My desire for vegetables has been fleeting over the course of the first and second trimesters. Some days I don’t want to touch them with a ten foot pole (except in smoothies, maybe), but when I do get a craving for veggies I have to eat all the vegetables, as soon as possible. There’s no middle ground. I either make a salad the size of my head or no salad at all.
These lettuce-wrapped tacos are the result of one of my undeniable, all-consuming veggie cravings last week. All I could think about was something super fresh and crunchy. Before I knew it I was pulling every single vegetable out of my fridge and piling it onto the counter. Eric could see that crazy look in my eyes and he knew I would stop at nothing to get my fix. I whipped up the lentil-walnut taco meat from my cookbook, sautéed some red pepper and onion, blended up some cashew sour cream, and got to chopping. I knew this was going to be the veggie-packed meal of my dreams. I almost shed a tear of joy when I took my first bite. Heck yes. I hit the flavour, texture, freshness jackpot! Somehow I managed to share with Eric and we stuffed ourselves silly. Surprisingly, we even had leftovers for lunch the next day. I’m telling you, these tacos prove that leftovers can be a great thing. It was such a fun treat to open the fridge the next day and have this great lunch waiting to be gobbled up a second time around.
Here’s how I constructed the wraps:
1) Romaine/Iceburg/Butter lettuce “wrap” + Lentil-Walnut Taco Meat (creates an amazing base for a taco!)
2) Sautéed onion and bell pepper:
3) Chopped tomatoes or salsa:
4) Lots of Cashew Sour Cream:
5) Chopped green onion + a squeeze of lime juice
Other topping ideas = sliced avocado, cilantro, hot sauce, _________ ?
6) Stuff into face. Make a HUGE mess. Repeat as necessary (until you can’t fit one more bite).
Veggie craving conquered.
Ultimate Green Taco Wraps
Yield
8 large tacos
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Get ready to pack a ton of veggies into one irresistible, healthy meal! If you haven't tried my lentil-walnut taco meat, this is a great recipe to do so. It's high in protein, and the taco seasonings and chewy texture create a realistic-tasting taco base. Feel free to use tortilla wraps or corn shells instead of lettuce wraps to change it up, or you can make this recipe into a big salad, too. You can save time by cooking the lentils and prepping the taco meat in advance (or simply use canned lentils). This recipe is inspired by Simple Vegan Blog taco wraps. The lentil-walnut meat is adapted from the from the The Oh She Glows Cookbook (page 186).
Ingredients
For the lentil-walnut taco meat (makes 2 1/2 cups):
- 1 cup uncooked French green lentils (you will use 1 3/4 cups cooked lentils)*
- 1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) water
For the toppings and wraps:
- 1 to 2 large bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 1/2 to 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- Cashew Sour Cream
- Diced tomatoes or salsa
- Green onion
- Fresh lime juice
- Lettuce wraps (large romaine, iceberg, or butter lettuce leaves)
Other topping options:
- Sliced avocado
- Hot sauce
- Cilantro
Directions
- Cook the lentils: Rinse lentils in a fine mesh sieve. Add to a medium pot along with a few cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until tender (cook time will vary depending on the type of lentils you use—see package). Drain off excess water.
- Toast the walnuts: Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Add walnuts onto a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 10 to 13 minutes, watching closely, until lightly golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Sauté the pepper and onion filling: Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of oil into a large skillet or wok. Cook the onion and peppers over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat if necessary and stirring frequently, until translucent.
- Prepare the taco meat: Add 1 3/4 cups cooked lentils (you'll have some leftover) and all the toasted walnuts into a food processor and pulse until chopped (make sure to leave texture). Stir or pulse in the oregano, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Stir in the oil and the water until combined.
- Prepare the rest of your vegetable toppings and wash and dry the lettuce wraps.
- Assemble: Add a large lettuce leaf onto a plate, top with taco meat, sautéed peppers and onion, and the rest of your desired toppings.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in sealed containers to be enjoyed the next couple days. The cashew cream will keep for at least a week in the fridge. Use sour cream leftovers on sandwiches, wraps, stirred into salad dressings, on vegan nachos, or with chili or soup.
Tip:
- * To save time, you can use one (15-ounce) can of lentils (drained and rinsed) instead of cooking the lentils from scratch. When I have time, I love to cook French green lentils due to their chewy texture, but regular green and brown lentils will work too. Do not use red lentils as they are much too mushy and don't have the required chewy texture for this recipe.
