These BBQ Cauliflower and Chickpea Tacos are delicious, flavorful and filling!
Tacos in the morning, tacos in the evening, tacos in the summertime. If you eat cauliflower in a taco you can eat tacos anytime! Sorry, I just had to get that out, because it has been running through my head for about 2 hours now! I apologize in advance for it now being stuck in your head for the next two hours 🙂
All songs aside, true story: if you stuff your tacos full of cauliflower you can eat them all the time and trust me, you will want to! I tested these tacos about three times before I got them just perfect and it was one of the best weeks of my life.
I have yet to eat these tacos in the morning, but I did enjoy them for both lunches and dinners, for 5 days in a row…
Do you ever find yourself making a dish over and over again because you love it so much? As much as I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with new recipes for the blog, on the weekdays I usually find myself eating the same things over and over again. It could be that I’m lazy, or it could be my mildly obsessive personality.
When I buy a new outfit that I love, I sometimes wear it every single day for a few days, then wash it and wear it again. And don’t even get me started on how many times I listen to my favorite songs on repeat until my husband probably wants to break the CD so we never have to hear it again.
I also get obsessed with certain ingredients and I find myself putting them in everything I make. Right now cauliflower is that ingredient. I came up with these tacos because what better way is there to eat cauliflower than stuffing inside my other food obsession: tacos. And it turns out, there is not better way!
I’ve been obsessively watching (I told you I had an obsessive personality!) Bobby Flay’s BBQ addiction show lately and it really inspired me to make my own BBQ rub. I feel silly saying that I had never made my own rub before, but I really don’t think I had!
I’m not sure why though, because it is so easy. Literally all you do is add a bunch of spices together and mix them up, and you are done! Then you rub it all over your ingredient of choice and it transforms it into a seriously flavorful meal.
You really can’t have proper BBQ without a healthy serving of slaw on top of it. I took a little shortcut here and used a bag of pre-sliced cole slaw mix, but you could also slice your own cabbage and carrots if you would like.
To me, the most important element of the slaw is the dressing and homemade dressing is always better than the store bought stuff, so that is one shortcut I will never take! For this slaw, I made a classic creamy dressing and then I added the juice of one lime, and let me tell you, it was creamy and tart and delicious!
BBQ Cauliflower & Chickpea Tacos with a Creamy Lime Slaw {gf+v}
- Yield: 4 - 6 1x
Description
A delicious and filling vegan dinner that everyone will love!
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 1/4 cup of cooked chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 10–12 corn tortillas
- sliced jalapenos, if desired
BBQ Rub:
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Creamy Lime Slaw:
- 1 14 ounce bag of cole slaw mix or 6 – 7 cups of thinly chopped cabbage and carrots
- A scant 1/2 cup of veganasie, or mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 teaspoon water
- Juice of one lime
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Make the slaw: In a medium sized bowl add all of the slaw dressing ingredients. Mix ingredients together until a creamy sauce has formed. In a large bowl, add the cabbage mixture and pour dressing over. Mix until everything is combined. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- In a small bowl or jar, add all of the BBQ rub ingredients and mix together.
- Separate all of the cauliflower florets and chop them into bite size pieces. Place florets and chickpeas onto a large sheetpan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with BBQ rub. Toss everything together with your hands so that cauliflower and chickpeas are coated with the rub. Place the sheetpan in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, flipping once.
- If desired, warm up corn tortillas on the stove or in the oven. Add about 1/4 cup of cauliflower and chickpeas to each taco and top with a few tablespoons of slaw. Top with sliced jalapenos if desired.
- Enjoy!
- Category: Entree, Gluten Free, Vegan
You May Also Enjoy:
BBQ Black Bean & Quinoa Tacos with Cilantro Slaw
I had grand plans of getting a photo with Cheeto’s head inside a hamburger bun, apparently he had other plans 🙂
Wow, these sound absolutely amazing! Love the different flavors and textures…can’t go wrong when your taco is full of this much deliciousness!
Thanks Joanne! I don’t think I’ve ever met a taco I didn’t like and these ones are especially good!
