Cauliflower, Corn & Poblano Tacos with Cashew Chipotle Sauce
Sep 03, 2020
Roasted Cauliflower, Corn & Poblano Tacos with a smokey cashew chipotle sauce! These vegan tacos are super flavorful and perfect for summer!
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Cauliflower Tacos with roasted corn, poblano peppers and a creamy cashew chipotle sauce!
Topped with cabbage for the crunch, these tacos are vegan and just perfect for summer.
Summer corn is so good right? So sweet, so juicy and I cannot have enough of it.
Every week I buy a lot of corn from the farmers market. We eat it throughout the week in some form or the other.
In India, we pretty much ate corn in one way- roasted on direct fire and then brushed with salt, spices and lemon juice. It is one of my fondest memories of the monsoon season back home.
The corn that we get here is actually quite sweet compared to what I grew up eating. And though I miss my Indian corn, I have grown to love the sweet corn that we get here too.
Especially during summers when it’s in season, it is just so sweet and tastes amazing as such.
Other than roasting and eating it, I also use it in salads, salsa, fritters and some days we use them in tacos like in these Cauliflower Tacos.
These tacos have some of my favorite summer things in there- cauliflower, poblano peppers and corn!
These Cauliflower Tacos
✔are vegan and can be gluten-free by using gluten-free tortillas.
✔have a lot of flavor from the roasted corn, poblano peppers.
✔it’s all tossed together in a creamy cashew dressing.
✔makes the perfect summer meal.
This taco recipe has 5 main components- the cauliflower, corn, poblano, cashew sauce and the tortillas.
Cauliflower: I have used a small size cauliflower head here, which weighed around 500-600 grams after removing the stalks.
The florets are tossed with few spices like cumin, paprika and then roasted in the oven until done.
I also broil the florets for 2 minutes after they are done just to get that little char on top. That is optional though and you can skip it.
Poblano peppers: first of all be careful while handling poblano peppers. Once I peeled the skin with my hands and then touched my eyes with the same hand later, it was not fun! So remember to not do that.
I love roasting poblano peppers on direct heat, it gives them such a nice smokey flavor. I roast them on direct heat until the skin is charred (I put them on a wire mesh which is placed on top of the gas).
Once roasted, let it cool a bit and then remove the skin and also the seeds and then chop it.
You can also broil the peppers in the oven.
Corn: summer fresh sweet corns work best for this recipe. Just like with poblano peppers, I like to roast my corn directly on heat.
You can even roast these in the oven.
Chipotle Cashew Sauce: I love chipotle flavor in anything and everything. The smokey flavor from the chipotle peppers really elevates this sauce and of course this dish.
The sauce is made with cashews, chipotle peppers, tomato paste, cilantro, paprika, garlic powder, salt and lime juice.
I like to keep it on a thicker side, you can adjust the consistency to taste. Also if you prefer more heat, add more chipotle peppers.
Tortillas: you can use whatever tortillas you like or have on hands. They can be corn tortilla or flour tortillas.
I actually had a wheat and corn tortilla mix in my pantry and that’s what I have used in the recipe so this recipe isn’t gluten-free because of that.
Definitely use the all corn tortillas to make these gluten-free.
Toppings: you can definitely go crazy with toppings and add whatever you like. I have added sliced purple cabbage, cilantro.
You can use red onions, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, avocado slices and so much more!
Method
1- Start by making the chipotle cashew sauce. Soak 3/4 cup cashews in hot water for around 20 minutes. Then drain the water and transfer cashews to a blender.
2- To the blender also add all the other ingredients for the sauce- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup of water.
3- Blend until you have a smooth sauce. You can add more water to thin it out if you like. Set it aside.
4- Next, roast the poblano peppers. Place them on direct flame and roast for 6 to 7 minutes, rotating it in between until the skin is charred from all sides. Remember to set heat to medium, too high and it will burn quickly.
5- Roast both peppers similarly then remove on a plate. Let cool down a bit then chop the stem and remove the seeds. Peel the skin from the peppers and then dice them. Set aside.
6- Now, roast the corns same way on direct heat, keep rotating so that it gets roasted from all sides. Keep heat to medium.
7- Once roasted, husk the corn to remove the kernels. Set aside. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 425 F degrees.
8- Next, chop the cauliflower into medium size florets and then transfer them to a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the bowl and toss.
9- Add the cumin powder, paprika, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss until the florets are coated with the spices.
10- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 425 F degrees for around 20 minutes until the florets are soft and done. Then broil for 2 minutes to get them a little charred (this is optional). Remove from oven and set aside.
11- To a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and garlic and saute for around 3 minutes.
12- Then add half of the roasted poblano peppers and corn and mix.
13- Add the roasted cauliflower along with 3 tablespoons of the prepared cashew sauce and mix. Cook for 1 minute.
14- Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, cilantro and juice of half lime and mix well.
15- To assemble the tacos, warm the tortillas either on skillet or directly place them on heat like I did.
16- Then place a big dollop from the remaining cashew sauce on the tortilla, top with the cashew-corn-poblano mixture and then with remaining roasted corn and poblano that we had reserved. Top with sliced cabbage, cilantro.
Make all the tacos similarly and serve these Cauliflower, corn and poblano tacos with lime wedges.
More Taco Recipes
Chipotle Chickpea & Sweet Potato Tacos
Kung Pao Grilled Cauliflower Tacos
Crispy Tofu Tacos with Avocado Lime Crema
If you’ve tried this Cauliflower Corn & Poblano Tacos Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Cauliflower, Corn & Poblano Tacos with Cashew Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
Chipotle Cashew Sauce
- 3/4 cup cashews raw, 105 grams
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup water
Tacos
- 2 poblano peppers
- 2 whole fresh corn
- 1 small head cauliflower around 550 grams, measured after removing the stalks
- 2 tablespoon olive oil 30 ml
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil I used avocado oil
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 3-4 large garlic chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped + more for garnishing
- half lime juice of
- 8 tortillas I used wheat & corn tortillas
- purple cabbage for topping
- lime wedges to serve
Instructions
- Start by making the chipotle cashew sauce. Soak 3/4 cup cashews in hot water for around 20 minutes. Then drain the water and transfer cashews to a blender.
- To the blender also add all the other ingredients for the sauce- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup of water.Blend until you have a smooth sauce. You can add more water to thin it out if you like. Set it aside.
- Next, roast the poblano peppers. Place them on direct flame and roast for 6 to 7 minutes, rotating it in between until the skin is charred from all sides. Remember to set heat to medium, too high and it will burn quickly.Roast both peppers similarly then remove on a plate. Let cool down a bit then chop the stem and remove the seeds. Peel the skin from the peppers and then dice them. Set aside.
- Now, roast the corns same way on direct heat, keep rotating so that it gets roasted from all sides. Keep heat to medium.Once roasted, husk the corn to remove the kernels (I use a knife). Set aside. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 425 F degrees.
- Next, chop the cauliflower into medium size florets and then transfer them to a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the bowl and toss.
- Add the cumin powder, paprika, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss until the florets are coated with the spices.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 425 F degrees for around 20 minutes until the florets are soft and done. Then broil for 2 minutes to get them a little charred (this is optional). Remove from oven and set aside.
- To a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and garlic and saute for around 3 minutes.Then add half of the roasted poblano peppers and corn and mix.
- Add the roasted cauliflower along with 3 tablespoons of the prepared cashew sauce and mix. Cook for 1 minute.Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, cilantro and juice of half lime and mix well. Remove pan from heat.
- To assemble the tacos, warm the tortillas either on skillet or directly place them on heat like I did.
- Then place a big dollop from the remaining cashew sauce on the tortilla, top with the cashew-corn-poblano mixture and then with remaining roasted corn and poblano that we had reserved. Top with sliced cabbage, cilantro.Make all the tacos similarly and serve these Cauliflower, corn and poblano tacos with lime wedges.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried this today and it turned out super delicious. I used green cabbage since I had that and followed the recipe. Thanks for prefect measurements.
Made this recipe last night and holy smokes, it was fantastic! The chipotle cashew sauce really makes this and I plan to make a big batch of this to freeze. Since I had only 1 poblano pepper, I added a red bell pepper and ended up roasting all of the vegetables in the oven (cauliflower, poblano, red bell pepper and red onion). Also, I used thawed frozen corn vs. fresh (it’s Winter here) and roasted that in a skillet until charred. I could see this being served over brown rice as a bowl or just by itself. So delicious and thank you for this recipe, Manali, it’s a keeper!
so glad you liked it Cindy!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was awesome! I’ll be making this again and again!
glad to hear! 🙂
Can the cashews be subbed with groundnuts?
won’t give the same creaminess
Was so good! I didn’t have 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce but I subbed 2 tbsp smoked paprika to get that smokey flavour. Tasted so good.
awesome!