- Make it nut-free: I haven't tried this yet, but you could try subbing the walnuts for 1/2-3/4 cup toasted pepita seeds (shelled pumpkin seeds) and swapping the Cashew Sour Cream with vegan mayo (such as Vegenaise).
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I can’t wait to whip up a batch of of the Ultimate Taco Wraps! Looks so delicious, healthy, lite and energizing. Perfect for this time of the year :)
Made these tonight and they are absolutely delicious. They too helped me get over a non-veggie pregnancy-induced funk. So filling and healthy–these are on my freezer stash menu to make up in quantity this weekend for when baby comes (I’m 35 weeks)!
Did it freeze well?
I have always been intrigued yet scared to tackle the concept of “walnut meat.” I need to get over myself and dive in! This looks delicious.
Anele, it’s almost ridiculous how “meaty” this walnut meat tastes. Try it!! I give it 5 stars. :)
Oh my goodness this looks so delicious and fresh!! I had the same craving (even though I’m not pregnant…) for vegetables this week. I think I bought just about every vegetable the grocery store had to offer. These look like an excellent way to use up the veggies overflowing from my fridge! Side note: I made your chakra Caesar salad to pack for lunch today. The croutons almost didn’t make it to the salad. They’re SO YUMMY!!
Glad you enjoyed them Lauren! I know what you mean…we always eat them straight from the pan. Maybe a double batch is in order. ;)
I’ve been looking for meat-free Mexican dishes that would satisfy my carnivore boyfriend. This looks perfect!
This looks amazing Angela! Perfect for summer in the light summery wraps!
youtube.com/addalittlefood
OMG, OSG these look so delish. I’ve been a little bit of a food rut myself (too much same old, same old). I think I will come flying out of the rut with these bad boys.
These look amazing! Definitely pinning this recipe!
There is something so satisfying about making a mess while eating! And something I should learn NOT do when I am eating at work ;-) Love the walnut taco meat!
Yum!! I am the same way…veggie cravings for days. I love stuffing as many veggies as I can into any dish I make. These will definitely be going on the menu.
Oh my god, these look amazing! Love the lentil/walnut combo, I’m definitely going to have to make these ASAP :)
How have I not made walnut taco meat before?! I can’t wait to make these!!
Vegan tacos – be still my heart! Can’t wait to try these this week.
This is my perfect health snack! No guilt! Thanks for sharing!
Julie
Gourmet Getways
Hey! Does anyone know if you can freeze the “meat”? Thank you!
Hey Laura, I’ve heard from many readers that the meat freezes and thaws well when tightly wrapped up. You may need to add back some moisture when reheating with some oil though, and of course I’d recommend adjusting the spices/salt to taste before serving it again. Hope this helps!
These taco wraps looks like such a delicious and refreshing snack! That cashew sour cream also looks amazing. I’m always looking for new healthy snacks. Thanks for sharing!
Yum! It’s almost lunch time and now I’m starving. Wish I had these to eat instead of my boring salad. I recently made the cashew sour cream and it was so amazing!
Love anything that includes lentils! Great idea!
These look so delicious. I’m a vegetarian, but I’ve never tried making fake “meat”… this looks like the perfect recipe to start with!
-E
These look amazing!!
I just found out Sunday that baby #3 is on the way and the cravings have already started. All I want right now are massive amounts of veggies. These look so good. I think I’ll scrap my menu plan and make these tonight.
congrats Crystal! :)
I don’t know how the heck you stop to take so many photos without stuffing food in your face! :)
I can’t wait to try this.
My mouth is seriously watering right now! And I’m intrigued with the cashew sour cream… I’ve never heard of it but I want it on everything! Hahaha
I’ve been craving lentils recently so this recipe comes at the perfect time!
Five++ years ago, one of the very first 3 or 4 blog posts I ever wrote was raw vegan taco nut ‘meat’. Seeing this totally takes me back to a lifetime ago – thanks for the trip down memory lane :) And your nut meat is gorgeous and the lighting here is just stunning! Pinned
Great alternative for salads! Lentils and walnuts are absolutely perfect and healthy duo. Full of fiber and omega-3. We can’t find it in ‘real’ meat. It’s a dish which everyone should try, not only vegan and vegetarian.
Amazing! I love the drizzle of cashew sour cream!
These look and sound amazing, yum!
xx Kelly
sparklesandshoes.com/
These look great Ange, and I LOVE your taco meat recipe! I’d probably top mine with salsa because I’m a huge salsa junkie. I’m sure your baby bump is loving all of this nutritional goodness! :)
These look fantastic! I love the idea of a lettuce taco wrap! Nothing beats the taste and crunch of fresh summer veggies! Can’t wait to try this and your lentil walnut taco meat!
