Cauliflower nachos are a delicious alternative to eating chips and are easy to make. In 30 minutes, this cauliflower nachos recipe comes together with your favorite vegan toppings. You may never eat chips again.
I love cauliflower because it absorbs spices and sauces like a sponge. So, instead of making vegan nachos with chips or tater tot nachos, I decided to use cauliflower as my chips to make cauliflower nachos. This cauliflower nachos recipe is easy to make, and my family also devoured them, asking for more.
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This week, at Whole Foods, organic cauliflower was $3.00 for two heads. Although cauliflower wasn't on my list, I jumped at the sale and bought two heads, changing up my menu. My family loves nachos, and cauliflower makes the perfect base for these delicious nachos.
Cauliflower Nutrition
The nutrition profile of cauliflower is quite impressive.
Cauliflower is very low in calories yet high in vitamins. Cauliflower contains almost every vitamin and mineral that you need.
Here is an overview of the nutrients found in 1 cup, or 128 grams, of raw cauliflower:
- Calories: 25
- Fiber: 3 grams
- Vitamin C: 77% of the RDI, Vitamin K: 20% of the RDI, Vitamin B6: 11% of the RDI
- Folate: 14% of the RDI
- Pantothenic acid: 7% of the RDI
- Potassium: 9% of the RDI
- Manganese: 8% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 4% of the RDI
- Phosphorus: 4% of the RDI
Cauliflower wins the nutritional profile compared to a bag of tortilla chips or even homemade tater tots.
Cauliflower Nachos Ingredients
Making this cauliflower nachos recipe is easy and similar to cooking any nachos. The difference is the base ingredient; cauliflower!
- Cauliflower: When cutting the cauliflower into florets, I cut them sideways so they are flat on the bottom like a chip, so the florets lay flat.
- Lentil Taco Meat: I make lentil taco meat using brown lentils. This is an optional ingredient because this cauliflower nachos recipe tastes fabulous without added lentil taco meat. However, lentils provide a lot of protein.
- Green Onions: Green onions, also called scallions, are mild-tasting and great on top of nachos. This time, though, I used yellow onions because I didn't have green onions.
- Tomatoes: I like using grape tomatoes and cutting them in halves. Grape tomatoes have less water than other tomatoes.
- Vegan Cheese Sauce: I make vegan nacho cheese with potatoes and carrots.
- Black Beans: Black beans are meaty and firm. They are high in protein and delicious on top of nachos.
- Taco Seasoning: I bought a package of vegan taco seasoning from Whole Foods, or make your own taco seasoning blend.
- Cilantro: I call cilantro Mexican parsley. Cilantro tastes fabulous in flavor and herbal tasting.
- Salsa: I buy fresh salsa at the grocery store, but homemade is also tasty.
- Pico de Gallo: Pico de gallo is similar to salsa but chunkier and delicious. This is a great replacement for salsa and is an optional ingredient.
- Guacamole: Guacamole is an optional ingredient. It adds to the nachos as a garnish.
- Vegan Sour Cream: Vegan sour cream is also an option but is delicious.
Cauliflower Nachos Ingredient Substitutions
- Although I haven't tried it, broccoli florets would also work for this recipe.
- Choose any vegan meat, such as walnut taco meat, or skip it altogether.
- Use any type of onion. Red onion is delicious on cauliflower nachos.
- For an added tangy ingredient, try pickled red onions.
- Cherry tomatoes are similar is flavor and water content to grape tomatoes.
- Choose a store-bought vegan cheese sauce or shredded vegan cheese.
- Pinto beans are an excellent substitution for black beans in this cauliflower nachos recipe.
- If you don't like cilantro (many claim it tastes like soap), skip the garnish or use parsley or basil instead.
- Use salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, and vegan sour cream, or leave these garnishes off.
- Make your own taco seasoning blend by combining: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground paprika, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and ¼ teaspoon dried oregano.
How to Make Cauliflower Nachos
- First, cut the cauliflower like a cauliflower steak, then cut it into florets. As a result, the florets have a flat rather than a round shape, similar to chips.
- Then, place the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. I spray the cauliflower florets with water so the seasoning sticks.
- Sprinkle with taco seasoning, and bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the vegan nacho cheese sauce and toppings.
- Transfer the roasted cauliflower to an oven-safe platter.
