Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat

Cauliflower Walnut Vegetarian Taco Meat on Baking Sheet.

Breaking news: vegetarian taco meat is a weirdly delicious thing. Like, all plants. In tacos. That really closely resembles ground beef and possibly even tastes better. This is a miracle of epic proportions.

Do we love tacos or DO WE LOVE TACOS? We – team POY, readers and bloggers and friends and family alike – definitely love tacos. We also love all derivatives of tacos – taco bowls, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, enchiladas, tostadas, nachos, etc., which is good news for the magic of vegetarian taco meat because it goes with everything. All of them. Not one taco relative left behind.

The number of types of tacos I’ve made is beyond counting. It would actually be embarrassing. That number is not slowing down anytime soon, pals. Being a taco fanatic means I am definitely not going to say no to a beef taco if you offer it to me, but I am also a part-time vegetarian and I really love a good meatless alternative.

I have no real explanation for this except that I love to eat plants and I find cooking vegetarian recipes to be easier. And more fun. So chipotle-spiced, easy-to-make veg taco meat was born.

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Spicy Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat ingredients in a food processor.

How To Make Some Mind-Blowing Vegetarian Taco Meat

Here’s what we have going on in this vegetarian taco meat situation:

  • cauliflower
  • walnuts
  • chipotle peppers
  • a few spices
  • salt

Can you handle it? It’s too easy. It should be wrong but it’s so right.

Spicy Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat ingredients in a food processor.

Once that gets all ground up, we’re going to bake it.

You still with me?

Spicy Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat on a spoon.

Serve It Up with All The Things

While it’s baking, since you’re going to have about 30 minutes of down time, this is the perfect opportunity to get into a salsa frenzy and whip up every type of friendly taco buddy that you can think of.

I went with the trifecta pictured here: corn and black bean salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole because I don’t want to hate my life.

Salsas for vegetarian taco meat.

My taco vision quickly got out of control and I opted for a taco bowl – er, maybe burrito bowl, technically, with the rice and everything – instead of a traditional folded-in-a-tortilla fashion. Which is a callback to what I said at the beginning: that this vegetarian taco meat is ready to go with anybody in the taco family.

Only love for this mountain of glory.

Spicy Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat in a bowl over rice.

What can I even say? My heart is happy. Vegetarian taco meat, please never leave me.

I hope you love tacossss.

Spicy Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat in a bowl over rice.

Ways To Use Vegetarian Taco Meat

There are so many ways! Here are my favorites.

Print
Cauliflower Walnut Vegetarian Taco Meat on a sheet pan with a wooden spoon.

Cauliflower Walnut Vegetarian Taco Meat

4.9 from 156 reviews
  • Author: Lindsay
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings (about 1/2 cup each)
Print Recipe

Description

This vegetarian taco meat is made with cauliflower, walnuts, and chipotle peppers. It’s so easy: just mix and bake. Meatless miracle!

Ingredients

Units

The Vegetarian Taco Meat Basics:

  • 3 cups cauliflower florets
  • 2 cups whole walnuts
  • 2 individual chipotles in adobo sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Optional Add-Ins:

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic or onion powder
  • a pinch of cayenne for more heat

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is evenly ground (see picture).
  2. Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through to prevent over-browning.
  3. Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bowls, and the like!

Equipment

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Notes

My salsa-making game is pretty loose. I like to just eyeball it and taste and adjust as I go.

  • Corn Salsa: toss some corn kernels in a pan and saute until roasty-looking. Mix with black beans, jalapeño, salt, lime juice, cilantro.
  • Pico de Gallo: toss chopped tomatoes with chopped onion, salt, lime juice, and cilantro.
  • Guacamole: toss mashed avocados with chopped onion, salt, lime juice, and cilantro.

Freezer Meal Version

  1. Pulse in a food processor to make the “meat”:
    3 cups cauliflower florets
    2 cups whole walnuts
    2 individual chipotles in adobo sauce
    1 tablespoon chili powder
    1 teaspoon cumin
    1 teaspoon salt
    optional: lime juice, onion and garlic powder, cayenne to taste
  2. Bake and then freeze: 375 degrees for 30 minutes (stir halfway through), freeze in plastic bag or glass container.
  3. Final Step: Add Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat to a skillet to reheat, or in the microwave. Serve in tacos, enchiladas, rice bowls, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, the usual.
  4. Check out our full freezer meal posts with all recipes and instructions here!
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Keywords: vegetarian taco meat, cauliflower walnut meat, vegetarian Mexican recipe, vegetarian recipe, taco bowl

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View freezer meal version of this recipe here.

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Frozen meals stored in bags.

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Walnut taco meat being prepared on a baking sheet.

One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our best healthy spring recipes page. Check it out!

The post Cauliflower Walnut Vegetarian Taco Meat appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

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