Tacos definitely all the time!! I can never ever get enough! These look fantastic – and that slaw!
haha and don’t worry – it sounds like the we have the same obsessive personality – I totally get stuck on things and make them all the time – too frequently according to my husband sometimes 🙂
And Cheeto – our beagle would have tried to eat that bun immediately!
Haha, my husband is the same way. I can think of a few occasions where he says, “are we really having that again?” But in my opinion, you can never have too much of a good thing! And tacos are definitely a good thing! We have friends who taught their dog to do a trick where it balances a hotdog on its nose and keeps it there for a few seconds before scarfing it down, I was always so impressed by that!
‘Be my little tacoooo, and love me all the time!’, lol. 🙂
I’m definitely guilty of obsessing over my favorite foods and songs too. Right now, I’m into smoothies and salads, which has actually been the case for oh, a year now? See what I mean? These tacos look deliciously healthy! You are on a Mexican roll!
Haha! I love it! 🙂 I don’t think that smoothies or salads will ever go out of style! I am so with you on the salads, I could eat them twice a day and never get bored of them! I think we need to have a potluck party soon 🙂
AWESOME and DELICIOUS recipe, Isa. And the best part is this tacos looks so healthy!
Thank you, Olivia! They really are healthy and good but you don’t feel guilty about eating a ton of them, which always makes me happy because I love to eat!
Oh my GOSH! These tacos. Want. For. Lunch.
Seriously, bbq cauliflower? chickpeas? Slaw? In a taco? Um, YES. And your photos are totally stunning, Izzy! LOVE how you styled these tacos. 🙂
Aww, thanks so much, Sarah!! Next time I make these I think I need to make your awesome homemade BBQ sauce to put all over them! Also, I don’t think I will be able to eat slaw-less tacos anymore, it is most definitely the way to go!
A bit late to this party, but just wanted to say thanks for this recipe! I made them yesterday and have been eating them today too! Since I’m in South Africa I had to make some substitutions (Indian Poppadoms instead of tacos – yum). I also used fresh mango and mango atchar (kind of like a chunky chutney) with plain yoghurt topping. This was a sensational combo- try it!!
Haha, thank you so much, Julia!! The addition of mangos in this recipe sounds amazing! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Yes! So many times I’ll eat the same thing for days in a row because a dish will be that good! I’m fascinated by how many ways you can cook cauliflower and make a dish healthier. Putting this one on my list!
I know, me too! I never cease to be amazed by all the creative and delicious cauliflower recipes I see out there! Who knew that a vegetable I despised as a kid could actually be so tasty, haha!
Izzy! It’s in my head and I LOVE IT! You should sell that copyright that jingle ASAP. I also make the same thing over and over again. Specifically, I’ve been making these hummus wraps for the last 3 years. I have them once a week for dinner! I had them last night, in fact. I change them up each time, but the meal is the same -hummus wraps and soup! It does involve a tortilla, so we are on the same page apparently! Cauliflower is so good right now and so BIG -like, would serve a small country big. Roasted cauliflower in a taco sounds pretty much like the best thing ever.
Bobby Flay’s BBQ Addiction? Marathon’d that. Love it. His outdoor setup is insane and the food he whips up makes me hungry/drool every time. I want to make/eat all of his recipes. He’s so good. The master. It bothers me that he doesn’t even look like he tries, it just turns out perfect every time. Damn him!
HAHAHA. Is it weird that I want to make that photo of cheeto my background? It’s too funny. Have you ever considered making a book out of cheeto pics? NYTimes best seller right there! You’re too funny. I wish we lived closer because I want to have a good old girl/gigglefest with you soon! Love ya! xoxo!
Al! It has been in my head all day today too and now I just want to eat a giant truck load of tacos for dinner! And maybe a few chocotacos for dessert! Hummus wraps are the best! One summer I hate them everyday for lunch and never got sick of them, unfortunately my stomach started to not like all the chickpeas so much though, haha! I think that everything just tastes so much better wrapped in a loving tortilla!