- Drizzle with vegan nacho cheese sauce, and start layering the toppings.
- Next, repeat with more cauliflower, cheese sauce, and toppings.
- Place the platter back into a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.
- Add the cilantro, salsa, guacamole, and vegan sour cream, and serve.
Recipe FAQs
Besides offering a lower-starch option, cauliflower packs much more nutrition than a simple white potato or white rice, especially the latter.
Cauliflower is another vegetable low in carbs but also very high in vitamins and phytochemicals,” Fear says. Add chopped cauliflower to your salads, or top with paprika and garlic powder and roast in the oven. Riced cauliflower also makes a great low-carb replacement for traditional rice.
Cauliflower rice is healthier than rice because it's lower in calories and carbohydrates, is a good source of fiber, higher in B vitamins, higher in vitamin C, higher in vitamin K1 and some minerals.
Tips
- Cut the cauliflower florets into equal sizes, so they roast evenly in the oven.
- Washing the cauliflower and leaving it wet or spraying it with water before seasoning it helps the seasoning stick without using oil or cooking spray.
- For a quicker cooking option, air fry the cauliflower for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Using a Vitamix or a blender with a heating component, heats the vegan nacho cheese sauce without having the heat in a separate pan.
- Using a vegetable chopper reduces the time spent cutting vegetables for meal prepping.
- If using vegan cheese shreds, remember vegan cheese doesn't melt unless heated at 400 degrees. That means, instead of returning the oven-safe platter to a 350-degree oven, you need to kick up the heat to 400 degrees.
The next time you're craving nachos, try cauliflower nachos for a low-carb, healthier option.
The Best Vegan Snacks for the Whole Family
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📖 Recipe
Cauliflower Nachos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into cauliflower steaks, then florets cut into equal sized florets
- 1 package taco seasoning mix or homemade mixture
Nacho Toppings
- 1 recipe lentil taco meat optional
- ¼ recipe vegan nacho cheese sauce
- ½ cup grape tomatoes sliced
- ½ cup red, yellow or baby bell peppers
- 2 jalapenos, deseeded and sliced
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
Garnishes (optional)
- ½ cup guacamole
- ½ cup vegan sour cream
- 1 15 ounce can black beans
- ½ cup salsa
- ½ cup pico de gallo
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Cut the cauliflower into steaks and then florets so there is a flat base on the bottom of each floret. Make sure the florets are a similar size.
- Rinse cauliflower florets and leave wet, or spray with water.
- Sprinkle cauliflower florets with taco seasoning.
- Cook for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees.
- Transfer cauliflower florets onto an oven-safe platter in a single layer.
- Drizzle vegan cheese sauce over the cauliflower.
- Now, add a layer of black beans and scatter the various vegetable toppings.
- Drizzle again with vegan nacho cheese.
- Add another layer of cauliflower, vegan nacho cheese sauce, and black beans and vegetables.
- Drizzle the remaining cheese sauce.
- Cook for an additional 10 minutes to heat through.
- Remove cauliflower nachos from the oven.
- Top with cilantro and other optional toppings like guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, and vegan sour cream.
Notes
- Cut the cauliflower florets into equal sizes to roast evenly in the oven.
- Washing the cauliflower and leaving it wet or spraying it with water before seasoning helps the seasoning stick without using oil or cooking spray.
- For quicker cooking, air fry the cauliflower for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Using a Vitamix or a blender with a heating component, heats the vegan nacho cheese sauce without having the heat in a separate pan.
- Using a vegetable chopper reduces the time spent cutting vegetables for meal prepping.
- If using vegan cheese shreds, remember vegan cheese doesn't melt unless heated at 400 degrees. That means, instead of returning the oven-safe platter to a 350-degree oven, you need to kick up the heat to 400 degrees.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
narf7
The "print" function on your recipes no longer works. It opens the recipe up in another tab rather than opening up a printable page.
Kathy Carmichael
Thank you for letting me know. It will be fixed shortly.
Cathy
I can’t wait to try these! Never been a tater tot fan and trying to stay away from the convenient bagged tortilla chips. I absolutely love cauliflower and always enjoy finding new ways to use it in a meal. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.💜
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Cathy, let me know what you think if you try it. I'd love to hear from you. My family loved it.