Easy Vegetarian Lentil Tacos
Easy Vegetarian Lentil Tacos
Tacos have long been a household staple around here. My hubby and I routinely ate all types of tacos way before they became a trend. I mean, I loved tacos long before they were screen printed on t-shirts in those “trendy” teen shops. For me, I prefer tacos in my belly rather than on it. However, if you want your cake and to eat it too, I found this taco shirt gem on Amazon. One thing that is new for me when it comes to the taco train is the meatless variety. If you’ve read my other posts, you may have seen I am trying to incorporate more meatless meals around our house. I’ve tried quite a few varieties, but my favorite is these easy vegetarian Lentil Tacos.
Now I don’t have much against eating meat. I have to admit, part of my motivation is paying over $4.00/lb for ground beef. If I’m lucky I can get it for $2.99/lb when I buy in bulk. But c’mon, I’m cooking for two over here. Trust me, I’ve tried buying in bulk, portioning out the beef, and freezing. Problem is, my freezer availability currently sucks. Our main refrigerator has fairly small freezer space and we have yet to buy a bulk freezer. Cross your fingers for me come Black Friday. If you have any brand suggestions, I’d love for you to drop a comment below!
Aside from shrimp tacos, the classic beef taco has typically been my favorite. I’ve found a substitute for almost every taco meat staple, aside from shrimp (I’ll take suggestions on that too). In my experimentation, lentils have most accurately represented beef and jackfruit is a great substitute for chicken or pork. Even if you’re not ready to fully jump on the vegetarian taco bandwagon, you can use these fruit/vegetable substitutes as a filler. Next time you make tacos, add some lentils to your ground beef for an extra nutritious protein source.
While any lentil will work for this recipe, I prefer red lentils as they cook bit faster and visually represent ground beef better. If neither of these things matter to you, go ahead and grab whatever lentils you can find. From there it is super easy. Bring 2 cups of vegetable broth to a boil and add lentils, allowing to simmer until tender. For me, the liquid is usually fully absorbed, but you can drain any excess. When the liquid is nearly gone, add taco seasoning. I recommend skipping the sodium and preservative laden store-bough variety and trying my recipe here. Finally, add your completed taco meat to your shell of choice and load up with your favorite toppings. Some of topping ideas are onion, tomato, avocado, shredded cheese, black beans, lettuce, cilantro, sour cream, and salsa but really the topping are endless.
Easy Vegetarian Lentil Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dried, red lentils
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 8 small, soft corn tortillas
- Optional toppings: diced onion, diced tomato, avocado slices, shredded cheese, black beans, shredded lettuce, cilantro, sour cream, and salsa
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. In a large skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil and warm over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add onion and garlic, sautéing for roughly 5 minutes.
- Add vegetable stock and lentils to the pot, bringing to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
- Remove cover and add taco seasoning, stirring well. Then, simmer uncovered for additional 5 minutes.
- While the lentils finish cooking, place tortillas in oven to warm through, per package instructions.
- When lentils and shells finish cooking, add 1/4 cup of lentil mixture to each tortilla.
- Serve immediately and top with optional toppings of choice.
