Vegan Bell Pepper Nachos with Cauliflower Taco Meat & 10 minute Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce. Veggie full Nachos! Soy-free Recipe. Can be Gluten-free Nut-free

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Appetizer, Main
  • Cuisine: Gluten-free, Mexican, Vegan

Ingredients

Bell Peppers:

  • 2 tsp oil
  • 3 medium bell peppers (, thinly sliced)
  • salt (, pepper and smoked paprika to taste)

Cauliflower Taco "meat"

  • 1/2 tsp oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (, 1/2 medium onion)
  • 2 cups shredded cauliflower ((scant 3 cups chopped will yield that much))
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp or more chili powder ((recipe below))
  • a dash of lemon or lime

Nacho Cheese Sauce:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil (, extra virgin)
  • 2 tbsp flour ((white flour or use 1 tbsp rice flour and 1 tbsp arrowroot to make glutenfree))
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 to 1.5 tsp chili powder blend (below, or use 1/4 tsp each of smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle pepper, oregano and 1/8 tsp onion powder)
  • 3/4 cup almond milk (or other non dairy milk)
  • 2 to 3 tbsp nutritional yeast

Method

Bell Peppers:

  1. Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Add oil and spread. Add the bell pepper slices and cook until golden brown on the edges. Cover for 2-3 minutes to steam after a minute to cook faster, then uncover and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add a dash of salt, pepper and smoked paprika and mix in.

Cauliflower Taco "meat":

  1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add the spices and mix in. Add cauliflower, salt and garlic and toss well. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add lemon, fluff well and cover. Take off heat. Let it sit for another 2 minutes to continue steaming. Taste and adjust salt and flavor and mix in before serving. *

Nacho Cheese Sauce:

  1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook the flour in oil for 2 minutes. Mix in the spices and cook for a few seconds. Mix in the non dairy milk and nutritional yeast and cook until thickened. I use my homemade chili blend which has a good smoky flavor, heat and garlic. Taste carefully and adjust salt and flavor, more cumin or smoked paprika for smokier, chipotle for heat, additional garlic). Add a pinch of turmeric for color if you like and mix in.

Assemble

  1. Assemble the peppers on a serving plate. Add a good helping of the cauliflower filling. Add a good drizzle of nacho cheese. Some other toppings like pico de gallo or salsa of choice, avocado, pickled jalapeno etc and serve. You can also serve these layers in tacos or add to a bowl with crunchy lettuce or greens or over roasted potatoes.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.