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.
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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)
This recipe is amazing! I made it for a non-vegan friend, and he kept all the leftovers! Hence, I’m making it again today!
I am a fledgling vegan health coach in training and just made these for a client. She was over the moon! She will be buying your cook book, even though this recipe isn’t in it ( the new one anyway). I printed a copy of the recipe. She is borrowing my “Oh She Glows” cook book until hers arrives.
All your recipes are a hit!
These are AMAZING!!!!
And so filling too!
These tacos are the first-ever vegan meal I have made, and I could not believe how delicious and satisfying they were!!!! I love that there were very few ingredients for the taco “meat”- it was super easy to make! I don’t have a food processor so I used a pestle to smash the walnuts and lentils up, and it worked really well. I used avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro for the toppings… And the vegan sour cream??? Uh ma gawd. I almost didn’t make it but I’m so glad I did. I’m almost converted ;)
Just made this for dinner and it was AMAZING! I am 24 weeks pregnant and can’t get enough veggies either, so this meal was perfect for my family and I. We are a non-vegan family whom love and adore every recipe we have tried of yours and this is now one of my favorites! Even my two year old approves.
Does anyone know how long the taco “meat” stays good for in the fridge? I want to do some Sunday night prep for a mid-week meal and just make the taco meat ahead of time!
Thanks!
Making these for dinner tonight! They look delicious! Quick question, could I use taco seasoning in replace of all the other seasonings listed?
I bought lentils the other day, wanting to cook something with them but not knowing what. This taco meat is a win! I will use it in some enchiladas and other Mexican dishes. 5 stars!
I made these last night. O. M. G. This will be on my permanent meal rotation. How do you come up with such amazing recipes?!
I am so excited I just bought your cookbook!! Congratulation on your baby!!
Once again, you hit this one out of the park!!! Your recipies are so delicious that I feel like there must be some witchcraft involved. This recipe was so easy and quick to make. Thank you for creating recipes that have ingredients that are available everyone and without random ingredients that you have to buy but will never use again. I was super skeptical of the vegan sour cream (as someone that LOVES regular sour cream) and it was perfection!! Keep it up you, you are helping to make eating healthy so delicious and fun for me.
Hi Katie, this was such a great message to read, thank you! It’s always so great to hear that my recipes are helping to make a healthy, plant-based lifestyle enjoyable and fun for my readers. :)
These are truly fabulous! Such a great mix of flavors. I doubled the taco meat because I wanted to use up all the lentils we had on hand, and put half in the freezer for the future use. And cheers to you on the best cashew sour cream recipe ever. I could eat it with a spoon.
Thank you!
I could definitely eat it with a spoon, too! ;) Thanks for the great comment, Mary — so glad to hear you like the recipe!
These are a summer staple for me, but I made them for my meat loving boyfriend last night and he loved them!
Yay! I’m glad they were a hit, Jamie. :)
A coworker brought this recipe to work today as part of a project she was working on. They were a huge hit with everyone and she had printed a copy of the recipe so that we could find it to make it. I am so glad that she did!! They were delicious and won over a lot of skeptics. I’ll be making them for my next dinner party group to pass the good food vibes on. Great job:)
That’s so great! I’m glad the recipe was such a hit with everyone – thanks for sharing. :)
Seriously the best thing I have ever ate! They’re so easy to make too! My Omni boyfriend loved them!!
I’m so happy to hear the recipe was such a hit, Asha!:)
Shared this recipe with my non-vegan friends. They were blown away, too. I cannot believe the walnut meat tasted so, well, meaty. As a newly minted vegan (that’s a thing, right?), I am so happy to have stumbled across this website for creative recipes. Mind you, I love a good salad, but not for every meal, every day. Plus, I need protein and carbs and all the other stuff. Thanks for being such a wonderful teacher, Angela, and for sharing all your wisdom. :-)
Oh, and I made these as taco bowls, btw, using quinoa corn chips as the base. Yummo! Next time, going for the lettuce, just did not have any in the house this time around. ~LR
I am so happy to hear it was such a hit! Also, taco bowls? Awesome idea! I hope you’ll find lots of other recipes here that you’ll enjoy just as well. :)
yesterday and todays lunch. So amazingly good!
Love this taco “meat”! I just wrote a blog post about feeling fulfilled or just full (not in the food sense, but in the how do you spend your time since) and as I was eating my tacos I realized that they left me feeling fulfilled. I added some different toppings and used corn taco shells, but Delicious! I was just recently turned on to your site and I love it! It has inspired me to cook and eat healthy delicious food again! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Melanie! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, and am so happy you’ve been finding inspiration in my blog. :)
This was just beyond. Beyond!! My husband did the “meat” part and I was supposed to do the peppers and onions. Since I got involved in chatting with my neighbor, I forgot the peppers and onions. We ended up just putting avocado and cherry tomatoes on it. I cannot believe how delicious it was.
It was easy, and incredibly delicious.
I am so glad you are in the business of making recipes! My husband said to me at the dinner table while we at it “she’s amazing” talking about you and your recipes. Since I work from home on Thursdays, I’m going to make that avocado/strawberry/balsamic thing and surprise him with it for a morning snack. Thanks again for all you do!
Aw, thanks so much for the sweet comment, Christine! You’re too kind. :) I’m so glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed the green taco wraps, and I hope you love the Strawberry Caprese when you try it today!
Hi, Angela!
I am very eager to try this recipe, but I have a severe allergy to pecans and walnuts. I’m wondering if you personally have tried any other nuts (e.g. almonds, cashews) or seeds to make this. If you have, how have they turned out?
Thank you :)