet. Add the black beans to the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
While the cauliflower and black bean taco mixture is baking, make the spicy tahini sauce by combining all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blending until smooth.
Once done cooking in the oven, serve with tortillas and spicy tahini sauce and your favorite topping.
Top tips
Be sure to coat the cauliflower in olive oil to ensure the cauliflower gets well coated in spices and browns up when roasting.
Budget tip: Buy your cauliflower from Aldi or Trader Joe’s as they charge by the head of cauliflower not by the pound!
Use frozen cauliflower! If you really want to make this pantry/freezer friendly, you can easily make this with frozen cauliflower as well!
You can char your soft taco shells on your gas burner – place tortilla directly over grates (using tongs) and let char 10-15 seconds per side. Cover them with a damp paper towel (or damp clean kitchen towel) after charring so they don’t dry out before serving them.
Topping ideas
- Chopped tomato
- Finely chopped red onion
- Shredded lettuce
- Pickled onions
- Thinly sliced radish
- Avocado or guacamole
- Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds or slivered almonds
- Thinly sliced red or green cabbage
- Salsa (homemade or store bought)
- Dairy free nacho cheese sauce
Other ways to enjoy these vegan cauliflower tacos
Over rice or cauliflower rice with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes as a burrito bowl
With Mexican vegetables and jasmine rice for a simple, veggie packed meal
In lettuce wraps as a lower carb option
In burritos, quesadilla, taquitos as the filling
Over salad greens with your favorite Mexican inspired dressing (I love lime tahini dressing or creamy cilantro lime dressing for this)
What to serve with spicy cauliflower tacos
- Red Cabbage Slaw (no mayo), Cilantro Lime Slaw, or Pineapple Slaw
- Cilantro Lime Quinoa or Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
- Instant Pot Yellow Rice
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- Green Cauliflower Rice
- Chimichurri Rice
Common questions
Can you make this with frozen cauliflower?
Yes! If you want to use frozen cauliflower, you will likely need 2 bags.
Follow the same instructions, open the bags and cut down any large frozen cauliflower florets into smaller pieces if possible.
Add the frozen cauliflower to a large bowl and add the olive oil and spice blend. Stir well.
Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 450F for 30-35 minutes (you may need to add 5 minutes here to account for the cauliflower having to defrost in the oven). Take out and stir, add the black beans and finish in the 450F oven for 10-15 minutes.
What other sauces would be good?
If you don’t want to make the chipotle tahini sauce and prefer something less spicy, these sauces would all be a great substitution:
Vegan Chipotle Mayo (this is less spicy than the tahini sauce)
Can you make this ahead of time?
Yes! There are two different ways you can prepare this ahead of time.
- Take the time to chop the cauliflower florets, make the spicy tahini dressing and combine the spices and put them in a small jar so they are ready for when you want to make the tacos.
- Make the spice mixture. Chop the cauliflower and cook the cauliflower in a 450F oven for 30 minutes. While the cauliflower is cooking, combine the black beans and the rest of the spice mixture. After 30 minutes, allow the cauliflower to cool and add the spiced black beans to the cooked cauliflower mixture. Store in an airtight container. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450F add the cauliflower and black beans to the baking sheet. Cook at 450F for 15 minutes. While cauliflower is cooking, make the chipotle tahini dressing. Serve hot with spicy tahini sauce and favorite toppings.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: Store leftover cauliflower black bean taco mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers in a 450F oven for 10-12 minutes or in an air fryer set to 390F for 5-7 minutes until crispy and warmed through.
Freezer: You can freeze leftover cauliflower black bean mixture; however the cauliflower will not have the same texture when defrosting. Freeze in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 2 months. I would recommend freezing in single serving ½ or 1 cup servings for quick defrosting. Soupercubes are great for this kind of single serve freezing.
Reheating from frozen: First defrost in the fridge overnight or in the microwave until completely thawed through. Once defrosted, put the spicy cauliflower and black beans in a 450F oven for 10-15 minutes or an air fryer set to 390F for 8-10 minutes to reheat and crisp up the cauliflower.
Substitutions
- Cauliflower florets – you could also do this with small potatoes or sweet potatoes cut into cubes in place of the cauliflower florets.
- Spices: If you don’t have these spices on hand, you can also use 2 tablespoons of your favorite taco seasoning.
- Olive oil – you can use any neutral cooking oil you have on hand. Another great option would be avocado oil. You could also use melted coconut oil, ghee or butter (not vegan).
