This Hidden Cauliflower Taco Meat is a deliciously sneaky way to get your veggies in! Perfect for FIXers, too! This post contains affiliate links for products I am obsessed with.
Confession #146: I have picky kids…like really picky…and lately it’s been really hard making them happy at dinnertime.
And my son, who, although he is on the spectrum, he is usually WAY less picky than my daughter, has now decided to refuse most veggies.
Please don’t kid yourselves, dear reader, and think for a second that it’s any easier at dinnertime here than it is at your house. In fact, lately, it might be harder!
Anyway, we are working on it and lucky for me, I don’t give up easy. And this recipe is one of my biggest wins to date!
We make tacos a lot, as I explained recently in my Freezer Prep Taco Meat because it’s one meal that makes everyone happy. But since starting the 2B Mindset, I have been looking for ways to get extra veggies in with my dinner. And I had an idea to hide some cauliflower rice into our taco meat.
And I got really brave. I cooked a pound of ground meat and added THREE cups of cauliflower rice.
I used my usual 21 Day Fix Salt Free Taco Seasoning and added 1 cup of low sodium tomato sauce and 1/2 tsp of salt.
I seriously thought nobody was going to eat this…I expected to hear what’s wrong with the meat, mom?
Nope. I heard nothing. Nada.
And when I whispered to my husband, can you taste the cauliflower?, he looked at me with total confusion.
Unreal!
So for all my FIXERS, each one of the four servings in this recipe, you get one FULL green along with your red before any toppings. And if you are doing the 2B Mindset, make a delicious Taco Salad using my Copy Cat Chipotle Pico de Gallo and and even my Guacamole because, accessories are life!
This is also easy to make in the Instant Pot if you have one! I’ll include the directions below!
And check out this quick video to see how easy this recipe really is!
Hidden Cauliflower Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat of your choice we using love lean ground beef
- 3 cups cauliflower rice can be frozen
- 1 cup low sodium tomato sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons salt free taco seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons water if needed
- Your favorite taco toppings
Instructions
Stovetop:
- Brown meat until just about cooked through, then add in cauliflower rice. Saute for a few minutes until cauliflower is tender. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasonings and simmer for 5 minutes, adding in water if mixture is too thick. Serve with your favorite Taco Toppings or on a Taco Salad!
Instant Pot:
- Brown meat until almost cooked through, then stir in cauliflower rice, sauce, and taco seasonings. Add 1/4 cup of water and lock lid, setting for 1 minute manual pressure. After cook time, quick release. If taco meat needs thickening, then cook on sauté for a few minutes until the water evaporates. Serve with your favorite Taco Toppings or on a Taco Salad!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Ivy says
Dare I even ask after reading all of these great reviews haha But what does the tomato sauce do? That’s the only things that makes me hesitate but I definitely want to try this.
Nancylynn says
It helps the meat mixture thicken up a little bit and gives it a little more flavor! Please give it a try and let us know what you think!
Beth says
Ohmygosh this is a game changer; my new way to always make taco meat and likely sloppy joes too. I also have a son on the spectrum. He asked why I was putting rice into the taco meat and I just said “trying something new.” After the whole family gobbled it down, I admitted it was cauliflower rice and they were all happy to have gotten such any easy veggie serving. Thank you for this!
aj says
I don’t like cauliflower, but I’m going to try this. What I usually do to get more veg into my son is, I keep all the veg scraps in the freezer, then I make veg broth in the crockpot. I take the veg broth and use it in almost evrything I cook. Less in stroganoff(white sauce), more in chili, beef stew or anything with tomato sauce with lots of spices. My son hasn’t noticed anything yet.
Nancylynn says
Definitely give the taco meat a try!
Tracy says
Um.. not only healthy, but dare I mention how budget friendly this is right now?! A serious win-win!
Nancylynn says
Right? Stretch out that meat!! ❤️
Ashlie Goerke says
Sold! Never making plain taco meat again! Delicious!
Marissa says
This was great! My son and husband had no idea their taco meat had veggies in it!