I love how beautiful you made this look! I’ve been craving veggies recently, the more I have the more I want! But not everyone feels that way so I think we’ll be trying to for dinner tonight, how could anyone complain with such great flavors?
OMG YUM. We tried Lentil Taco Meat (from the cookbook Isa Does It) for the first time last week and we are SOLD. Such a satisfying texture! Can’t wait to see how great it tastes with the addition of walnuts and cashew sour cream… Thanks for sharing!
youtube.com/user/SparklesAndSuch26
I need this in my life NOW! I absolutely love using walnuts as taco filling, I love how you can flavor the walnuts however to suit personal taste. Thank you for another scrumptious recipe!
This is certainly sparking my craving for veggies! They look amazing and are perfect for summer!
I’m literally eating these right now. SO delicious, fresh, and satisfying!
Veggie craving approved, for sure!! I made something similar to this a few weeks back but I did tempeh taco “meat” and wrapped it in collard greens. I don’t know why I haven’t done that before, but it was delicious. I need to add that to my summer rotation…or this ;)!!
I made the lentil ‘meat’ last night for dinner and it was delicious! I only had split green peas on hand but those worked really well too!
Just made these for lunch. They were absolutely fabulous. Although, I have made almost all the recipes on this blog and have never been disappointed! These are a real favorite though just like the lentil walnut burgers!
Making these for dinner tonight. Everyone loves taco night, especially when it’s healthy!
Hi Angela,
How long will the Sour Cream keep in the fridge?
Thanks!
Sab
Ok, now I’m craving veggies! These look SO good!
If I don’t have a food processor for the taco lentil-walnut meat, would it still work if I minced it all by hand?
Since the organic lettuce in my garden is just ready to harvest, I’m making this recipe ASAP!
I just made the taco “meat” using sunflower seeds instead of walnuts and it tasted fantastic!! The only thing I would do different next time, is pulse the seeds a little bit first-before adding the lentils. When putting them in the processor together, the seeds stayed mostly whole, while the lentils mixed to a good texture. I didn’t want to ruin that by pulsing more. Will definitely make this again- might even try the walnuts!
Lucky me- left over taco salad tomorrow!! :)
Kim – Thanks for the review of substituting the walnuts for sunflower seeds. I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to walnuts though I would love to try them in this dish. Making these this week. We’re definitely not vegan but look forward to incorporating more and more plant-based dishes into our diet. Thanks Angela!
I found my blender couldn’t pulse everything and ended up stabbing the walnuts and lentils with a fork. And it worked! So yeah, no need for a food processor!
I made this tonight. It’s so delicious. I added carrots to my onions and bell peppers. Thank you.
Saw this post this morning and thought…ooh I need to make that today. I made these for lunch with all the goodies from my CSA share and i have two thing to say:
1. Thank you for such a quick and heathy recipe
2. YUM!
As soon as I saw this post I knew I had to make it for dinner! I used homemade tortillas and put the lettuce into the taco. I used roasted chopped almonds instead of walnuts because my son is allergic to walnuts. I fried the onions with carrots because we have 3 rubbermaid totes of carrots expiring in our cold room! Even with all those subs it was delicious! Especially topped with homemade salsa. A hit with everyone! Thank you!
I have tried 2 times to print this recipe, and it prints in a language that is not English, even though the screen shows it in English. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Oh this looks sooo amazing! I generally use TVP, but this looks way better and I love all the veggies! Definitely will be making this soon :)
Lentil-Walnut taco meat! What a great idea! I am used to eating all types of Mexican food with beans as the base (bean tacos, beans in taco salad) but this looks so fun and different! I can’t wait to try it! Thank you for sharing!
Made this with collard greens to wrap- just shave off the thickest part of the stem, about the last 2 inches or so, pass the collard over the stove top burner for a moment to wilt it and roll the fixins’ inside. This is my gluten-free tortilla standby!
I was just thinking I’d try this with collard greens this week — glad to know it works well, thanks for posting!
Yum these look amazing!
Wow. This looks amazing. The flavor looks amazing. Do you ever find the ‘food’ is just the vessel to get more of a good spice or sauce?
I made these and they literally BLEW MY MIND! Amazing. I forewent the cashew sour cream, but added avocado, salsa and fresh cherry tomatoes on top. I’m in love with this taco “meat” and will use the leftover to make a taco salad tonight. Thank you!!!