The secret to these crispy cauliflower tacos is the rice flour. It creates the crispiest crust on the cauliflower, making it the perfect vessel for the tangy cabbage slaw and spicy chipotle avocado sauce. These vegetarian tacos will be sure to inspire your weeknight meals well beyond Meatless Monday and Taco Tuesday!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 35 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1/4 green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Kosher salt
- 1 small chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 avocado, halved and pitted
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup dark Mexican beer, such as Modelo Negra or Dos Equis Dark Lager
- 1 1/4 pounds bite-size cauliflower florets (about 36 florets or half a medium head cauliflower)
- Twelve 5-inch white corn tortillas
- Pico de gallo, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Heat about 2 inches vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
- For the cabbage slaw: Toss together the green cabbage, red cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, honey, sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- For the chipotle avocado sauce: Combine the chipotle in adobo sauce and the cilantro in a mini food processor, pulsing until finely chopped and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the avocado, lime juice, sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- For the crispy cauliflower: Whisk together the white rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the beer until smooth (the texture and consistency should resemble pancake batter).
- Dip one-third of the cauliflower florets in the batter and coat well. Allow the excess batter to drip off and carefully place cauliflower into the hot oil. Fry until cauliflower is tender and golden brown on all side, 4 to 5 minutes total.
- Transfer with a slotted spoon to the prepared baking sheet, season lightly with salt and hold in the warm oven. Bring the oil back to 350 degrees F. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower and batter and fry two more batches.
- To toast the tortillas, warm in batches in a dry large skillet over medium-low heat, 5 seconds per side, or wrap in a damp kitchen towel and microwave for 25 seconds. Wrap in a dry kitchen towel to keep warm.
- To assemble, spread a layer of the Chipotle Avocado Sauce in the center of each toasted tortilla. Top with a few pieces of Crispy Cauliflower, Cabbage Slaw and pico de gallo. Serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1222 |
| Total Fat | 96 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 83 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 17 mg |
| Sodium | 1431 mg |
Reviews
Made these for the first time tonight. My husband and I loved them! I used a small chipotle pepper in adobo, and the avocado sauce was a little spicy, but so good. Didn’t miss the meat at all. Will make again.
These are great. I just made them for lunch. No Mexican beer so used some from one of our local breweries. No meat no problem
I like the sound of it but I had not made it yet
No meat means no eat yuck use corn shells and add some meat
These are amazing! One of my favorites! The cauliflower is so crispy, and all the flavors together are so delicious!
Make those for taco Tuesday and they were a huge hit with my meat loving family!!! As a vegetarian I’m always looking for new recipes for myself and recipes I can try out on my family. Most are hit or miss with them, but these got 2 thumbs up from my harshest critic (my 7 year old daughter)! I followed the recipe exactly except I use a fresh jalapeño in the avocado mixture instead of a chili in adobo (mostly bc my husband can not handle any spice). I thought it was great with the jalapeño. The cauliflower was so amazing. I could eat it by itself too. I will definitely make this again, and again, and again!!!