Can leftovers be frozen? I used frozen cauliflower so I didn’t know if refreezing would be an issue. Like too soggy when it thaws? Thanks!
Leigh Myers says
I was really surprised at the taste of this. We made burritos since that is the size tortilla’s that I had on hand. I am looking for ways to get more vegetables in to our eating plan. As of Feb 1 we will be starting the 21 day fix and this is one of the recipes that I will be adding to my list to make. My husband and I are really bad carb junkies and need to get away from so many of them.
Nancylynn says
I am so happy this worked for you! Totally one of my go-to recipes for hiding those veggies!
Andi says
My daughter never even eats the meat when we make tacos. It’s usually just a tortilla and cheese. She devoured 2 tacos (she’s 6) with the meat and had NO idea there were veggies in it. Even my husband had no clue until I told him. This is brilliant, and now a staple in our house!
Nancylynn says
This is AMAZING!!!! Thank you for the awesome review and rating – you made my day!
Nicole says
My hubby complained that I couldn’t leave the meat “alone” but then raved about it as he ate it! ? Thanks for another win!
Jessica says
Omg thank you so much for this recipe. Both my kids ate it and didn’t even know it had cauliflower in it. My daughter does not like cauliflower and has always been able to tell if I add it in. This will be a weekly meal in our house.
Nancylynn says
Such an awesome victory, Jessica!!! I’m so glad to hear it!
Cindy Witkow says
Hi. I love this recipe and made it exactly as you said above (perhaps more cauliflower though, since I dumped in the whole 12 oz bag). I am using the lose it app and when I enter all the ingredients I get 278 calories per serving (without the shell). Does that sound about right or too much? Thanks! This is quickly becoming a favorite here. Also, that was for 1/4 of the entire pan…but that was too much for me to eat so I think we will be getting closer to 6 servings out of this.
Nancylynn says
Hi Cindy – for beef, yes! That sounds right for 1/4 of a pan! It would be less with lean ground turkey.
Tracy says
Made this for the forst time tonight. Excellent recipe! You never fail my tatsebuds! You mention less with turkey. Does that mean using turkey creates a smaller portion? Could you explain?
Monnica says
This was great, even my 14 month old licked her bowl clean! I did modify the recipe slightly and it turned out great. I used 2lbs of ground turkey, 1lb bag of riced cauliflower and doubled the water to 1/2 cups to make sure it wouldn’t burn in my 8 quart pot. I pressure cooked for 2 mins and topped on a salad with all the taco fixings. Great recipe!
Nancylynn says
That’s AWESOME!!
Melissa Frey says
Thank you!! I am ADDICTED to this!! SOOOO GOOD, Just have make som Fix Queso to put on top 🙂
Nancylynn says
YAY! We are addicted, too! And I love the way you think with the queso!
Sam says
Can you freeze this after?
Nancylynn says
Totally!
Melissa Frey says
Ok So Im not a fabulous chef, and I have frozen cauliflower rice in the freezer, when adding to the stove top version, does it have to be defrosted??
Thanks!! 🙂
Nancylynn says
Actually, no!! You are fine to add it right in frozen!!
Jennifer says
Nancylynn, I have to apologize to you. When I added 3 whole cups of cauliflower rice, I thought “NO WAY are my kids going to eat this. They will FOR SURE know there’s cauliflower in it!”. And they hate cauliflower. But you were right (yes, I should’ve known) – they had no idea and gobbled it up. I am still shaking my head in amazement! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Nancylynn says
Umm…this is the BEST COMMENT EVER!! Thanks so much for taking the time to make my day <3
Debbie Bullard says
OMGosh! This is SOOOOOO good!!! I was trying to hypercritique, playing Devil’s Advocate, and could not find anything that tasted (or texture tasted) differently than the “norm”. I made it into a salad, but think I would like to try it in a taco so can enjoy the corn tortilla flavor with it. Thank you. AGAIN!!! LOL! -db
Nancylynn says
AHHHH!!!! I am SO happy to hear this!!!! And, right?? It’s CRAZY!! Thank you so much, Debbie!!