Wondering what to do for Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday? Make these yummy lentil tacos! Big news – they’re good any day! They are full of vegetarian protein and go great on a taco shell or a tortilla.
Updated on September 4, 2019
A few weeks ago we got together with a bunch of friends for tacos. The hosts prepared the meat and had the fixings, but we wanted some meat-free taco filling. I went to the kitchen and got to work. We’ve eaten these tacos a few times now, and I want to share this version with you.
Jump to RecipeThis is the first of some quick and easy recipes that I’ll post in the next few weeks. I figured easy recipes with just a few ingredients might suit everyone.
Ingredients
Besides a little olive oil, the ingredients you see below are all that’s needed. I used green lentils, taco seasoning, garlic, and sea salt with truffles. That last item is optional, but I think it gives the taco filling a great flavor. A couple of more cost-conscious options for umami flavor are Trader Joe’s umami blend and an umami powder. If you’re unfamiliar with the term umami, check out this link for more info on the topic. Any kind of umami seasoning will add some nice flavor to these lentils.
I got the ingredient list for the taco seasoning blend from Budget Bytes. I couldn’t think of one way to improve on it.
Making Lentil Tacos
You can cook the lentils on the stovetop, a slow cooker, or an instant pot. I used the latter because that’s my go-to method for cooking beans and lentils. Add a clove of garlic, put through a garlic press, and some olive oil into the pan that you’ll use to cook the lentils. Cook the garlic until it’s clear and then add the water, followed by the lentils and the taco seasoning, plus the optional umami flavor. If you use an instant pot, you can use the saute setting to cook the garlic. Then turn the power off before adding the lentils, water, and seasoning. When the lentils are cooked, just add them to toasted taco shells and add condiments of your choice. Soft tortillas work well if you prefer those to the crunchy type of taco shells.
Serving Lentil Tacos
I made some of our avocado tomatillo salsa, plus we always have a jar of red salsa on hand. Sliced tomatoes and shredded Mexican cheese are must-haves.
Here’s a close up of a couple of tacos right before they disappeared.
The leftover lentils are perfect for nachos the next day.
Lentil Tacos
Ingredients
Lentil Taco Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup green lentils
- Optional ½ teaspoon black truffle salt or 1 teaspoon umami powder
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 1-2 teaspoons vinegar or vinaigrette dressing
Taco Seasoning Ingredients
- I got this list from BudgetBytes
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp 15 cranks fresh black pepper
Instructions
These instructions are for the instant pot method:
- Sauté 1 clove garlic in the instant pot with about one tablespoon of oil.
- Add the rinsed lentils, water, and seasonings to the instant pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Use the natural release method which will take about 10 minutes.
- Slice tomatoes and lettuce.
- Toast the taco shells in a toaster oven for two minutes – just to crisp them up.
- Fill taco shells with the seasoned lentils and add lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and your salsa of choice.
Notes
- The nutrition information is just for the lentil taco filling. It does not include the taco shells, cheese, or other added ingredients.
- The cooking time can vary even between different types of instant pots (IP). In my 3-quart IP, 10 minutes isn’t enough time. I upped it to 15 minutes and find that setting is better for this recipe.
If you like this recipe, please post a comment or pin it. Thanks!
Products used in this recipe
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