These cauliflower tacos with breaded cauliflower, refried beans and silky Yum Yum sauce are all about one thing: big flavor!
Behold the taco. Canvas for all kinds of deliciousness, from traditional like barbacoa with tomatillo salsa to fusion like Korean beef or Thai tofu. Most of the time Alex and I eat a whole food plant based diet, so we’re always looking for creative ways to use veggies. And the taco is the perfect canvas for creating some insane veggie flavors and textures! And this one is our new favorite: these Crispy Cauliflower Tacos.
How often do you eat tacos? Do you go for traditional, or fusion style?
Eating lots of veggiesA new study came out recently called the EAT-Lancet Study that talks about how eating more plants and a little less meat is better for the planet. It’s also a little better for our personal health, too. Alex and I started eating this way about 10 years ago when we read a book called Food Matters by Mark Bittman. So, this is becoming more and more of a theme in research and media.
The upside to all of this is: eating lots of veggies has never been more exciting and creative! Because of the internet, we have access to all sorts of ideas for eating vegetables stemming from cuisines from around the world. And access to literally millions of recipes. Eating your vegetables has never tasted so good.
How to make cauliflower tacosOK, on to this recipe! We have a delicious cauliflower tacos recipe in our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking, but we’ve never posted one here on A Couple Cooks. So here goes: the star of these easy cauliflower tacos is our Crispy Breaded Cauliflower. It’s roasted in the oven and covered in a savory, salty, sweet and lightly spicy breading. It’s a bit of a play on breaded fish tacos (though of course the flavor is quite different!).
Accessorize that with some refried black beans, tart cabbage slaw, and cilantro. (We used canned refried beans, but you can also make our homemade version.) Then cover it all in a delicious sauce: this Yum Yum Sauce recipe. Yum Yum Sauce is used in Japanese steakhouses and served with seafood, but here we’ve used it as a bit of a “fusion” element to accessorize with this vegetarian taco recipe. It’s so, so tasty and adds a richness to the tacos that’s incredible. It’s certainly not a health food in itself, but a little goes a long way here!
If you’d like to make a different sauce from the Yum Yum Sauce for these cauliflower tacos (there’s a vegan variation in that sauce recipe), here are a few more ideas for delicious taco sauces that would be great here:
Avocado creamCilantro drizzle (vegan)Chipotle tahini sauce (vegan)Cilantro yogurt Looking for more vegan & vegetarian tacos?Outside of these crispy cauliflower tacos, here are a few of our favorite vegan and vegetarian tacos recipes:
Loaded Quinoa TacosInstant Pot Tacos with Smoky LentilsGrilled Mango Tacos with Dream Sauce“Verde” Lentil Vegan TacosSpiced Chickpea Tacos with Avocado CreamRefried Bean Tacos with Chipotle Tahini SauceBBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple SalsaCarrot & Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro YogurtBaked Tofu Tacos with Chipotle Tahini SauceLoaded Huevos Rancheros TacosVegetarian Lentil Tacos This recipe is…This crispy cauliflower tacos recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, use the vegan Yum Yum Sauce variation or the Chipotle Tahini Sauce.
PrintThese cauliflower tacos with breaded cauliflower, refried beans and silky Yum Yum sauce are all about one thing: big flavor!
Keywords: Cauliflower Tacos, Easy Cauliflower Tacos, Vegetarian Tacos, Vegetarian Dinner Ideas, Vegan Dinner Ideas, Plant Based Dinner Ideas
This crispy breaded cauliflower is salty, tangy, sweet, spicy, and crunchy all at once! It’s 100% plant based and 100% delicious.
How often do you eat meatless? Maybe for Meatless Mondays? Maybe vegan or vegetarian during the weekdays? More and more research is showing that not only is eating less meat good for physical health, it’s gentler on the planet too. Which, is why Alex and I started this website in the first place! Today we eat a mainly whole food plant based diet (most of the time, but we flex a little, too!). So, we’re always interested in new ways to make eating plants fun and exciting: like this crispy breaded cauliflower recipe.
The inspiration behind the recipeWhen you eat a lot of veggies like Alex and I do, there’s a lot of room for creativity. Learning to cook vegetables in delicious ways has been a huge learning curve for us. But after 10+ years of cooking this way and writing a book about it, we now feel like experts. Still, there are millions of ideas yet to explore, like this baked and breaded cauliflower recipe. We are HUGE cauliflower fans, and we typically coat it in olive oil and roast it. We’ve never had a crispy breaded version at home.
Alex came up with an idea for a breaded cauliflower recipe that’s baked, not fried. I didn’t believe that he could do it baked, as I thought it would come out all soggy. Alex took it as a challenge and I said, go for it! He set about to make a baked and breaded cauliflower recipe that would be totally crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.
