Of all the recipes that I’ve put on this blog, these lentil tacos are my favorite. My I-hope-you-will-make-these-first recipe, as I am confident in their ability to win over any die-hard omnivore.
Not only is this meal healthy, it’s also pretty inexpensive and quick to make. A win-win in my book. Of all the subs for ground beef, lentils are probably one of my favorite. They are high in fiber, iron and protein and one cup provides almost all of your daily folate needs.
If you’re trying to lower cholesterol levels try subbing lentils for ground beef/turkey/chicken in your pasta sauces, burgers, and these tacos. I’ve made these for many carnivores and everyone asks for the recipe. And, coincidentally, this recipe is gluten-free if you sub corn tortillas for flour. Vegan, gluten-free, this meal pleases everyone!
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The perfect vegetarian swap for ground beef tacos! Same amount of protein, 1/2 the fat and zero cholesterol.
Ingredients
- 2 cups lentils, cooked (from 1 cup dry lentils)
- 1 white onion, finely diced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1–2 garlic cloves, minced (What can I say? I’m Italian, I throw garlic into every dish. If that’s weird for you in taco filling, omit it)
- 1/4 cup of vegetable broth
- Corn or Flour Tortillas, for serving
- Taco toppings: shredded lettuce, sliced jalapeños, homemade guacamole
Spice mix:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large frying pan over medium high heat, sweat the onion in 1 tbsp. oil. Stir frequently, about 4-5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and spice mixture and cook for another minute or two, stirring frequently. You don’t want to burn the spices just crank up the flavor by cooking them.
- While you are cooking this, warm the tortillas. You can do this in the oven or microwave. I just place them on the burner behind my frying pan and let them warm up while I cook the filling, this way I don’t have to turn on the oven.
- Add the lentils and stir to combine. Add the vegetable broth and using a potato masher or fork, gently mash the lentils until they start to look like ground meat. Cook another few minutes until hot. If the lentils start to dry out, add another tbsp. or two of vegetable broth (can also use salsa here)
- Place a heaping spoonful or two into the taco shell and add your fillings. The filling will make about 10-12 tacos, depending on how stuffed you like them!
Notes
If you are using dried lentils, you’ll need to cook them first. Rinse the lentils, then place in a saucepan with enough water to cover by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let simmer until tender, about 25-30 minutes.
Katherine Caspero says
May 11, 2012 at 5:17 pmI heard these were amazing- looking forward to trying them!
Jesse says
July 30, 2014 at 12:44 amI have been looking for vegetarian taco ideas. Ideas: found. Thank You.
DK says
July 30, 2014 at 8:04 amYou are welcome Jesse! Hope you like them!
stephanie says
March 6, 2018 at 11:46 amHow many does this recipe serve, looking to feed 15 ppl. Thanks!
stephanie says
March 6, 2018 at 11:47 amnm!! I see 10-12 tacos
Alex says
March 6, 2018 at 9:11 pmI would double it!
Tracy Jo says
April 14, 2015 at 1:41 pmDoes it matter what kind of Lentil’s you use ?
DK says
April 15, 2015 at 11:37 amHi Tracy, I use brown lentils in these but almost any kind: green, black or brown will work. Red Lentils will not work as they will become too mushy after cooking. Thanks! Alex
Eileen says
December 2, 2017 at 8:14 pmI was short on time and used red lentils tonight. No toothfeel but still delicious and enjoyed by the whole family!
★★★★★
Alex says
December 4, 2017 at 9:46 amYum! What a great idea!
Lex says
June 22, 2015 at 5:05 pmOh. My. Gosh. My husband is crazy about Mexican food. (Seriously crazy. If we visit a Mexican restaurant and English is the primary language on the menu, we leave.) It’s been difficult to transition that into a vegan diet, but he LOVED these. RAVED about them. I couldn’t believe it. A million gracias-es. 🙂
DK says
June 22, 2015 at 9:37 pmYes! This makes me SO happy! Glad you- and your husband- liked them! 🙂
Lyndsay says
March 14, 2017 at 6:00 pmUnless you mean to use 1 cup of dried lentils…because I don’t see how 1 cup of cooked lentils can make 10 to 12 tacos!!
Alex says
March 15, 2017 at 9:28 amHi Lyndsay, yes- the recipe uses 1 cup dried lentils, not canned.
Lyndsay says
April 7, 2017 at 2:50 pmThanks! I guess the wording just threw me off. I assumed 1 cup lentils, cooked, meant 1 cup of cooked lentils. Oops! Giving these another go tonight.
Alex says
April 19, 2017 at 6:01 amI should have clarified! Let me know how they turned out with dried. Thanks, Alex
Mackenzie says
August 24, 2017 at 1:51 pmHow do you recommend cooking the lentils? I love them but I’ve never cooked them before.
Alex says
August 25, 2017 at 6:10 amHi Mackenzie, to cook from dried, cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of liquid (water, stock, etc) to 1 cup of dry lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes.
