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
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Made these last night for guests and they are amazing!! Great texture and super delicious!
Wow, this looks amazing! I’m suddenly hungry for tacos! Love everything you do, and I’m sure this will be no exception
I made this last night; it’s really delicious! In fact, I was antsy all morning today; I couldn’t wait to have left-overs! Thanks for another great recipe.
I made these for lunch today, they’re so good on a hot summer day. It was my first time making your cashew cream, and it was amazing!! My lactose intolerant hubby liked it too! But, I’m always short on time, so I boil water and soak the cashews and almonds in that, cuts the soaking time in half.
Oh yum, these look divine.
I have EXACTLY the same problem — either a giant salad, or no veggies. So I think these taco wraps are going on the menu for this week… maybe in collard green wraps ;)
Hi Angela! I just made these for supper and they are delicious!! Love that they are full of veggies and that they are wrapped in lettuce… love the crunch! Thank you for sharing the recipe! :)
Such a delicious idea for a lunch! Not just vegan but also gluten free – love it!
I made this tonight and all 5 members of my family devoured it! Thank you! I’m watching my calorie intake and was wondering if I could use half as many walnuts and maybe add something else in their place? What would you suggest? More lentils? Veggies?
I absolutely love your blog… Without it I wouldn’t have been able to change my diet so seamlessly.
Hi Angela – Thanks for another awesome recipe! Just to share, I switched out the lentils for mushrooms. I cooked them down until they were soft and then followed the recipe from there. I really love lentils, but many painful tummy cramps later, I’ve finally had to admit they don’t agree with me. The mushrooms swap came out great – thanks for the inspiration!
I made these, adding some garlic, and they were absolutely amazing! I was blown away by how good these were. I even ate the lentil/walnut mix cold on top of a salad the next day. Still amazing! I’ve tried different “taco” recipes, but this blows everything else out of the water. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s a game changer for this little vegan!
This recipe literally has my mouth watering! Looks delicious, thank you for sharing <3
Loved the taco lentil-walnut meat! It was great!
I made this tonight and it’s honestly one of the best things I’ve made since I turned vegan. My husband and son tried it and loved the ‘meat’ and they are both committed carnivores. It was so easy to make but so blooming tasty.
I’ll be trying this so many different ways. Thanks so so much for this recipe
I made these tonight and they were every bit as delicious as they look in the photographs. I did use whole wheat tortillas instead of lettuce (didn’t have any on hand) and they were crazy good. Thank you for another great recipe. Rarely a day goes by without my recommending your site to someone.
I never liked to cook, just didn’t enjoy it. Until I found the blog My New Roots which had recipe from your book, which let me to buy immediately and now I’m in love!! Not only does everything I’ve made tastes fantastic I also LOVE to cook it!!! Joys spreading, several friends already purchased the book! Thank you!!!
OH. MY. This is the first recipe I try from here (after lurking around for two weeks nonstop) and now I can’t wait to try absolutely every other recipe. EVERY ONE OF THEM. This was absolutely delicious. It looked so simple but I fell in love with the first bite. My boyfriend loved it too. It was hard to not eat the leftovers.
Aw so happy to hear that Joannie! And thanks for taking the time to comment and say hello :)
I just made these tacos and the cashew “sour cream” too. They are SO delicious! Do you think the lentil/walnut filling would freeze??Thank you!
I tried these last night and they were DELICIOUS! Who knew lentil/walnut meat could be so tasty? The texture was spot-on. Will definitely make again. These were so good, I didn’t even miss having cheese sprinkled on top!!
Wow. These are smokin’ good. Filling, super satisfying, great flavor and texture and ridiculously fast to make. Boyfriend loved them too and he’s a carnivore through and through! They’re even better the next day as a salad.
I made these tonight and they were great and appreciated by all. Angela your recipes have transformed the way my family eats. Thank you!!
Do you think I could subst the lentils with beans??? I’m out of. Looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, I am a huge new fan of both the cookbook and the blog. I didn’t have any walnuts so I used the sunflower seeds in the taco meat. They were yummy but I think next time I will process them a bit before adding the lentils. they do add a nice crunch. Thanks so much for all of these great recipes. My boyfriend and I love love love everything we have tried. I got the cookbook from the library where I work, but it’s on my birthday wishlist now.
One of my favorite go-to healthy recipes when I am craving tacos =) Skip the wrap – go with the healthy greens!
Since this is a vegan meal, I can eat as much of this recipe as I want correct? Because this looks full of fabulosity and like something I’d find at Chipotle! It really does look incredible and I can’t wait to make it!
These look amazing but am wondering whether I could use a different type of nut? My little one finds them very bitter! Just wondering whether you think these would work with cashews or another type of nut? Macadamia perhaps? Anyway, the main purpose of my post is to thank you for all your gorgeous recipes and to wish you all the best regarding your imminent arrival! Blessings, Svet
I always love your recipes, i love the your book and have made many things but i think this is my favourite thing ever! Since I made it when you posted it last week its all I’ve been thinking of!