- Black beans – you can use canned black beans or black beans you make yourself from dried beans. If you don’t have black beans on hand, you can use kidney beans (dark or light), pinto beans, white beans or even lentils in place of the black beans.
- Tortilla shells – if you don’t have tortillas on hand, you can make your own lentil flatbreads to use as tortillas or choose a different way to serve the vegan cauliflower taco mixture (see ideas above).
- Chipotle in adobo – if you don’t have chipotle in adobo, you can use chipotle powder instead or choose a different sauce (see ideas above). If you choose chipotle powder, you will only need about 1/2 teaspoon.
- Tahini – you can use drippy almond butter, sunbutter or cashew butter in place of the tahini.
- Apple cider vinegar – you can use the juice from 1 lime in place of the ACV.
- Spices for the dressing: Simply omit the spices that you don’t have on hand.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Mexican Black Bean Lentil Burgers
Cauliflower Black Bean Tacos
$6.94 Recipe/$1.74 ServingIngredients
- 1 large head cauliflower - $2.65
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - $0.22
- 1 tbsp chili powder - $0.30
- 2 tsp smoked paprika - $0.20
- 1 tsp garlic powder - $0.10
- 1 tsp sea salt - $0.05
- 1 tsp ground cumin - $0.10
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained - $1.98
Chipotle Tahini Sauce
- 4 medium chipotle in adobo - $0.18
- 2 tbsp tahini - $0.41
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar - $0.12
- 1/2 cup water - $0.00
- 1/2 tsp turmeric - $0.05
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder - $0.05
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika - $0.05
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - $0.03
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Chop the cauliflower into bite size pieces. Add cauliflower to a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine all the spices for the tacos.
- Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil and 3/4 of the spice mixture. Stir well until all cauliflower florets are well coated in the spice mixture.
- Place parchment paper over a baking sheet and add the cauliflower florets. Bake at 450F for 30 minutes.
- While cauliflower is cooking, rinse and drain the black beans. Add rinsed black beans to the bowl you mixed the cauliflower in. Add the rest of the spices and stir well.
- After 30 minutes, remove the cauliflower from the oven. Stir the cauliflower on the baking sheet and add the black beans on top.
- Put cauliflower and black beans in oven for 10 minutes.
- While the cauliflower and black beans are cooking, make the chipotle tahini dressing by combining all the ingredients in a high speed blender.
- Serve with tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Equipment
Notes
- Be sure to coat the cauliflower in olive oil to ensure the cauliflower gets well coated in spices and browns up when roasting.
- Budget tip: Buy your cauliflower from Aldi or Trader Joe’s as they charge by the head of cauliflower not by the pound!
- Use frozen cauliflower! If you really want to make this pantry/freezer friendly, you can easily make this with frozen cauliflower as well!
- You can char your soft taco shells on your gas burner – place tortilla directly over grates (using tongs) and let char 10-15 seconds per side. Cover them with a damp paper towel (or damp clean kitchen towel) after charring so they don’t dry out before serving them.
- Over rice or cauliflower rice with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes as a burrito bowl
- With Mexican vegetables and jasmine rice for a simple, veggie packed meal
- In lettuce wraps as a lower carb option
- In burritos, quesadilla, taquitos as the filling
- Over salad greens with your favorite Mexican inspired dressing (I love lime tahini dressing or creamy cilantro lime dressing for this)
- Take the time to chop the cauliflower florets, make the spicy tahini dressing and combine the spices and put them in a small jar so they are ready for when you want to make the tacos.
- Make the spice mixture. Chop the cauliflower and cook the cauliflower in a 450F oven for 30 minutes. While the cauliflower is cooking, combine the black beans and the rest of the spice mixture. After 30 minutes, allow the cauliflower to cool and add the spiced black beans to the cooked cauliflower mixture. Store in an airtight container. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450F add the cauliflower and black beans to the baking sheet. Cook at 450F for 15 minutes. While cauliflower is cooking, make the chipotle tahini dressing. Serve hot with spicy tahini sauce and favorite toppings.
- Fridge: Store leftover cauliflower black bean taco mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat leftovers in a 450F oven for 10-12 minutes or in an air fryer set to 390F for 5-7 minutes until crispy and warmed through.
- Freezer: You can freeze leftover cauliflower black bean mixture; however the cauliflower will not have the same texture when defrosting. Freeze in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 2 months.
- Reheating from frozen: First defrost in the fridge overnight or in the microwave until completely thawed through. Once defrosted, put the spicy cauliflower and black beans in a 450F oven for 10-15 minutes or an air fryer set to 390F for 8-10 minutes to reheat and crisp up the cauliflower.
