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
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I finally got around to making these and they were GREAT! A perfect lunch. Thanks so much for yet another staple recipe. : )
Yes! I LOVE this recipe! Thank you for all you put out there and share with us. You are so lovely and candid. A breath of fresh air. Congrats on your pregnancy! Oh happy day!
This was really amazing. I’m definitely going to make this again and I’ve already shared this recipe with a few people.
Tip for those who don’t have acces to cashew creme fraiche: I used a mix of soy yoghurt, lemon juice, gyros herb mix and a bit of ginger syrup.
I just made this meal and it was DELICIOUS!! I never would have thought the lentils would make such a perfect taco filling! The taste and texture were both perfect- thank you for helping me make my transition to a vegan life easier. :-)
AHHH! OK. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CREATING THIS GOODNESS! I’ve now made this recipe about 8 times, gone through 3 bottles of hot sauce and 4 heads of romaine (and everything else included)! I ate these for a week straight and didn’t want anything else. I’ve never been this addicted to a recipe before. I usually eat paleo, and needed a break from the meat. PERFECT. I’ve also made it with sprouted red and brown french lentils and it turned out fabulously. Eeeee can’t stop telling everyone about this recipe!
This was my dinner last night – I had six of them! I used the filling in romaine leaves like shown, and mixed up that amazing sour cream in my Vitamix (YUM) but went with chunky homemade guacamole and chopped tomatoes for the other fillings. It was divine, and even my teenage daughter approved!
I just piled all this on a bunch of baby greens and avocado. It pretty much made the most amazing taco salad if my life! They were leftovers too! The cashew sour cream is so easy, and so delicious. Thank you for being so generous with your genius!
Hi – Have tried the recipe with both toasted walnuts and toasted raw sunflower seeds, and they are awesome… in slightly different ways, of course! I didn’t process in the sunflower seeds as they are pretty small already. Cheers!
Just wanted to say thank you for this wonderful recipe. It was hit with me and my husband! It’s taste was fresh and super delicious. Ate this straight now going on 3 days and more ahead.
I made thise for my non-vegan family as a taco salad. For the dressing I combined your vegan sour cream with salsa. It was a great big hit with everyone, even my three year old niece. Thanks again for all your incredible recipes – I haven’t made one yet that wasn’t delicious.
Angela, these were AMAZING! I have to tell you that EVERY single recipe I try of your’s is brilliant and absolutely delish. My husband (the meat-atarian) is definitely loving them as well, so thank you for sharing your gifts with us all. Enjoy the sunshine! xo
Just made this recipe exactly as written and I cant stay out of it!! Love the flavor and the texture! And it’s a nice change from my usual black bean tacos. Great recipe!!! Next on the list….cashew sour cream! :)
Amazing recipe!
These looked so delicious and tasted even better….
thanks so much
I made these last Friday as my cheat meal (I’m a figure competitor). Okay, People, you’re going to want to double everything because these tacos are out of this world! I mean, honestly, how else are you going to get your six-year-old to love walnuts? My whole family devoured them! They are now on my list of awesome Friday night delights. Oh, and the cashew sour cream is delicious. If you’re using a Vitamix, double that, too, so you can get it nice and creamy.
These are so delicious and you can eat them with abandon knowing they’re full of goodness! Made them with the vegan sour cream first but went without the second time and they were just as good.
Made exactly as directed. So delicious and fresh. Loved it!
My prairie-boy meat eating husband’s review “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with these”.
Saw them, made them, loved them.
I am usually not a fan of “replacing” dairy products, but the vegan sour cream is simple and delicious, and tastes surprisingly like sour cream.
Nicely done Angela!
5 Star Rating!
Made this for a lunch – had some meat-eating guests who were delighted to devour it all up! Will try it again in a bread wrap for work lunches.