Oh yes, these are good! Made them tonight and we devoured them! I used black lentils, because I had them on hand, and they were awesome. I sauteed thin strips of yellow bell pepper, zucchini, and carrots (a great addition) and they were colorful, fun, and delish. Now I want to eat this “meat” on everything!!
I’m just venturing into a vegan lifestyle. This is the 2nd vegan dish I’ve made, and it’s excellent! My husband ate 3 servings (a miracle he even touched it, so it HAS to be good)! I added some sauteed baby bellas to the “meat mixture” since I needed to use them up. Love this blog!! Ordered the cookbook, can’t wait to get it!!!
I was very nervous making this but it turned out amazing! The flavours were delicious and my husband prefers this vegan version to a traditional beef taco filling! Thank you!
Oh I’m going to make this soon it actually looks good what I mean by that is I’m 15 weeks pregnant and veggies have made me so sick my whole pregnancy the thought of them is cringeworthy. Sigh heartbreaking for a preggo vegan.
These were incredible. THANK YOU! I have a fully belly. :D
Great recipe! I just found it to be very bland and added a lot more spices. Also could add some sauteed mushrooms to give it umami.
I absolutely love your recipes and your cookbook! I’m making these tonight!
I sautéed a cup of chopped brown mushrooms and onions, with steak spice and soy sauce. Then I added this into the food processor with lentils and walnuts. It turned out amazing, even my meat loving boyfriend said he would eat this again and again!
I made these using sunflower seeds rather than walnuts and they were delcious!!
Wow! I just made these for dinner tonight along with your sour cream recipe and they were spectacular! I had an avocado that was going to be too soft by tomorrow, so I sliced that up and also had some lovely heirloom cherry tomatoes that I diced up. I made LOTS of onions and peppers, too. Oh, it was so yummy! I just discovered your blog yesterday and will be a faithful follower!
Love this recipe! Lettuce wraps are definitely one of my favorites in the summer! I’m not a huge fan of walnuts. Do you think any other nuts — maybe almonds? — might serve as a decent substitution?
I made these a couple of nights ago and we all LOVED them, me, hub, and teenage daughters. I made them a little spicier with chipotle ground red pepper and they had a wonderful flavor and texture. My husband and I have a margarita taco booth at our school and church’s picnic every summer and we are going to add these tacos
Can’t wait to try. If there is leftover lentil walnut taco mixture, can you freeze it? Was wondering if it would turn out ok if frozen for later use. Thanks!
These are amazing and way better than the other kind…..new one to add to the amazing recipes I have tried from this site.
I’ve tried this today..absolutely delish….tasty. refreshing lite yet satisfying….yummy!
Hi- I made this while up at the cottage with my husband and we had guests for lunch one day (all confirmed non-vegetarians) ~ they wolfed it down!! It was really good. My husband really enjoyed it as well- we’d had it 2 days before as a dinner with grilled veggies. I have your cookbook and have made about 20 recipes from it– I made 6 of them in the first 48 hours after I got it!!! Well done and thank you for a fantastic book ~ can’t wait for volume 2 with all your other “new finds”!! My next purchase is going to be a Vitamix :) ~Thank you Angela!!
Hey Margaret, Aw thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m so happy you are enjoying so many recipes! All my best :)
Wow! I made this today (minus the cashew sour cream)! It’s truly amazing! I’ll be making this again!
This was WONDERFUL! I love the cashew sour cream. I would also recommend the extra peppers for those who like leftovers. I added garlic and serrano to the onion pepper mix, which are staples here! Thank you for this! I likewise totally pigged out on it! Some had it on chips, some in taco shells. All were happy!
Good evening Angela:
I made these today and served them to my carnivore husband. He loved them! He was a little apprehensive about the green wrap but the proof,for him, was in the eating. I served them with pico de gallo, guacamole and, of course, your sour cream.
The “meat” was so fresh and real tasting. With different seasonings it would make a terrific sloppy joe or sauce for pasta.
I have your book. I am using it every day. Thank you.
Made these for my daughter and son in law when they came for lunch. We all loved them!
Had some leftovers, and made a “taco salad” for my lunch the next day. Yum!
This was an awesome recipe!! Will be making again for sure!! Thank you!
I can’t wait to try these lentil-walnut tacos with the cashew sour cream.
My husband – due to health issues – went vegan overnight! Plus no salt – no oil – no
flour/carbs. Cooking has been difficult. Finding your site is a god-send!
Thank you.
Hi Angela,
thanks for your beautiful and inspiring blog! I just made these Ultimate Taco Wraps today and they were so delicious. I was obviously too hungry when I made these because not until now, looking at the pictures again, I realized that I forgot to put tomato in the tacos. Well, I’ll definitely remember them tomorrow, when I’m making a new batch.
Greetings from Finland!
Made these last night with hubby and they were FANTASTIC!!! We had the leftover taco meat on salads today for lunch. SO GOOD! I don’t know why we waited so long to try the walnut lentil taco meat…it is incredible! I am 23 weeks pregnant, and I may try to batch prep and freeze some of the this before baby arrives. :)