Lindsey says
July 5, 2017 at 10:53 amCan this taco filling be frozen and stored?
Alex says
July 10, 2017 at 6:40 amHi Lindsey, yes, you can freeze this taco meat easily. Enjoy!
Joshua says
July 28, 2017 at 3:53 pmI never leave reviews but I tried your recipe tonight as I try to live my life healthier. AMAZING!! Better than normal tacos even. Thank you so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Alex says
July 28, 2017 at 4:53 pmSo glad you liked them! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Chris Chausse says
October 16, 2017 at 9:09 amThese taste as good as any taco mix I have ever had – like ever. The taco seasoning mixture is perfect. Amazing, 100% healthy to my temple. Doing the Daniel Fast and these fit right in with rightly made taco shells. Thanks so so so much. Blessings.
★★★★★
Sally says
November 7, 2017 at 9:24 pmLove, love, love the lentil tacos!!! One of our first vegetarian meals, will be searching your site for more. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Alex says
November 9, 2017 at 5:15 pmThanks Sally! Glad you liked them.
Becky says
November 7, 2017 at 9:33 pmOMG these ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!!!!! I am at a loss for words! THANK YOU!
★★★★★
Alex says
November 9, 2017 at 5:14 pmSo glad you like them! Thanks for the kind words.
Carla says
November 17, 2017 at 10:49 amHi there! Should I be using just 1 cup of dried lentils for this recipe? Or should I be using 2 cups? Thanks so much!
Alex says
November 17, 2017 at 10:56 amHi Carla, it’s 2 cups cooked from one cup dried.
morycashews says
November 27, 2017 at 7:40 ambest ive ever had
Alex says
November 29, 2017 at 2:47 pmSo glad you liked it! Thanks!
Donna says
December 3, 2017 at 12:46 pmPlanning on making these tonight. My love just had bypass surgery almost 3 weeks ago and is working on building up his iron again and lentils are a great source of iron, along with other great health benefits. I’m thinking of using low sodium beef stock to boil then in to impart some flavor. Any thoughts on that?
★★★★
Alex says
December 4, 2017 at 9:45 amHi Donna- I havent tried it with beef broth before but I can’t imagine that it won’t work. I often cook my lentils with vegetable broth, so I assume the same thing will work here.
Cara says
January 16, 2018 at 11:38 amI can’t wait to try these. I’m afraid I don’t have all the spices but I do know I have a package of taco seasoning. How much of it would I use? Does 1 cup dried lentils equal 1 lb meat?
Alex says
January 17, 2018 at 9:30 amHi Cara- I’d do 1/2 of a packet with a little broth or water to see how that tastes- you can always add more, but I wouldn’t want it to be too salty!
Dave says
February 11, 2018 at 4:50 pmFor a novice chef, such as myself, with barely any experience using lentils, it would have been nice to include preparing the lentils before adding them to the skillet
★
Alex says
February 11, 2018 at 6:06 pmHi Dave- just added that to the notes. Thanks!
Fran says
August 16, 2018 at 10:45 amincredibly delicious…. loved it so much, thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Jan says
September 19, 2018 at 11:10 amThis is the fantastic!!! I asked my meat loving boys to try and they liked. Cheap, flavors are great and you can’t be the nutritional value of lentils. This will become a staple for meatless Monday’s.
PS.. I cook my lentils in the rice cooker .
Thanks a bunch.
★★★★★
Alex says
September 21, 2018 at 4:48 amSo glad you liked it! Thanks Jan!
Jjh says
October 18, 2018 at 5:00 pmDoes anyone no the nutrional info per serving ?
Jeannine Billups says
January 24, 2019 at 10:36 amI was blown away at how delicious these were! They will be added to our regular meal planning rotation. Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Alex says
January 25, 2019 at 7:54 pmSo glad you liked it! Thanks Jeannine!
Jessica says
February 5, 2019 at 12:09 pmIs this recipe spicy??
Alex says
February 6, 2019 at 6:57 amYour spice mix will determine how spicy the tacos are; the one listed here is mild, but if you add more cayenne pepper, it will be more spicy. To decrease any spice, remove the pepper all together.
Sam says
March 10, 2019 at 10:45 pmYou can never have enough garlic! . Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes and i Am a die hard omnivore but reading your recipes I could imagine giving up meat
★★★★
Alex says
March 15, 2019 at 8:15 amThanks Sam!
Suzanne says
April 2, 2019 at 11:36 amThis looks so good! I love that it actually looks like taco meat! What a great idea for a vegan taco salad too!
Alex says
April 2, 2019 at 12:13 pmThanks Suzanne! It’s one of our favorites!
Vanessa says
April 2, 2019 at 11:37 amThanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Alex says
April 2, 2019 at 12:12 pmYes! The lentil meat mixture keeps for about 5-6 days in the fridge.