And it turned out so, so delicious that I was instantly a believer! What I love about this recipe is that it is so many things at once: savory, tangy, sweet, and spicy. And, it really is crunchy after being baked, not fried! Your palate is simply overwhelmed by the complexity.
How to make breaded cauliflowerA few notes on the basic concept here. When you cut the cauliflower, make sure to cut it into large florets to make them easy to bake. Then, instead of mixing the cauliflower with olive oil like a typical roasted cauliflower recipe, you mix it with a heated mixture of peanut butter, soy, maple, and hot sauce, which helps the breading to stick. Then, you’ll add the breading: panko, cornmeal, and a bunch of spices. Using cornmeal here on Alex’s part was genius: it gives a big crunch to the cauliflower.
After you bake 30 minutes in a hot oven, it’s good to go! The cauliflower is best right out of the oven — though it still tastes crunchy after sitting for a while at room temp. If you refrigerate leftovers, however, the moisture in the refrigerator takes away the crunch.
How to serve this crispy cauliflowerOK, now the question: how to serve it? Because we loved this breaded cauliflower so much, we decided to make it into a few different recipes. Our favorite: this crispy cauliflower tacos recipe! And we’ve got another bowl meal coming soon. It’s a fantastic side dish or appetizer as well. If serving as an appetizer, you could add a drizzle of Yum Yum sauce or another sauce. Or, kids love this cauliflower with ketchup!
Looking for cauliflower recipes?Aside from this crispy cauliflower, here are a few of our favorite cauliflower recipes on A Couple Cooks:
Cauliflower Soup with Cozy Moroccan Spices Veggie Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower RiceTomato Coconut Cauliflower CurryGrilled Buffalo Cauliflower SandwichBuffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese DipRoasted Cauliflower and Apples with Dill This recipe is…This crispy breaded cauliflower recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use gluten-free panko and tamari.
PrintThis crispy breaded cauliflower is salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy all at once! It’s 100% plant based and 100% delicious.
Keywords: Breaded Cauliflower, Crispy Cauliflower
Healthy slow cooker meals are easy to prep and the best solution for when you don’t have time to cook dinner, but want to surprise your family with a delicious meal every night. I’ve gathered our family’s favorite slow cooker recipes all in one place for easy reference!
I HEART my slow cooker. It makes everything taste better. And the flavors – oh the flavors. They are just the best.
Another amazing thing about the slow cooker is that, in a matter of minutes, the prep step is done and you can let the slow cooker do its thing. 10 or 15 minutes of prep time max. Which means you can prep the ingredients, throw them in the slow cooker, and then forget about them for a few hours. You can even run errands, work, or spend time with your kids during these hours. Without having to check on your healthy crockpot meals once!
When the healthy crockpot meals are ready, you just have to transfer them from the slow cooker to a serving plate or bowl and enjoy them.
So easy, right?
These are all slow cooker healthy recipes. Since guilt-free delicious meals are all we want during busy weeknights, I’m happy to share this list of healthy crockpot dinners with you. It will allow you to save time cooking dinner and the recipes are great for meal prep too. Which means more easy healthy crockpot meals for your family.
Amazeballs!
TOOLSET FOR RECIPESMost healthy slow cooker recipes make easy healthy crockpot meals. You don’t have to spend hours prepping the ingredients or making sure everything is cooked perfectly. And you don’t need many tools either. A few kitchen tools are more than enough. In case you want to know what tools you need to make these healthy crockpot dinners, I made a list for you.
Let’s start with the obvious one – the magical slow cooker. If you want to make healthy crockpot meals low-carb, you’ll need a spiralizer for zucchini noodles. Some healthy slow cooker recipes require a little bit of prep. A food processor and a kitchen blender or an immersion blender are very helpful tools. Others require a little bit of cooking before throwing all the ingredients in the slow cooker. For this, you’ll need a large skillet. If you want to make delicious mashed potatoes in the slow cooker with little to no effort, you totally can. You’ll need a potato masher to make them smooth and creamy. 3 BONUS TIPS FOR MAKING HEALTHY CROCKPOT MEALS EXTRA DELICIOUSHealthy slow cooker recipes are easy. And you don’t have to struggle to get a delicious taste or amazing flavors. However, I have to share some tips that will make your healthy crockpot meals more delicious than they already are. Woot!
Use fresh ingredients – to make easy healthy crockpot meals flavorful, use fresh veggies and herbs. The taste and flavors will be better than if you’d use frozen ingredients. Prep the ingredients ahead of time – cut the meat, slice the veggies, cook some of the ingredients when required – if you want to use these healthy slow cooker recipes for meal prep. Then all you have to do is to place the ingredients in the slow cooker and go on with your day. Not all slow cookers are the same so, when testing new slow cooker healthy recipes, make sure you adjust the time accordingly. For example, large slow cookers take longer to heat and to cook so keep that in mind when you try these healthy crockpot meals. HEALTHY SLOW COOKER DINNER IDEASThese easy healthy crockpot recipes will make you fall in love with your slow cooker again. So be ready for some tasty and full of flavor healthy crockpot dinners that require only a few minutes of prep time. And, to make things easier for you, each recipe has the prep time, cook time, and calories listed.
