Bang Bang Cauliflower Tacos.
I need no other tacos right now. None. These bang bang cauliflower tacos are all that exist.
It’s no secret that I have a lot of favorites.
But wait, tell me – who doesn’t have a lot of favorites right now? Is it possible to live in 2018 and NOT have a ton of favorites? I think not.
So. I’m saying it.
This is seriously the best new favorite thing ever and that’s it.
I told you that I’m in a cauliflower mood!
Like, three years too late, right?
Yesterday in an interview someone asked me what I thought the next big food trend would be and I didn’t even know what to say because I’m always so behind the trends.
Case in point.
(But if you’re really curious I told her I hoped the next trend would just be CHEESE. Like cheese everywhere. On everything.)
Ever since making that sweet and spicy roasted cauliflower, I’ve been craving another version. We’ve always loved bang bang shrimp and I shared this lightened up version from Gina’s book years ago. And I’ve wanted to do it with cauliflower for soooo long.
So here we are.
I never thought the bang bang sauce would be something that I love, but it’s incredible. And it’s embarrassingly easy. Only three ingredients! Mayo (don’t hate! it’s oil! and egg yolks!), sweet chili sauce and a spicier chili sauce. It creates this amazing flavor profile and you’ll want to put it on everything you eat for the next week.
And I doubled the recipe here because you definitely want a little extra sauce on hand. But make sure not to over-coat the cauliflower. You don’t want it to be a soggy taco mess. I mean. That certainly doesn’t sound delicious.
Now here’s the thing – these are a leeeeettle bit high maintenance. Just a touch. The best version of them? You want to make a (very light) bubbly batter and pan-fry (not deep fry!) them until they get an airy tempura-like coating. Because that makes for the best cauliflower to be tossed in the sauce. It’s worth it. I swear.
However! If you’re in a pinch? I hear you.
Of course, you can roast the cauliflower and cover it in the sauce. You don’t have to lightly fry it at all, but that wonderful crisp batter makes it so super crunchy and delicious. Like texture heaven.
Is there really a question of what kind of taco to eat this week?!
Watch the video of how I make bang bang cauliflower tacos:
Bang Bang Cauliflower Tacos
Ingredients
Slaw
- 2 cups chopped napa cabbage
- 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime juiced
Cauliflower
- 1 medium head cauliflower cut into florets
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup club soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Bang Bang Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
- 8 4-inch flour or corn tortillas (your preference!), warmed
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
Slaw
- In a bowl, toss together both kinds of cabbage and the cilantro. Toss with the lime juice. Set aside.
Cauliflower
- Heat a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- Chop the cauliflower into florets - you don't want the florets to have long stems or else they won't cook evenly! In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, club soda, salt and pepper to create a batter.
- Add the canola oil to the hot skillet. Dip each floret into the batter, coating it completely. Place it in the oil and cook evenly on all sides - until you have a light golden batter. You can do a few pieces at once, but don't overcrowd the pan! Once each piece is crispy, place it on the paper towel lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining cauliflower.
- Once all the cauliflower is crispy, make the sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the mayo, sweet chili sauce and chili garlic sauce. This makes about double the sauce that you need, but it's SO good to have extra so you can drizzle it on the tacos! Take half of the sauce out of the bowl and set it aside. Add the cauliflower to the remaining sauce and toss it well (but gently!) until the pieces are coated. Top with the fresh chives.
- To assemble the tacos, place a scoop of the cabbage slaw in the center of the tortilla. Top with a spoonful of the cauliflower. Drizzle on extra sauce and serve with a spritz of lime!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Seriously the best thing to come out of my kitchen in weeks!
51 Comments on “Bang Bang Cauliflower Tacos.”
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Totally worth being high maintenance – cauliflower forever.
yessss! xo
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cauli is my favvvvvv vegetable and seeing this used in tacos is making me so so happy!
yay!
OH. MY. GOSH. These look incredible!
thanks ashlyn!
Amazing! Going to bypass the cauliflower prep and attempt this with Trader’s Joe’s tempura cauliflower and see how it turns out!
love that idea! let me know how it works!
I tried it with the TJ’s tempura cauliflower tonight and dinner was tasty and quick! Thank you for the delicious recipe, Jessica, and thanks to Chrysta for the easy version! A win with my daughter too!
These look amazing!!!
thanks chris!
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These look so delicious!
