Coconut Cauliflower Tacos

Boy we’ve come a long way from the packaged hard taco shells and ground beef filling!

Not that the OG version of homemade tacos for us who don’t have a Mexican background still doesn’t give me all the nostalgic vibes! 

But here we are these days, filling our soft corn taco shells with all the fun fillings that Mexican Street Tacos have inspired us with.  I remember going to Mexico for our honeymoon, and seeing for the first time, an actual Mexican taco!  So different from what I grew up with.  But I grew up with German immigrant parents, so the grocery store version was the best we knew.  But now my eyes were opened.  And they could never be shut again!

These days we fill our tacos with whatever strikes our fancy.  Pulled BBQ chicken, braised pork, shrimp, or even vegetarian options. Like today’s recipe.

Coconut Cauliflower

Think Coconut Shrimp, but not!  I love using my Coconut Shrimp recipe as a taco filling.  So then I thought, instead of battering and frying up my cauliflower, as I usually do, why not turn them into the coconut version of shrimp?  For one thing, they would be baked instead of fried, so that’s a good thing.  Jim will eat them, because he doesn’t actually eat shrimp.  You will love how easy it is to transform cauliflower into a lightly crisped filling, with that wonderful coconuty flavour.  You will use coconut milk, unsweetened and sweetened shredded cococonut, so this will definitely have that tasty tropical vibe that coconut brings to the table.  If you end up with leftover baked cauliflower bites, dip them into the taco sauce and call it a midnight snack!

How to Prep the Cauliflower

Trim back the leaves and large stem base from a medium sized cauliflower.  The whole cauliflower will easily feed four to six.  So prep the rest accordingly.  Cut it in half down through the middle. You will cut each side into 3/4 inch slabs.  Then take each slab and cut into smaller pieces that will fit into the taco shell comfortably and that will be easy to bite into.  Some of these pieces will naturally break apart, no worries, it’s all good.

Then you will do a dip into the prepared wet ingredients, and from there into the dry coating.  Place each piece onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  If you have one, place a cooling rack over the baking sheet and spray it lightly with oil.  This will help the heat go all around the pieces, and you won’t have to turn them.  But of course, if you don’t have a cooling rack, you’ll be gently turning the pieces over half way through the baking time.

Master Slaw and Taco Sauce

I’m going to let you in on a little secret here, ready made coleslaw from the veggie section of your favourite grocers is my go to for all my taco fillings! Sure we can purchase the red and green cabbage and shred them up, but guaranteed there will be a lot of extra cabbage in your fridge!  But if you pick up a smallish container of the crisp shredded cabbage usually dotted with carrot etc, then you will have a more manageable amount to deal with.  I use an acid based dressing instead of a creamy dressing for taco coleslaw.  This way the coleslaw bed for the star of the tacos isn’t too heavy or thick and filling.  Besides, there is usually some sort of sauce or dressing to finish tacos off, so there will be some creaminess to satisfy your tongue.  I like a citrus juice for this dressing, whether orange or lime or a combo of both.  

This taco sauce has just enough kick and heat to make it a great accent to the filling.  And it will work on just about any taco, tostada, quesadilla or even enchilada dish that you want to drizzle it on! If you use vegan mayo and yogurt or sour cream, then this entire meal is vegan as well! Yay!

Pickled Onions are the Best Garnish!

These onions are the ones I’ve been making since I first started cooking though Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer.  They are SOOO easy to make, and keep the best magenta colour.  It’s so simple: soak sliced red onions in a bowl with lime juice, apple cider vinegar and seasonings.  And let it sit in the fridge till needed.  The lime juice will not only soften the onions, it will also soften the bite that onions can have.  In the end they add the crunch and zip to finish off any meal, whether you scatter these over a salad, onto grilled chicken, or in a burger. 

And of course, sliced avocado, cilantro leaves, jalapeños, and any other topping are just bonus!

Re-heating Tortillas

The challenge with corn tortillas is that they become stiff and break pretty quickly, even if you picked them up fresh.  They need to be warmed through thoroughly to be the perfect little wrappers for all the good stuff inside.  You won’t have the same issue with flour tortillas.  But they should be warmed through for optimum taco experience.  I’ve described the method for warming corn tortillas in the recipe below.  For a fabulous comprehensive guide to heating all tortillas, and then keeping them warm till you are ready to eat, can be found here at The Spruce Eats. 

