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Vic and Christine's Cauliflower Nachos

A skillet of cauliflower, peppers and onion simmered with chili powder, cumin and tomato sauce, then topped with pickled jalapeños and melted cheddar. Eaten straight from the pan with tortilla chips or spooned over them as nachos.

main · Tex-Mex · vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 2–3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 piece cauliflower, small, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 onion, medium, diced
  • 2–3 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • ¼–½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1 pound plant-based ground (beef-style crumbles), thawed if frozen
  • 8 ounce tomato sauce, canned
  • ¼–½ cup vegetable broth, add a splash of soy sauce or 1/2 tsp smoked paprika for depth
  • ½ cup pickled jalapeño
  • 1½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 8 ounce tortilla chips
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Sauté cauliflower, green pepper, onion and garlic with olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Add the plant-based ground to the vegetables, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook 4–5 minutes until it's browned in spots and heated through. There's no fat to pour off, so don't drain — if the pan looks dry, add another splash of olive oil.
  3. Add your spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano & pepper flakes) and the tomato sauce to the pan. Stir to combine.
  4. Pour ¼ cup of the vegetable broth over the mixture and simmer about 10–15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through. If it starts to dry out add more of the broth — plant-based grounds release less fat and liquid than meat, so you may well use the full ½ cup.
  5. Once the vegetables are fork-tender sprinkle the pan with pickled jalapeños and cover with cheese. Allow the cheese to melt.
  6. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping or cover the chips for nachos.

Notes

Plant-based grounds don't render fat, so keep a little extra olive oil and broth on hand and expect to use the higher end of the broth range; the seasoning, timing and everything else stay exactly the same.