I’ve been marathoning it too! And sometimes I even watch episodes 3 and 4 times over just because I like them so much. Yes! His outdoor set up is like a grocery store in his backyard. I just really noticed last night that he has those drawers of produce behind him. Is it really possible for him to go through so many onions?! Everything he cooks makes me drool too, even the kinda yucky stuff that I would never cook myself looks good!
Haha! Eric looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him to hold the bun around Cheeto’s head, but like the good husband that he is, he obliged. That would be awesome if Cheeto made the best seller list, he would finally earn his keep! And yes, a girl gigglefest is much needed, so just move to AZ already!! XOXO!
OMG!! these tacos looks so sooo good.. Cauliflower and chickpeas is a great veggie tacos filling.. Love it!
Thank you, Arpita! Cauliflower and chickpeas are my new taco obsession!
ooh i am so craving tacos right now.. these look delicious!
Thanks Thalia!
Yummy, I have to try this soon! And beautiful photos by the way! 🙂
– Julia, Onekitchenblog.com
Thank you so much, Julia! 🙂
What a great recipe! I love trying new ways of cooking cauliflower. This is definitely on the list to make 🙂
Thanks Lilli! You really can’t go wrong with the cauliflower and taco combo 🙂
I’m not sure why, but I kind of think everything tastes great in a taco. This cauliflower looks delicious along with that slaw. I too love watching Bobby Flay BBQ Addiction. I watch it On Demand, episode after episode. Everything always looks so good and I love how he always makes some kind of cocktail to go with the meal 😀
I 100% agree with you on that one, Cindy! I could probably be tricked into eating anything as long as it was stuffed inside a taco! I”ve been watching episode after episode on Hulu and I’m so obsessed! He comes up with the best ideas and I always love his cocktails too 🙂
Thanks Katie! You will definitely love these 🙂
Such a creative dish! I absolutely love tacos and I love the spice rub in this recipe. Looks so good!
Thank you Danielle! The spice rub definitely makes them and also goes so well on so many other things! I’ve been experimenting with making a BBQ potato chip using this rub!
Tacos of my dreams! Gorgeous shots, lady!
Thank you so much, Alanna! That always means to much to me coming from you 🙂
Such a creative dish, Izzy! And I totally agree that if cauliflower is stuffed in these babies, it’s definitely ok for breakfast! Plus, the veggies make it healthier, right?! I love cauliflower, so i can’t wait to try this out!
Thank you Gayle! I’m so glad you agree that we can eat these for breakfast! I hated cauliflower as a kid, but I’ve been really enjoying experimenting with it now that I’m older. It has become one of my favorites!
What a creative idea for tacos! I really love meatless meals but my husband doesn’t. I am trying to convince him you don’t need meat with every single meal! This looks like a really good one to try, I bet he wouldn’t even notice it is vegetarian!
Thanks Annie! My husband isn’t too keen on meatless meals either. I did make him some chicken for his tacos that I rubbed with the same rub, haha! I agree, you really don’t need meat in every meal and it usually cheaper to leave it out. Maybe if you throw some chicken into the mix he will enjoy it!
OMG, I could seriously eat this right now. I love the flavors (the spice pictures is beautiful), of course love tacos, and isn’t roasted cauliflower and chickpeas the best. Put it all together and well, I could eat this all week too.
Thank you Katie! I’m thinking about making another batch so I can eat it for every meal next week too 🙂
It’s 7 am and I’m hungry for a cauliflower taco! I am going to try this one for sure, what a great way to eat more tacos. Love your styling and photography, too.
Hi Ellen! Thank you so much for the nice compliments! I’m always looking for more excuses to eat more tacos!
What an awesome, healthy & tasty idea. Love these tacos so much!!
Thanks Matt! I absolutely love tacos too 🙂
These were great for a dinner party in the backyard! They weren’t too spicy for the mild crowd and could be easily ramped up with sliced peppers and hot sauce for the heat lovers. I loved the leftover cauliflower-chickpea mixture on a salad the next day. Yum!
Hi Carol! A dinner party in the backyard sounds perfect! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I also used my leftovers on a salad and it was so good! Thanks so much for letting me know what you though of them, that just made my day 🙂