So keep this blog post close by.  In one recipe you will have the slaw, sauce and onions that will work with any taco protein. For this reason you will also find it in the Pantry section of the blog. You can do Baha Fish, grilled chicken, spicy sliced beef, or even good ole ground beef!! 😀

ps: if you want an alternative to the taco sauce here, check out my Cilantro Lime Crema, it’s creamy and fresh, thanks to a little avocado!

Love Jen

Print

Coconut Cauliflower Tacos

Crispy coconut scented cauliflower is the star of these tacos. The slaw, taco sauce and pickled onions will be the ones you turn to for all your taco occasions!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Keyword cauliflower, coconut, coleslaw, pickled onions, tacos

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Resting Time 2 hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

Citrus Slaw

• 6 cups shredded cabbage blend of green and purple or prepped coleslaw, my preference is ready made in this case!
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/4 tsp lime zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice from the orange you zested above
• 1 tbsp lime juice about 1/2 lime
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Taco Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/3 cup sour cream or skyr
• 3 medium cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp lime zest
• 1 tbsp lime juice or more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Pickled Red Onions

• 1 medium red onion
• 3-4 limes
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 pepper

Coconut Cauliflower

• 1 medium cauliflower sliced into long pieces - see notes
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1 lime zested and juiced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs gluten free if necessary
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 24 small corn tortillas two per taco, 3 tacos per person Feel free to use flour tortillas if desired, you may need less since these are usually larger.
• 1 cup torn cilantro leaves garnish
• 2-3 jalapeños sliced into rings, garnish
• radish and avocado slices optional garnish

Instructions

Citrus Slaw, prepare in advance

1. Place the cabbage in a large bowl.
2. Blend all the dressing ingredients well. Pour this over the cabbage and toss to coat evenly.
3. Store in a smaller sealed container in the fridge to let the flavours meld.

Taco Sauce, prepare in advance

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small food chopper or blend well by hand. Store in the fridge to let the flavours meld.

Pickled Red Onions, prepare in advance

1. Slice the onions into thin half rings and place them in a medium bowl.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the onions slices. Toss to coat well. Transfer to a smaller glass or ceramic bowl and store, covered, in the fridge. The onions will be better as they get to sit in the lime juice. Do this at least 2 hours before serving them.

Coconut Cauliflower

1. Slice up the cauliflower and place on a sheet or in a bowl.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the unsweetened and sweetened coconut onto a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, until just turning golden. Each oven is different, so watch till ready. Set aside to cool down.

3. Whisk together the coconut milk, zest and juice of 1 lime and 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and chilli powder in a wide shallow bowl or pie plate.

4. Whisk together the toasted coconut, panko, cornmeal, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, 11tsp salt and the pepper in a separate wide shallow bowl or pie plate.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a cooling rack over the baking sheet (optional, if you don't have one, no worries)
6. Line up your dredging station in this order: cauliflower pieces, wet batter, dry coconut breading, and the baking sheet.
7. Dip the cauliflower pieces into the coconut milk batter, making sure all sides are covered.
8. Shake off any excess and place cauliflower pieces in the dry breading mix, pressing down and flipping over to make sure it's coated evenly on both sides. Transfer the breaded pieces of cauliflower to the lined baking sheet and cooling rack if using. Repeat until all the pieces of cauliflower are prepped. One medium sized cauliflower usually only requires one baking sheet.
9. Bake the cauliflower until golden brown and crispy. This usually takes about 30 minutes. If you are laying the pieces flat on the baking sheet, gently turn them half way through the baking time, being careful not to disturb the breading.
10. As the cauliflower is getting close to being roasted, prep the tortillas.
11. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium low heat. Place the tortillas on the hot surface in a single layer, turning after about 30 seconds to heat evenly. Depending on the heat and the tortillas, it may take longer to warm through and make them completely pliable.
12. Once the tortillas (flour or corn) are heated, wrap them in a damp towel and transfer them to a basket, plastic, or polystyrene tortilla warmer to keep them nice and hot. If you don’t have an “official” tortilla warmer, you can place the towel-wrapped stack into a slightly larger bowl, then cover it with a plate.

13. Create a taco bar with the coconut cauliflower, citrus slaw, tortillas, and the finishing ingredients: cilantro, jalapeño, radish slices and avocado, taco sauce.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to halve the recipe for just two or three people. Still make the full amount of taco sauce though. See the blog post for more information on reheating tortillas!