Earlier this winter, I took a beautiful trip to San Diego. While I was there, I had so many fun and lovely experiences, sunshine, and load and loads of TACOS! These Vegan Lentil Tacos are inspired by some breakfast tacos I had at an adorable tiny cafe just down the block from the beachfront apartment we were renting.

Things I look for in a good taco:

  • Fun and interesting textures, like a slight crunch in my cauliflower rice that pairs so nicely with the crumble of vegan chorizo and the soft, chewy lentils
  • Depth of flavor like the smokey cumin and chili powder in my lentils and a little spicy sweetness from chorizo, all cooled off with fresh and creamy avocado
  • The perfect bite in EVERY bite. Don’t you hate it when you bite into a taco and get nothing but rice in one bite and nothing but lettuce in the next? Oof. That’s why I love using small corn tortillas and building my tacos for every bite by mixing all of my toppings together! It’s one extra step, but it makes a world of a difference in your taco-eating experience.

Let’s get into the recipe…

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

12 corn tortillas

16 oz riced cauliflower

8 oz vegan chorizo of choice (mine is from Trader Joe’s)

1 cup red split lentils

1 1/2 cup vegetable broth

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp olive oil + enough to coat your pan

salt to taste

 

Directions:

For Lentils
  1. In a large saucepan, add half of oil and cumin seeds over medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until aromatic
  2. Add lentils, half of chili powder, salt, and broth and bring to boil
  3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until lentils are tender
For Cauliflower
  1. Pan-fry cauliflower in a large skillet by heating oil a cumin seeds to medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until cumin is aromatic
  2. Add cauliflower, chili powder, and salt and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until cauliflower reaches desired tenderness (I like mine a little crunchy, so I cook it lightly to avoid soggy cauliflower)
For Chorizo
  1. Cook chorizo according to package instructions. I simply pan-fried mine until hot and slightly crispy!
For Tortillas (optional)
  1. Add olive oil to a frying pan until it’s about 1 centimeter deep (you don’t need to submerge your tortillas)
  2. Bring oil to frying temp over medium-high heat
  3. Drop in tortilla and allow to fry for 15 seconds per side
  4. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and lightly salt tortilla
Assembly
  1. Like I mentioned early, a good taco gives you the perfect bite in every single bite, so combine your cauliflower, chorizo, and lentils in a large bowl and stir
  2. Top each tortilla with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of filling
  3. Top your Vegan Lentil Tacos with hot sauce, avocado, cilantro, or pico, and enjoy!

You'll be dreaming of these Vegan Lentil Tacos every Tuesday from now on! They're so loaded with flavor, protein, and textures, they're sure to be your go-to taco of choice!

Print
Vegan Lentil Tacos
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
 

These Vegan Lentil Tacos are loaded with protein and tons of flavor!

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican, southwest, tex mex
Servings: 12 tacos
Author: Maddie Augustin
Ingredients
  • 12 corn tortillas 6 inch
  • 16 oz riced cauliflower
  • 8 oz vegan chorizo
  • 1 cup red split lentils
  • 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp olive oil + more for frying tortillas (optional)
  • salt to taste
Instructions
lentils

  1. In a large saucepan, add half of oil and cumin seeds over medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until aromatic

  2. Add lentils, half of chili powder, salt, and broth and bring to boil

  3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until lentils are tender

cauliflower

  1. Pan-fry cauliflower in a large skillet by heating oil a cumin seeds to medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until cumin is aromatic

  2. Add cauliflower, chili powder, and salt and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until cauliflower reaches desired tenderness (I like mine a little crunchy, so I cook it lightly to avoid soggy cauliflower)

chorizo

  1. Cook chorizo according to package instructions. I simply pan-fried mine until hot and slightly crispy!

tortillas (optional)

  1. Add olive oil to a frying pan until it's about 1 centimeter deep (you don't need to submerge your tortillas)

  2. Bring oil to frying temp over medium-high heat

  3. Drop in tortilla and allow to fry for 15 seconds per side

  4. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and lightly salt tortilla

assembly

  1. Like I mentioned early, a good taco gives you the perfect bite in every single bite, so combine your cauliflower, chorizo, and lentils in a large bowl and stir

  2. Top each tortilla with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fillingTop with hot sauce, avocado, cilantro, or pico, and enjoy!

 

You'll be dreaming of these Vegan Lentil Tacos every Tuesday from now on! They're so loaded with flavor, protein, and textures, they're sure to be your go-to taco of choice!
You’ll be dreaming of these Vegan Lentil Tacos every Tuesday from now on! They’re so loaded with flavor, protein, and textures, they’re sure to be your go-to taco of choice!