Veggie Tacos with Coconut Lime Slaw
Veggie Tacos with Coconut Lime Slaw are one of my favorite ways to get my family to eat extra veggies without a single complaint. The little bits of cauliflower hold all of the familiar flavors of taco meat and looks a lot like it too! The addition of the Coconut Lime Slaw pushes the flavor over the top. It turns a regular taco into a gourmet taco. The great news is that although it tastes gourmet, it is still simple and quick enough to make on a weeknight. This would certainly impress guests too. I’ve made it more times than I can count for friends and family- adults and kids love it!
All About the Cauliflower
I just love this versatile, almost magical vegetable! It takes on so many wonderful flavors with ease. And depending on how it is cut and cooked, it also has varied textures. It can be baked in the oven with crispy edges like my Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon and Dill or imitate chicken in my Baked Battered Buffalo Cauliflower. For these Veggie Tacos and Coconut Lime Slaw, the cauliflower is treated just the way ground beef would when making tacos. To get the texture right, either buy pre-packaged fresh or frozen “riced” cauliflower. If frozen, allow it to thaw before starting with this recipe. A whole head of cauliflower or florets can be finely chopped by hand with a good chef’s knife. Or pulsed in a food processor a few times until uniform pieces develop. All of these method will work really well with this recipe.
Making the Veggie Taco Filling
Begin by cooking the chopped onion with oil of your choice, then add in the cauliflower. Once warmed through and the cauliflower has softened, add the salt, pepper, ground cumin, paprika, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder and oregano. All of the seasonings and flavors that you would expect to have in tacos! Yay! Stir to combine all of this well, then add the tomato paste and stir it in as well. The tomato paste will add richness, depth of flavor and color.
Coconut Lime Slaw Ingredients
So simple and fresh, this Coconut Lime Slaw adds a ton of flavor and texture to this Veggie Taco. It also elevates the flavor to a gourmet level and only requires a few ingredients. I use a pre-packaged slaw mix with green and purple cabbage and carrots. Always use freshly squeezed lime juice, not the store bought stuff, it just doesn’t taste nearly as good as fresh lime juice. The one ingredient I would plan ahead for is the coconut milk. I use a brand called Aroy-d. It is hard to find in stores, so I buy it on Amazon. It is really smooth and creamy, much better than anything in a can. When it comes to the mayonnaise, I use a standard, full-fat variety. Feel free to substitute your favorite vegan mayo if you’d like. The flavor will change to reflect the mayo, but if you like your mayo, you’ll like the flavor of the slaw.
Making the Coconut Lime Slaw
Here’s the easy part! All of the ingredients go in a large bowl at the same time and get mixed together. That’s all there is to it! You can make this an hour or two ahead and keep it stored in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the tacos. Although it still tastes great for a day or two after it is made, the purple in the cabbage starts to spill out and change the overall color of the slaw. I am not a fan of serving this to anyone outside my immediate family at this point. Hee hee:-)
More Gluten Free Deliciousness
Check out more recipes that will go really well with these Veggie Tacos with Coconut Lime Slaw like Easy Guacamole, Fresh Fiesta Dip, Fiesta Salad, Easy Blender Gazpacho, Chicken Enchiladas, Dirty Snowballs and Gluten Free Coconut Tres Leche Cake, for a rock star gluten free meal plan;-)
Veggie Tacos with Coconut Lime Slaw
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Oil (for coating pan (olive, coconut or canola will all work well))
- 1 large head cauliflower (finely chopped, or 2 lbs frozen riced cauliflower)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- ¼ tsp Chipotle Chili powder
- 1 tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- 15 corn tortillas ((give or take a few depending on how much filling you use))
Coconut Lime Slaw
- 16 oz slaw mix
- ½ cup coconut milk (I use Aroy-d brand coconut milk)
- ½ cup mayonnaise or vegan mayo
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the taco filling:
- Heat a large pan with enough oil to coat the bottom. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add cauliflower and stir. Cook until cauliflower has softened slightly, then add the seasonings and tomato paste, stirring until well combined after each. Then allow to heat through for about 5 minutes.
- Prepare the slaw by combining all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well and set aside.
- My hack for soft corn tortillas that won't break and fall apart is to place 5-10 tortillas in a stack on a damp paper towel and fold it over to cover the tortillas completely. Place the bundle of tortillas in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds.
- Once heated, spoon the Cauliflower Taco Filling and Coconut Lime Slaw on each tortilla and start gobbling them up right away!
