If there’s one thing my family universally loves, it’s taco night. We make my crispy chipotle beef tacos at least once a week. We’ve done so since I was a kid and my dad was cooking up dinner. Really, we love any Mexican-inspired recipe, they’re just so delicious. Sometime last year I shared a fun taquito recipe made with buffalo chicken. I adore that recipe. Those buffalo chicken taquitos are just so delicious! I’ve been cooking a lot of chicken and beef recently, so when my family headed out of town, I decided a vegetarian night would be perfect for me. I wanted Mexican, so I created these delicious, crispy, cheesy taquitos with roasted cauliflower. I swear these are even better than the original chicken taquitos. If you’re looking for a meatless dinner or appetizer for upcoming game nights, this is your recipe!
Here are the steps
Step 1: season and cook the cauliflower Season the cauliflower first with seasoned salt, then place on a baking sheet and roast until the cauliflower is lightly charred. When the cauliflower is roasted, you can start mixing and rolling the taquitos. Already the kitchen should be smelling delish. Step 2: mix the filling The filling is simple but different. Because the base is cream cheese and jalapeños I didn’t want to do just buffalo sauce, as I sometimes do. I wanted to add a creamy tangy factor as well. So I mixed the roasted cauliflower with cream cheese, jalapeños, and pickled jalapeños for the very best flavor. Then a touch of buffalo sauce for some heat. It’s creamy, tangy, and has just the right amount of spice! Step 3: roll the taquitos Instead of frying, which is traditional, I much prefer to oven-bake. It’s healthier, easier, and I like the flavor so much better. You actually taste the food, not the fried oil. Here’s the key, you need to rub each tortilla with olive oil before rolling up the cauliflower. This is the trick to getting the taquitos crispy all around. Once the tortillas are oiled, roll up the cauliflower and cheese inside, then oven-bake. Ten or so minutes later you’ll have crispy delicious taquitos. Step 4: make the honey mustard ranch I didn’t want to use another basic ranch. I really wanted both honey mustard and ranch combined. So I took two of my favorite dressings and mixed them into one. I wasn’t sure how the dressing would turn out, but it’s now a new favorite. It’s everything we love about ranch with a subtle sweetness that honey mustard gives off. It’s hard to describe but trust me, this dressing/sauce situation is SO GOOD. My family was very into it. Tip: I like to make my dressing on the thinner side so I can easily drizzle it over the taquitos. Everything paired together…the crispy taquitos with the creamy roasted cauliflower and cheese inside. Then topped with both a tangy/sweet sauce and a spicy buttery buffalo sauce… Wow, so many yummy flavors and we love the crunchiness of the taquitos too! Pretty hard not to love. And they make any random night of the week feel fun and exciting too! Looking for other weeknight-night recipes? Try these! Skillet Corn and Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Bake One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema Jalapeño Pineapple Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Garlic Sauce Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Taquitos Lastly, if you make these Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Cauliflower Taquitos, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
