Vegan Cauliflower Taco Meat

Did someone say #TacoTuesday?! This Vegan Taco "Meat" substitute is made with cauliflower, quinoa and a spicy chipotle sauce. Perfect for vegetarian tacos, burrito bowls, nachos and more! Video tutorial below.

This versatile vegan taco meat is so easy to make, meal prep and freezer friendly, and packed with flavor!

The "meat" is a mixture of finely minced mushrooms, riced cauliflower and quinoa for a meaty, crumbled texture. For flavor, we cook the mixture in a spicy, smoky chipotle sauce that comes together in less than five minutes.

This recipe is so versatile and tastes great with all of your favorite taco toppings. A few of our favorites: guacamole (always!), corn salsa, pickled onion, spicy black beans and fresh vegetables.

Ingredients

• Onion & garlic
• Cauliflower: you'll need to rice the cauliflower before using, which can be done with a food processor or a grater. Alternatively, most grocery stores sell pre-riced cauliflower these days!
• Mushrooms: regular button mushrooms do the trick but feel free to use something more flavorful like shiitakes or cremini mushrooms.
• Quinoa: cook the quinoa ahead of time according to package directions.
• Seasonings: oregano, salt, fresh cilantro
• Chipotle sauce: made from chipotles in adobo (you can find these in the canned section of most grocery stores), lime juice, oil, coconut sugar, cumin, salt and paprika.

Instructions

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. We sometimes cook ours in vegetable broth for more flavor, but this is totally optional and water works perfectly fine.

Prep: Rice cauliflower by pulsing in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. Alternatively, you can use a grater to grate the cauliflower (although this is a bit more time consuming). You can also purchase pre-riced cauliflower at most grocery stores.

Sauté: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened (5-7 minutes). 

Make the sauce: Meanwhile, add all sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If you're sensitive to spice, hold back on the adobo sauce. You can always add more if desired.

Assemble: Add cauliflower rice, oregano and salt to skillet and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until cauliflower starts to soften. Add in cooked quinoa and chipotle sauce and stir well. Continue cooking for 5-7 minutes, then add in fresh cilantro and cook a few more minutes. 

Serve hot in tacos, burrito bowls, salads, etc.  

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat or in the microwave for 60 seconds.

You can also freeze this vegan taco meat for up to 6 months. Reheat in a skillet or microwave until defrosted. It's easiest if you defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.

Uses for vegan taco meat

• Tacos (with these spicy black beans!)
• Burrito bowls
• Burritos (including breakfast burritos)
• On nachos
• Straight from the pan!

More vegan weeknight dinner recipes

• Greek Chickpea Salad
• Roasted Red Pepper Carrot Soup
• Lemon Rice Soup (Vegan)
• Pineapple Teriyaki Tofu
• The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese

If you make this vegan cauliflower quinoa taco meat, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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📖 Recipe