1-Pot Smoky Lentil Vegan Taco “Meat”

I made this recipe today – doubled it in fact for the week ahead. I used braggs liquid aminos instead of coconut aminos. I did use the nutritional yeast and lemon instead of lime (didn’t have lime). I did not use the chipotle pepper in adobe for fear of scaring off my younger child. It is delish! Thanks so much for the easy, yummy, filling recipe to feed my mostly vegetarian family!

This recipe was so easy to make and filled with flavor! I highly recommend this recipe….it does not disappoint!

This recipe is on our menu almost every week. So easy to make, tasty and my kids love it!

These lentils are AMAZING! We love tacos in our house and these were a hit. Thank you!

This is delicious, I’ve made it many times. Always very popular and doesn’t last long. Have a question – did the recipe change? I’m sure it used to have apple cider vinegar too.

AMAZING!!! So delicious, my husband didn’t even miss the meat!

This is a great vegan option for taco filling! Most of my family eats meat except one son and his fiancée. I try to find alternative for them when we have family dinners and this recipe was amazing! Thank you.

This recipe was absolutely fantastic. I followed every step and it turned out perfectly. Stuffed inside hard taco shells with some vegan cheese on top – to die for! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe ❤️

This is in my bi-weekly rotation and my go-to recipe to make for my friends who aren’t plant based! All have loved it so far and have tried making it themselves.

Delightful! Super smoky and spicy. I was a little skeptical about the carrots but boy was I wrong – it came out so good!

Guys this is SO freaking good! I made this recipe exactly as the instructions directed. With some lime, red cabbage and cilantro. It does NOT disappoint. Such a wholesome and healthy recipe that tastes so good. Don’t walk RUN to make this recipe!

Made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing. So flavorful and delicious in some hard shelled blue corn tacos with tomato, spring greens, guacamole & vegan Miyoko’s cheddar cheese. So incredibly good. Will be making this as my go to taco filling from now on. Vegan family with preschoolers approved! Delish!

I’ve made this recipe probably a dozen times. A real keeper. One of my favorite things to make! I usually use Siete cassava tortillas and add homemade pickled red onions, pico de gallo, radish sprouts and a little more lime to the top of the lentil meat.

This recipe is fantastic, although I must say I’ve made a few adaptions. First time I made this I started with dry lentils because I misread the recipe before doing my shopping. The rest of the changes followed from there. Where the recipe says to add the cooked lentils, I add 1 cup dry red lentils and 2 cups water. This needs to cook for about ten minutes to soften up. While it’s cooking, I crumble in about half a block of tofu – instead of using any carrots or sweet potato – because I like to get a lot of protein. I probably end up tripping the amount of spices called for because I’m not exactly sure how much my recipe yields in comparison to the original. And I top my tacos with chopped lettuce, pico de gallo, minced jalapeño, and avocado. Yum!

Since I’ve made this more than 10x I should probably review it to let others know how magically delicious it is. I do half shredded carrot and half shredded sweet potatoes to get the best of both flavors.

Made this for a quick Meatless Monday lunch and it was DELICIOUS! I used fresh jalapeno, and sautéed with the onion. Used a box grater and the carrots were just fine. What a great recipe!

Forgot to give this 5 stars, even tho it deserves 10!

So amazing, the flavor is out of this world! I shredded my carrots on the small grater and that was good. Had it with the crunchy jicama slaw and couldn’t believe my taste buds. I want this for dinner every night. Seriously! Can’t wait to share this with friends!

I’m a huge fan of your recipes, & I’ve had this one bookmarked for sooo long… I finally made it tonight. Wow. Just… WOW. The hubs & I love tacos & could seriously eat them every day, so now that I’ve tried it, this recipe will definitely be added to our regular rotation. So easy to throw together, but amazingly packed with flavor! I followed the recipe exactly, except… I didn’t read it closely enough & used some ground chipotle powder & a pinch of adobo seasoning instead of what’s written. But a minor change & it still turned out absolutely amazing. I’ll probably double the recipe next time! Thank you so much for another outstanding recipe!!!