Grab your slow cooker and let’s get started!
1. HEALTHY SLOW COOKER SPLIT PEA SOUPThe easiest healthy crockpot recipes are soups. Soups like this delicious Healthy Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup that requires only 5 minutes of prep time.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs Total Time: hrs 5 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 321 kcal 2. SLOW COOKER CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP (A HEALTHY MEAL OPTION!)Another example of how easy healthy crockpot recipes are is this Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup (A Healthy Meal Option!). 10 minutes prep time and you can enjoy this comforting soup for dinner.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 172 kcal 3. SLOW COOKER CHICKEN BURRITO BOWLSIf you want delicious, hearty but healthy crockpot dinners, make Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls. It’s easy and it doesn’t take a low of effort but weeknight dinner will definitely be more delicious.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs Total Time: 6 hrs 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 376 kcal 4. CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUPWhen making slow cooker recipes healthy, you can actually transform comfort food dishes into healthy dishes. This is what I did with this Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup. It’s still a flavorful and yummy dish. But it’s healthy too.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 344 kcal 5. HEALTHY SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW – PERFECT MAKE AHEAD DINNER IDEA!Other awesome easy healthy crockpot recipes I love are stew recipes. Rich, hearty, perfect for winter nights stews like this Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew. And yes, this is a Perfect Make Ahead Dinner Idea.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs Total Time: 6 hrs 20 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 383 kcal 6. HEALTHIER CROCK POT MASHED POTATOESAnother amazing thing you can do with a slow cooker is to turn classic recipes into skinny crockpot recipes. These Healthier Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes are a great example.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 132 kcal 7. SLOW COOKER SHREDDED CHICKEN MEAL PREPThe 4 easy healthy slow cooker recipes you’ll find in this Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Meal Prep post are perfect for prepping and cooking chicken. You can use the shredded chicken in so many different recipes to make healthy and delicious meals.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 323 kcal 8. CROCK POT SHREDDED BEEF TACOSHow are you loving these easy healthy crockpot meals so far? I hope you love them a lot because I have more! And they are just as easy and delicious like these Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 8 hrs Total Time: 8 hrs 5 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 458 kcal 9. SLOW COOKER GREEN CHILE PORK TACOSAnd, while we’re on the topic of tacos, make sure you try these Slow Cooker Green Chile Pork Tacos too. They are full of flavor and tasty but no guilt will be involved in the process of making or eating them.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs Total Time: 6 hrs 15 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 562 kcal 10. SLOW COOKER CASHEW CHICKENTurn your favorite takeout meals into low calorie slow cooker recipes and enjoy them guilt free. Like you did with the tacos we just talked about. You can do this with Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken as well. Such a perfect weeknight dinner. Kids love it too.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 518 kcal 11. SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUPGoing back to the slow cooker healthy recipes that make delicious soups to talk about this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup. The soup is made with fresh ingredients, it’s hearty, full of flavor, and totes amazing.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs Total Time: 6 hrs 10 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 467 kcal 12. SLOW COOKER CHICKEN CAULIFLOWER CURRYDo you know what other easy healthy crockpot meals you can make? Besides soups and stews, I mean. Curry! You can make delicious curry in the slow cooker. This Slow Cooker Chicken Cauliflower Curry is a low calorie slow cooker recipe I love to make during cold Fall and Winter days.
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 5 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 313 kcal 13. SLOW COOKER HOT AND SOUR SOUPOnly 206 calories in this Slow Cooker Hot And Sour Soup. And just 10 minutes prep time. But the taste and flavors are wonderful. Healthy crockpot recipes are amazing like that!
Recipe Notes:
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs 30 mins Total Time: 4 hrs 40 mins Difficulty: Easy Calories: 206 kcalThis post contains affiliate links for products I use frequently and highly recommend.
The post Our Favorite Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes appeared first on A Sweet Pea Chef.
Incredible Vegetarian Black Bean Taco Cups with black beans in a chili sauce, plantains, onions, jalapeño and melted manchego on top. Topped with a simple guacamole for the ultimate crowd-pleasing appetizer. This recipe is in partnership with BUSH’S®. It’s almost that time! The BIG GAME. Game day. Beer. Nachos. Tom Brady. Gisele in the stands. Everything [...]
The post Vegetarian Plantain & Black Bean Taco Cups appeared first on Ambitious Kitchen.
In college I subsisted on cafe lunches to power me through writing papers and studying for tests. Panera was a frequent stop of mine since they had salads and soups and SO much coffee. One of my go-to’s was their black bean soup and I’ve had it in the back of my mind to recreate it ever since.
Let me show you how easy this 1-pot, 30-minute version is!