This Lentil Taco Meat is your perfect meat replacement recipe for a plant-based taco night! It takes just 15 minutes to make a batch of this vegan lentil taco meat, and it’s also gluten-free and packed with plant-based iron.
I love making simple and healthy plant-based lunches that you can make quickly and easily at home with simple wholesome ingredients and still deliver all the flavors you want. So when we want to taste the flavors of Mexican food, I either make my lovely Sofritas, Vegan Enchiladas, or this taco meat. Lentil tacos are healthy tacos made with plant-based ingredients.
The traditional meat is replaced with cooked lentils for a meat-like taste and texture. The tortillas can be either classic wheat tortillas or lentil tortillas. It’s a high-protein wholesome lunch or dinner that brings a lot of nutrients and can be made in under 15 minutes!
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make lentil taco meat are:
- Cooked Lentils – Use canned brown lentils. This is the faster way to make this recipe. Of course, you can also use raw brown lentils or raw green lentils, soak them overnight and cook following the packaging instructions. But this is time-consuming, and the nutrition properties will be pretty similar. So if you are hungry for a healthy dinner, use canned lentils!
- Olive Oil – I always use locally-sourced extra-virgin olive oil for the best taste.
- Onion – Yellow or red onions work fine.
- Cauliflower Rice – I used frozen ready-made cauliflower rice. You can also use a fresh head of cauliflower and pulse it in your food processor with the S-blade attachment to make your own. Another option is to make lentil walnut taco meat and replace cauliflower with finely chopped walnuts.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce or tamari sauce.
- Tomato Paste – Use classic tomato paste or whole canned tomatoes.
- Vegetable Broth – or water.
- Spices – Cumin, Salt, Paprika, Oregano, Chili powder, Garlic powder
How To Make Lentil Taco Meat
Lentil taco meat is the easiest, healthy meat replacement recipe you can whip at home in less than 15 minutes. It’s also very cheap to make and perfect for anyone who starts a vegan diet and looks for a tasty, filling protein meal.
In a large frying pan, heat olive oil under medium heat. Stir fry onion until fragrant and golden.
Add the and cauliflower rice – fresh or frozen and the spices and stir fry for 2 minutes until fragrant.
Then, stir in the cooked, drained canned lentils and tomato paste.
Finally, pour the vegetable stock and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring until the mixture thickens.
Expert Tips
- For a meatier texture, pulse the cooked lentils in a food processor a few times before adding them to the skillet.
- Toast the spices in the pan for 30 seconds before adding the lentils to enhance their flavor.
- Use fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead of tomato paste for a smokier flavor profile.
- For a spicier version, add a diced jalapeño or chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over the mixture just before serving to boost the flavors.
- For a protein boost, add textured vegetable protein (TVP) along with the lentils.
- Make a large batch and freeze portions for quick future meals.
- Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder for a funky touch or richness, similar to traditional mole sauces.
- For a fresher taste, stir in some finely chopped cilantro at the end of cooking.
- If the mixture becomes too dry, add a splash of vegetable broth or tomato sauce to reach desired consistency.
- Experiment with different types of mushrooms instead of or in addition to cauliflower rice for added umami flavor.
- For a smoky flavor without adding heat, incorporate a teaspoon of smoked paprika.
- Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes after cooking to allow flavors to meld and excess liquid to absorb.
- Use leftover lentil taco meat in burritos, on nachos, or as a topping for baked potatoes.
Using Lentils As A Meat Substitute
You can use this taco lentil recipe as a meat substitute for any Mexican dish like:
- Taco Salad – like my Vegan Taco Salad
- Vegan tacos or burritos – this makes a delicious, flavorsome taco filling to fill into my coconut flour taco shell recipe or paleo tortillas for burritos.
- Quesadillas – or Vegan Enchiladas
- With my Pupusas
- On the side of my Vegan Cornbread
But also to replace meat in vegan lasagna, spaghetti, or to stuff a spaghetti squash recipe.
Assembling Lentil Tacos
Once you have prepared the lentil taco meat and made my Lentil Taco Recipe, Quinoa Tortillas, 2-Ingredient Lentil Wraps, or my Chickpea Flour Tortillas, prepare the vegetables. Dice some avocados into small cubes, slice some fresh bell pepper and wash a bunch of fresh cilantro.
Lay a few tablespoons of lentil meat on the tortilla, add diced avocado and bell pepper slices, and pour a few teaspoons of coconut yogurt on top. Lay a few strands of cilantro and fold the wrap!
