This Lentil Taco Recipe is easy to make, super satisfying and so delicious.In just a few minutes, you’ll have your lentils cooking and then you can focus on all the yummy vegan sides to go with tacos!
Let’s talk Lentils
- Small lentils come in black (also called beluga lentils) and brownish green (French lentils). I like to use small lentils for tacos because small lentils hold their shape, take less time to cook and the Puy lentils (aka French lentils) have a bit of a peppery flavor. .
- Brown and Green lentils are inexpensive, hold their shape and have a natural earthy flavor. They take a bit longer to cook and are great in chili, soups and stews. You could use them in this lentil taco recipe too.
- Yellow and Red lentils are technically split…and therefore cook more quickly. They also don’t hold their shape well and are best for soups, stews and stuffings.
- Lentils are a highly nutritious. They’re a good source of plant protein, fiber, polyphenols and essential minerals.
Delicious Lentil Recipes
Lentil are easy to incorporate into plant-based recipes to make them satisfying and delicious. For a hearty, healthy meal I often make this Lentil Salad with Roasted Veggies...it’s a show stopper too, so beautiful. A few more easy and tasty favorites:
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Lentils: use small French lentils or Beluga lentils
- Diced tomatoes: canned tomatoes are shelf stable and easy to have on hand for this recipe.
- Onion and garlic
- Fresh herbs: fresh thyme, oregano or rosemary are perfect additions to this lentil taco meat. They’ll impart wonderful flavor and leave the stems intact so they’re easy to remove at the end.
- Spices: just a bit of cumin, coriander, chili powder a salt add an authentic Mexican flavor to these vegan tacos.
How to make lentils for taco filling
Sautee diced onions in a small saucepan with water, broth or olive oil. Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add rinsed lentils, cumin, coriander, chili powder and salt to the onion mixture.
Mix well, until lentils are evenly coated with spices.
Add in tomatoes, water, fresh thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer.
Cover and simmer until most of the water has been absorbed, about 40 minutes. Lentil should be tender, but not mushy and still hold their shape.
Pull out the stems of the fresh thyme and remove the bay leaf. Fluff with a fork.
Scoop lentil taco filling into your favorite shells and pile on the toppings. See my suggestions below for some awesome taco toppings.
Best Toppings for Tacos
- Avocado: Slices of avocado, Guacamole or Avocado dressing
- Salsa: fresh tomato salsa, pineapple mango salsa, roasted tomatillo salsa.
- Sour cream: Use my easy recipe for Vegan Sour Cream. If you like spice, add 1-2 teaspoons cholula hot sauce to each ¼ cup of sour cream and generously drizzle onto your tacos.
- Enchilada sauce
- Pickled red onions
- Veggies: chopped tomatoes or cucumber, shredded cabbage or lettuce.
Delicious Vegan Sides to go with Tacos
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📖 Recipe
Lentil Taco Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup French lentils rinsed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup water
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
Make the lentils:
- Dice onion, mince garlic.
- Rinse lentils well, discard any discolored or damaged lentils or any small pebbles.
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and sautee onions (use 1-2 tblsp water, broth or olive oil) until translucent. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Stir in lentil, salt, chili powder, cumin and coriander. Continue to mix until lentils are well coated with spices.
- Now add in the tomatoes, fresh thyme, bay leaf and water. Stir. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. cover and cook for 40 minutes. Lentils will be tender, but not mushy and most of the liquid should have been absorbed.
Notes
How to make lentil tacos:
Fill your favorite shells (or use lettuce cups) with a scoop of lentils and then pile on toppings of choice.Toppings for tacos:
Avocado slices or guacamole, vegan sour cream (I like to add 1-2 teaspoons of cholula hot sauce to ¼ cup dairy-free sour cream for the perfect taco drizzle), or make a batch of vegan chipotle dressing, pickled red onions, chopped tomatoes or fresh tomato salsa, tomatillo salsa, shredded cabbage, fresh cilantro, lime wedges.Storage:
Lentil taco meat will stay good in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
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