Vegan Lentil Tacos with Pico de Gallo

These easy Vegan Lentil Tacos with a homemade Avocado Pico de Gallo make the absolute best healthy weeknight dinner when you that taco craving hits. I've been making these spicy lentil tacos for years and I can attest they are always a hit with vegetarians and carnivores alike!

*Recipe originally shared on May 1st, 2018 and updated January 24th, 2020*

How to make easy vegan lentil tacos

Making lentil tacos is one of the easiest plant-based dinner recipes full of protein, vegetables, and tons of flavor. Here is a breakdown of the easy steps needed to make these vegan tacos.

Ingredients:

• Brown lentils
• Vegetable broth
• Green or red peppers
• Onions
• Garlic (can be subbed with garlic powder)
• Avocado oil (can be subbed with any other cooking oil)
• Taco seasoning
• Lime juice
• Salt & pepper
• Flour or corn tortillas

What type of lentils work best in tacos?

Believe it or not, there are more than 5 different varieties of lentils to choose from! In fact, the color and variety of the lentil you use greatly affects cooking time.

For this recipe, please use brown lentils! Brown lentils hold their shape during cooking and are more likely to resemble a "taco meat" as the lentil taco filling. They take a little longer to cook than red lentil varieties (25-30 minutes), but still take on the flavor of whatever spices they are cooked with.

If you can only find red lentils, those will work, but they likely fall apart for a "mushier" lentil taco. It will still taste excellent, but will be a different texture than you see pictured.

Also, the cooking time varies by the type of lentil you choose, so make sure to review the package instructions for more concrete instructions if you venture outside of brown lentils!

Next, cook lentils and vegetables:

Once you've assembled all the taco ingredients, add the lentils, vegetable broth, and ½ Tbsp of taco seasoning to a small saucepan. I like to start with 1 ¼ cup vegetable broth and add up to 1 ½ cups if the lentils are sticking to the pan before they are done cooking.

Here are a few tips for cooking perfect lentils every time:

• Make sure to rinse lentils before cooking. They are notorious for having debris or rocks in them, so it's worth that extra rinse! Lentils do not need to be soaked before being cooked.
• Cook lentils uncovered so they don't turn mushy or soupy.
• Add spices to the lentils during cooking, but wait to add salt until after the lentils are cooked. If you add salt too early, the lentils usually don't correctly.
• Bring the lentils to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Boiling the lentils will cook them too hard, too fast. Lentils cook best at a gentle simmer!

While the lentils are cooking you will also cook the vegetables in a cast-iron skillet with seasoning for about 5 minutes until cooked, but still crispy. Don't overcook the vegetables until they are super soft- it just doesn't taste as good in tacos!

Once the lentils are done cooking, add them to the skillet with the vegetables, add in some lime juice, and stir to combine.

Add on the avocado pico de gallo:

Now that we have the lentil taco filling ready to go, we can bring these tacos to the next level by adding in some homemade avocado pico de gallo! Making avocado pico de gallo literally takes 5-10 minutes and adds so much flavor to these tacos.

Simply dice the tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, and avocado. Add them to a bowl with cilantro and lime juice and mix everything together. Then, season with salt as the last step. That's truly all you need to know to make homemade pico de gallo!

This recipe calls for about 1-2 Tbsp jalapeño so it does have a spicy kick. If that's not your thing, just omit the jalapeño or reduce it for a milder pico de gallo.

Finally- it's now time to assemble the tacos and eat them!

There's a reason tacos have a whole day dedicated to them on #tacotuesday! Lentils really are the star of this recipe, as they soak up all the spices and leave you with a mouth-watering and flavorful filling. Plus, lentils have 12 grams of protein in ½ cup and gram for gram they actually have more protein than meat. Pair these Vegan Lentil Tacos with a refreshing Tequila Smash cocktail and you have a delicious Mexican-flavored meal ahead. Enjoy!

-TSG

Looking for more protein-filled vegan dinner ideas? check out these SGTO favorites:

Eggplant Lentil Curry

Portobello Mushroom Tacos

Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burger

Vegan Black Pepper Tofu

Roasted Red Pepper Quinoa Tomato Soup