Air Fryer Cauliflower Tacos With A Spicy Chipotle Glaze
Air fryer cauliflower tacos with a spicy chipotle glaze and fresh toppings are the perfect vegetarian dinner for two! We love making these for a date night at home, paired with a cold margarita.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 4-inch corn tortillas
Air Fryer Cauliflower
- ½ head cauliflower broken into small florets
- 1 large egg well beaten
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chipotle Sauce
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup chipotle puree see Notes
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pickled Onion
- ¼ medium red onion sliced thin
- ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pineapple Pico de Gallo
- ¼ medium pineapple diced
- 1 small jalapeno finely diced
- 1 medium lime juiced
- 1 pinch sea salt
Lime Crema
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 medium lime juiced
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
Pickled Onion (Prep 1 to 2 Days Before, or see Notes)
- If making pickled onions, prep these ahead of time so they have time to soften. Combine the onion, vinegar, water, and salt in a deli container or jar. Close the lid, then shake gently to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 days before using.
Pineapple Pico de Gallo
- Combine the pineapple, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt in a bowl. Stir well and set aside. (Optionally make 1 to 2 days ahead of time and store in the fridge.)
Lime Crema
- Combine the Greek yogurt, lime juice, and salt in a small bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until serving. (Optionally make 1 to 2 days ahead of time.)
Chipotle Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, chipotle puree, light brown sugar, garlic, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
- Simmer until the sauce is thick and glaze-like, approximately reduced by two-thirds to three-quarters of its volume, stirring occasionally. This should take around 10 minutes from the time the sauce begins to simmer.
- When the sauce has been reduced, turn heat to low and keep warm.
Air Fryer Cauliflower
- While the sauce cooks, prepare the crispy cauliflower. First, beat the egg in a medium sized bowl. Then combine the flour, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, and salt in a separate medium bowl.Dredge the cauliflower florets in egg, then in the seasoned flour. Make sure to let any excess egg drip off before transferring the florets to the flour. Toss generously to make sure that each floret is completely coated.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Grease the inside of the basket, then add the coated florets, making sure not to overcrowd the basket. Lightly spray them with cooking oil, then cook for 5 minutes.Give them a good shake, spray them again, and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until crispy and golden.
- Add the crispy cauliflower to the saucepan with the chipotle glaze. Stir to coat the florets in the glaze, then transfer to a serving dish.
Taco Assembly
- Finally, warm the corn tortillas on a large griddle over medium-low heat until soft and pliable, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
- Serve the tortillas and spicy cauliflower with pineapple pico de gallo, pickled red onions, and lime crema.
Notes
Chipotle puree - We like to buy a can of chipotles in adobo and puree it in our food processor until it’s smooth. You can store this in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and use it for a spicy kick in tons of different recipes (like our 4 ingredient chipotle mayo!)
Pickled onions - Make these 1 to 2 days in advance. If you don't remember to, you can easily do a "quick pickle" using just lime juice and salt!
Prep ahead - You can also make the pineapple pico and lime crema ahead of time if you’d like, so that it’s easier to put these tacos together at dinnertime. These cold toppings will stay good in the fridge for at least a few days.
Recipe timing - We recommend getting the chipotle glaze started before you dredge and air fry the cauliflower. It’ll take a few minutes to get up to temperature and needs time to simmer, so you can make the cauliflower while it’s cooking. If the sauce is ready before the cauliflower is done, you can keep it warm over low heat.
Scaling - While you can easily scale this recipe up, note that it will add to the cook time. This is for two reasons: you’ll have to cook extra batches of cauliflower depending on how large your air fryer is; and a larger volume of chipotle sauce will take extra long to simmer and reduce.
Serving suggestions - We always love chips and salsa (or guac) with taco night, but there are so many great appetizers and cocktails you can serve with these for a full-on fiesta! Check out our suggestions in the blog post above.
Storing and reheating - Store leftover taco ingredients in the fridge for up to 3 days. We recommend reheating the cauliflower in a frying pan over medium to medium-low heat so that it can crisp back up a bit.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tacos | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 310mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 152IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1mg
