Meatless Beef Tacos

Posted on by biglittlebites

You know how at the grocery store, they have all those meatless meat options? They never actually taste good, and they’re mostly made of overly processed ingredients like soy. Yah, that’s NOT what this is… and it tastes WAY better! 

Faux meat at the grocery store is processed, so you really can’t even consider the ingredients to be whole foods. I love doing meatless nights multiple times a week for my family, but I don’t love processed foods and the health risks that come with them. This homemade, 2 ingredient, plant-based, meatless ground beef will blow your mind. Made of just minced walnuts and cauliflower, the resulting texture looks and feels like ground beef! With the addition of a few key spices, the flavor is delicious and will have you coming back for seconds. Does it taste just like ground beef? Let’s be honest – no plant-based food can replicate that flavor. BUT! It does taste really good and there’s no weird aftertaste like with some faux meats. All you really end up tasting, is the mixture of spices this healthy, plant-based meatless beef is cooked in, and that fits the bill for me! 

The first thing you’ll want to do, is get out your food processor and mince 1.5 cups of walnuts with the chopping blade. Measure out 1 cup of the minced walnut, and place it in a large bowl. Now add an entire head of trimmed cauliflower florets to the food processor. Chop until minced, and measure out 1.5 cups to the bowl with the walnuts. Whatever leftover walnut and cauliflower you have, freeze them separately for later use.

In a separate small bowl or ramekin, stir the shiro miso paste with hot water to thin it out. Add all of the spices, garlic and miso to the large bowl of minced cauliflower and walnuts and stir to combine. If you’re looking for a great chili lime seasoning made from real foods and no “flavors” added, I highly recommend my personal favorite, Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Seasoning. I use it in all of my taco recipes! I always make sure to keep my spice cabinet stocked with it, because it’s that good!

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minced walnuts and minced cauliflower as meatless beef in a skillet
This is the raw mixture of walnut, cauliflower and spices before it's been cooked.

Once you add the raw meatless beef mixture to a hot skillet with oil, let it cook undisturbed for 5 minutes at a time. The entire cooking process takes 15 minutes, and in between each 5 minute mark, you give it a stir and flip it around. Letting it cook undisturbed, allows the meatless beef to brown slightly; just don’t let it burn and adjust your heat accordingly. I like to cook it over medium-low heat, because it gives me more control. If you want to turn up the heat to move the process along faster, just be sure to keep an eye on the browning, and stir more frequently. 

minced walnut and cauliflower cooked in a skillet as meatless ground beef
As the meatless beef cooks, it will become slightly browned and more crumbly in texture.

After 15 minutes of cooking the end result will resemble the texture of ground beef, but it will be a little lighter in color. Once I remove meatless beef from the heat, I sprinkle the juice from half a lime and stir the entire plant-based mixture together. The smell of raw cauliflower will be gone and undetectable. Meatless beef does not taste like walnuts or cauliflower, just the delicious flavors you mixed into it. 

platter of corn tortilla tacos stuffed with plant-based ground beef and topped with cilantro, purple cabbage, lime and avocado

Prior to serving, I warm up corn tortillas in the oven at 200 degrees for about 5 minutes. I always choose non-GMO (not genetically modified) corn tortillas, and look for brands that use real ingredients without the junk added to it. I avoid genetically modified foods because there is no consensus on the safety and most of the research claiming GMO’s are safe has been performed by biotechnology companies, making it heavily skewed. It’s important to know there have been no epidemiological studies investigating potential effects of GMO food on human health. You can learn more and get facts on the Non-GMO Project website. 

My favorite and trusted brands for clean-ingredient corn tortillas are Pinole Blue and Food for Life Ezekiel.  Pinole Blue stone-grinds their own corn, and Food for Life uses sprouted corn for more health benefits and easier digestion. Both brands use only real food, non-GMO ingredients. 

When you pull the corn tortillas from the oven, immediately shape them gently to hold the meatless beef and toppings. I carefully fold them in half without actually making a crease (which would tear them) and let them cool a bit in that position. Place a scoop of meatless beef in each shell, and top with your desired toppings. I love adding the crunchy texture of chopped purple cabbage, the tang of homemade pickled onions, and plenty of cilantro and avocado. 

platter of pink corn tortillas stuffed with meatless ground beef and cilantro and avocado
Print Recipe

Meatless Beef Tacos

Course: Main Course
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients

  • 1 c walnuts, ground
  • 1.5 c cauliflower, ground
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced
  • 1.5 tbsp chili lime seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 2 tbsp shiro miso
  • 2 tsp hot water
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 package of soft corn tortillas

Toppings

  • 1 lime, quartered
  • 1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • 1 poblano or jalapeno pepper, roasted and sliced
  • 1 avocado
  • 1/4 purple cabbage, sliced and chopped
  • pickled red onion

Instructions

  • Using a food processor, finely chop whole walnuts and cauliflower florets until they resemble minced meat.
  • Combined minced cauliflower and walnuts in a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients on the list, except for the oil.
  • Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low for 5 minutes.
  • Add the 2 tablespoons of avocado oil to the hot skillet, and dump the entire bowl of ingredients into the skillet. Spread it out into one layer and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.
  • Stir the mixture and flip it, and cook another 5 minutes undisturbed.
  • Stir a third time, and allow to cook for a final 5 minutes.
  • While the meatless beef is cooking, begin chopping, slicing your toppings.
  • When the meatless beef is finished cooking, remove from the heat and drizzle with a squeeze of lime.

How to Assemble Meatless Beef Tacos

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
  • Arrange the soft taco shells on a cookie sheet, side by side. It's ok if they overlap a little. Stick the cookie sheet into the oven for about 5 minutes to heat up the tacos.
  • When you remove them from the oven, top each one with a scoop of meatless beef. Top with your toppings of choice. We always do pickled red onions, chopped cabbage, avocado and cilantro! Yum!