Smoky Cauliflower Fajitas
Get ready for extreme deliciousness when you make these Smoky Cauliflower Fajitas! This has quickly become our go-to dinner favorite. Easy vegan option!
Smoky Cauliflower Fajitas | Ted’s Takeover Recipe
Hi friends, today’s recipe is one of my favorites, I really can’t wait for you to try it. I’m sure that many of you on special diets are already aware of the many excellent ways that cauliflower can be used as a substitute for other things when meal planning. For example, it can be shredded finely and used as a rice substitute or mashed and served in place of potatoes. As another option, I thought I would share this recipe for cauliflower fajitas that Catherine and I have been obsessed with recently. Sometimes we forgo the tortillas as the cauliflower is amazing just by itself!
How We Make It
Cauliflower holds up well when roasted but also readily absorbs flavors when marinated which makes it the perfect ingredient for these fajitas. When testing the marinade for this recipe, I wanted it to be packed with flavor, with a little smokiness from the paprika and a little tang from the apple cider vinegar.
In this instance, I deliberately didn’t make the marinade spicy, so if you prefer your dishes to have a little heat then you can whisk in a few dashes of cayenne pepper or a tablespoon of tabasco sauce to the marinade. To wrap the fajitas, we use our tortilla recipe, but Siete also has delicious grain-free tortillas if you don’t feel like making your own. Their Almond Flour Tortillas and their Cassava Flour Tortillas are both fabulous.
Enjoy the recipe!
If you love these grain-free fajitas, we think you might also enjoy our Chicken Tostadas!
Happy Fajita Making!
PrintSmoky Cauliflower Fajitas
- Total Time: about an hour
- Yield: 6-8 fajitas 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small heads cauliflower
- 3 large garlic cloves, crushed and chopped in half
- 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese shredded (Daiya for vegan)
- 6–8 grain-free tortillas (you can make ours or Siete brand has a nut-free, grain-free version)
-  pickled red onion and cilantro sprigs for garnish and lemon or lime wedges
- For The Marinade:
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
- 1/4 cup gluten-free tamari
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp gluten-free srirachaÂ
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Break down cauliflower into bite sized florets, place in a baking dish and evenly distribute crushed garlic pieces on top.
- Thoroughly whisk together all marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and then pour over cauliflower in baking dish. Stir together to fully coat florets with marinade mixture. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight for more intense flavor.
- Remove from refrigerator, uncover and using a large spoon, give the cauliflower a stir in the baking dish to redistribute marinade that’s settled to the bottom of the dish.
- Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes
- As an alternative cooking method, you can cut the cauliflower into steaks and cook in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet similar to the way you would make brick chicken. Cut the whole cauliflower head in half and then cut a one and a half inch thick steak from the interior of each half. Marinate the same as the florets above. Place a skillet over medium high heat and add some grapeseed oil. Fry the cauliflower steaks one at a time with a foil wrapped brick on top of them. Flip after about 3 minutes and fry the other side using the same method.
- Transfer cauliflower steaks onto cutting board and chop into bite sized pieces. Assemble into warmed tortillas with the pepper jack cheese, pickled onion and cilantro leaves. Serve with lemon or lime wedges on the side. If you don’t want to use pickled onions as a garnish, shredded red cabbage also makes an excellent topping because it adds a little crunch. You can also drizzle some of the leftover sauce from the roasting pan on top of the fajitas before serving. If you don’t have tortillas, the cauliflower steaks can be eaten as a main course on their own, with a side salad and baked potato.
- Serve and enjoy, store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Category: grain-free
- Method: cooking
- Cuisine: fajitas
These look smoky-licious good! I can taste the texture from here. Bravo!! We will definitely be trying this for dinner soon.
Thanks so much Natalie! I really hope you’re family enjoys them as much as we do! 😀
This recipe is brilliant! The texture looks amazing and the flavor beams from those photos. I can’t to try this!
That’s so kind of you to say, Noelle! I’d been wanting to come up with a meat-alternative fajita recipe for a while now. It took a little experimentation but I think this recipe is a winner. I hope you enjoy it!
This is right down my alley! Healthy and gluten-free bursting with flavor!
I really hope you like the fajitas, Kim! 😀