Storage Instructions
Lentil taco meat can be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze the mixture and thaw them the day before using it in any recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make lentil taco meat, you must use cooked lentils. It can be:
– Cooked Green Lentils
– Cooked Brown Lentils
– Red Split Lentils – It’s not my favorite choice because precooked red lentils often turn mushy if cooked for too long in a sauce.
You can cook raw green or brown lentils on a stovetop or slow cooker.
As a general rule, you need 3 cups of water or vegetable stock per cup of dry lentils.
Place the raw lentils into a large saucepan, and cover with cold liquid.
Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce heat. Simmer until the lentils are tender – depending on lentil varieties, it can take between 15 to 20 minutes.
Red split lentils cook way faster – more around 8-10 minutes.
Lentil is very much comparable to meat when it comes to iron:
– 1 cup of cooked lentils has 6.6 mg of iron.
– 1 cup of cooked ground beef has 6.5 mg of iron.
However, iron from animal sources is made of 40% heme iron and 60 % non-heme iron, compared to plants that are made of 100% of non-heme iron.
Studies have shown that non-heme iron is not as readily absorbed as heme iron. So while lentils are great sources of plant-based iron on a vegan diet, it is not as well absorbed as meat iron.
Since lentils are 100% made of non-heme iron, you have to eat a larger amount of cooked lentils than cooked beef to reach the same level of iron intake.
Also, to improve iron absorption, it’s important to pair lentils with vitamin-C-rich food, like tomato sauce or orange juice.
You can absolutely replace meat with lentils in most meat-based recipes.
It has a similar texture to ground meat, and when seasoned with the right spices, it tastes like beef.
You can replace cauliflower rice with many other options.
Some people are sensitive to cauliflower, so below, I listed some IBS-friendly replacements for cauliflower. Choose from one of those:
– Chopped walnuts
– Sunflower seeds
– Cooked quinoa – quinoa is a complete plant-based protein and a great addition to lentil taco meat to boost the protein profile of the recipe.
– Cooked brown rice
– Hemp hearts
If you are after a spicier recipe, try my Vegan Birria Tacos.
More Vegan Meat Recipes
Below I listed my favorite homemade vegan meat alternative recipes:
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Lentil Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- ½ Yellow Onion - diced
- 1 ¼ cup Cooked Brown Lentils - equivalent 1 can 15 oz, rinsed, drained
- 1 ¼ cup Cauliflower Rice - fresh or frozen, see note to make your own*
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Chili Powder
- ¼ cup Vegetable Broth
- 3-4 tablespoons Vegan Worcestershire Sauce - or 1 tablespoon of tamari sauce
- ½ cup Tomato Paste
Instructions
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and stir fry the onion until fragrant – about 1 minute.
- Stir in cooked, drained, canned brown lentils and cauliflower rice and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Stir in spices: cumin, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, salt chili powder.
- Stir in tomato paste, vegetable broth, and vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the mixture thickens. The longer you cook the lentils, the thicker and dryer the sauce. For a smoother sauce, stop the heat after 3-4 minutes of cooking.
- Serve hot in my vegan, gluten-free flatbread recipe and follow my vegan, lentil taco recipe for filling tips!
Very delicious. I added Only 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, Entire frozen bag of cauliflower which was 1.5 cups. Also chopped 4oz canned organic mushrooms, and about 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped garlic.. It tasted great!
This is my favourite vegan taco meat, I love it, so tasty, and delicious. My adult daughters love it, and I also use the leftovers on my baked potato the next night!
Does this freeze well? I will be trying it with Quinoa
Absolutely, it’s very easy to freeze!
The only thing I had to change is the spices. I didn’t have some of the spices so I used taco seasoning. Because I have an issue with tomatoes, I added a little sugar to cut the acidity. It almost tastes like taco meat. The texture is a little different but it’s still good.
I changed the amount of tomato paste to 1 tablespoon, but otherwise followed the recipe as is, and it was very tasty!
Really simple and the kids loved it too, will definitely make this again.
Thanks so much for sharing. We love lentils and tacos! The spice profile sounds great! I can’t wait to try these!
You don’t soak dry lentils overnight.
you don’t have to, but you reduce cooking time by half if you do and they are way easier to digest as well
Hello I just picked up black lentils and wondering if they’d be a good substitute?
I never heard of black lentils before, I only tried brown lentils and red lentils, and mine are canned lentils for this taco recipe so pretty easy to use. If yours are canned and precooked then it should work too, enjoy!
When I cook black lentils they are a bit crunchy.
The recipe use canned lentils, they are already cooked. Dry lentils takes a long time to cook