What kind of chili garlic sauce do you use? I can never find it at the grocery store when you list it in a recipe.
hi abby!! i use this one: https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiH_PiY2efaAhWNW4YKHS4MBnEYABABGgJ2dQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQOD2y2LvN2QhYrKcKuO2o-TLhQfvOCos–nVBRVFaI-UQ8W-NtCXQZ-gfu7nb0DCHd0QJuPB7C73q7u4PQ0rVMk&sig=AOD64_3Mm2Y24AapZLEOOu0a020Yl8suZw&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwjryfKY2efaAhXPmVkKHfD7CwsQ9aACCMgC&adurl=
i can usually find it in the asian section of grocery stores!
I’ve recently discovered my love for anything cauliflower (can you imagine that I did not like this particular kind of vegetables a few months ago??) and can’t wait to try this. I love tortillas/tacos and I guess topped with cauliflower they must be utterly tasty!
E || OH LA LATKES
thankyou!! xo
checking … 1/2 tablespoon mayo ?
oops sorry!! 1/2 cup!
fixed it, thank you!
I just have to tell my girls it’s white Broccoli, then they will eat it…… go figure?
Me and my husband, we’re the easy ones.
Any thoughts on using an air fryer instead? Frying of any kind in my kitchen = burnt and smoke detector alarming
I’ve done buffalo cauliflower tacos before and baked the batter dipped pieces on a metal rack on a cookie sheet so the batter can drop down and the florets get crunchy. Not the same as frying but it takes less time and mostly crispy. Will try with this recipe!
This is my favorite dish. Amazing Tacos and their recipe. Thanks for sharing your idea. I appreciate your work.
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I love cauliflower and have never thought of using it in tacos this way. I’ve already added the ingredients to my shopping list and look forward to making this recipe. Taco Thursday’s meets cauliflower.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Made these last night and they were SO GOOD. I added avocado because I was feeling guilty for not pan-frying the cauliflower and needed an extra oomph. And yes- they’re just as delicious if you roast the cauliflower instead. :)
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oh my. making these this week!
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I added these to my weekly menu a while back. The night we were supposed to make them, I had to work late so my other half did the honors of cooking dinner for us. What a mistake it was to put these on our menu. Because now we CANNOT STOP making them! I would be happy with just a pile of the bang bang caulifower and the sauce. But put them in a taco and Im going to need 1000 of them. If you need me, Ill be cooking bang bang cauliflower tacos for the rest of time.
I don’t like the taste of cauliflower as much as I don’t like the taste of seafood but there was a time that i did have bang bang shrimp and didn’t die. I am wondering right now how would this be with potatoes? Thoughts?
Outstanding flavor combination! The cauliflower is a little time-consuming, but worth it!
Making these for a party of eight! Just checking, does this recipe really only make enough for two people? (Yield 2?)
hi!! no no, these would definitely serve more like 4. sorry about that! we have transferred recipes to a new plugin and there have been lots of numbers glitches!
i would suggest making double the sauce for 8 (because it’s so good) – you can probably do double the cauliflower too – depends on what else you’re serving that night? ;)
Sounds delish! Curious, can these be made in an air fryer?
Delicious for Cinco de Mayo/Taco Tuesday! I didn’t dredge in the sauce, but just served it on top to keep the cauliflower crispy. Also, made double the batter to fry as many florets as a I could from a large head of cauliflower. Used pre-shredded bagged green cabbage instead of Napa. I ended up with 17 tacos, which we happily devoured with Palomas. Thank you, Jessica!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t have the specialty sauces to complete the Bang Bang Sauce, so I used 1/2 cup mayo, 4 tablespoons honey and 2 teaspoons of siracha. Delicious! It fed two adults and two children. Yum!
This was absoutely increÃble. I made this for my boyfriend and his family and it was a huge huge hit. I would 100% make this again. Loved it!!!
We made this the other day and it was fantastic! Definitely marked as a favorite in our household. My husband added more sriracha because he likes his sauces hot, but otherwise followed the receipe exactly!
So delicious and easy to make.
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Has anyone tried this in the air fryer?? Wondering what the directions would be!Â
Love this recipe. My husband and I love bang bang shrimp so we decided to try it. We were not disappointed. This is going to be a regular in our house.
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This recipe looks awesome! Do you think i can fry the cauliflower a few hours beforehand and then reheat it in the oven before serving?
These were amazing. I added some extra seasoning to the flour, onion, garlic powder and paprika. Once I had the cauliflower coated I dipped them in panko. Air fried instead of deep fried and I think it was so much better, not greasy and still super crispy! The bang bang sauce is so addictive. I used half Greek yogurt and half mayo to make it healthier. Can’t wait to make this again. People who don’t like cauliflower would even love this. It’s so delicious!