Yum, super nostalgic, like a throwback to taco nights as a kid.

We followed the recipe for 6 servings. It fed two of us and we are not big eaters. I think 1/2 cup cooked lentils is considered a serving of legumes and the recipe only used 1 1/4 cups. So, I think when it says 6 servings it means 6 small tacos. We LOVED them. We did not add any sugar or salt but we did use 2 teaspoons of tamari since that is similar to coconut aminos which we did not have. We added a little extra chili powder. This recipe is definitely a keeper. It was easy to make and so delicious.

I used this recipe and put the lentils on tostadas, it was really flavorful!

WOW!! We just made these for lunch and they are incredible and easy! Even my meat loving husband who typically complains when I serve him my “fake” (read, healthy plants, nuts, etc. LOL) food, gobbled it up and even suggested we could make it and switch up different seasonings NEXT time. This is now a staple I will be sharing with so many!!

So freaking yummy! Thank you!

I rarely leave reviews on recipes, but I felt like I needed to for this one… BEST. VEGAN. TACOS. EVER. make them. you won’t regret it.

Being vegan & gluten-free, this site is *always* my go-to for meal ideas and almost always the recipes are a hit! But this one really just knocked it out of the park (which is truly saying something since I’ve tried & loved many MB recipes). I made the recipe exactly as is, using water to sauté the veggies, and I added all of the spices including the nutritional yeast but I did leave out the coconut sugar. I was feeling too lazy to put it in the food processor, but some gentle mashing with my spoon created a nice texture anyway. Highly recommend serving it with shredded red cabbage, guacamole/avocado, some lime juice, and hot sauce! Thank you for a fantastic recipe that is sure to be in our regular rotation.

This is my favorite meat-less taco filling by far! I’ve made it many times now and even my non-vegetarian family members love it. It’s super simple, satisfying, and flavorful. Works great for tacos and as a burrito filling or topping for a salad. I never have chipotle peppers on hand, but will add cayenne pepper powder or hot sauce for extra heat. Highly recommend!

What a great recipe, thank you so much. It was the first time I made tacos and it was a hit. I followed the recipe as written and made your cashew queso and guacamole as well. The tacos were store bought but will try your recipe for our next taco night.

I doubled this and froze it in 1-cup portions that I can pull out and reheat later. I grated a carrot and a sweet potato because I only had one carrot on hand, and I really liked the texture the sweet potato brought as it cooked down! I didn’t add the adobo because I didn’t have any, but I did add liquid smoke and it was [chef’s kiss]. My future self thanks you for this freezer meal!

This was delicious! I made this last night for my family and the only alteration I made was adding about three chipotle peppers instead of the one. It was so smoky and wonderful.

This was a great recipe! I have a plethora of lentils now and this was delicious, flavorful and as a taco lover, I did NOT miss the meat! I added an extra teaspoon of cumin, and a tiny bit of hot paprika instead of smoked paprika. Also, I added some Sazon to my carrots while they were sauteeing. Loved it!

Yum! This was such a great recipe! I didn’t have peppers in adobe sauce so I roasted jalapeno, pablano & tomato and made my own “semi adobe” sauce w/spices etc. and it worked great. Followed the rest of the recipe. Homemade tortillas & guac & a bunch of other topping and bam….it was amazing. Thank you!

Kinda like a taco filling version of the beloved lentil bolognese from your blog – and every bit as delicious! I didn’t use anything to blend but just kinda kept mashing as it cooked and the consistency was perfect.

I honestly cannot remember if I have left a comment on this recipe or not, but even if I did it is worth doing it again! My daughter found this one over the summer and we revisited it last night and it is fantastic. My kids enjoy it as tacos, I threw it on a salad, and my husband ate it plain. Very savory and flavorful and an excellent way for me to transition to a plant-based diet. Thank you for doing it again!

Tried this tonight. Easy, tasty and healthy. I used dried lentils as they don’t take long to cook. Loved the idea of using shredded carrots for texture. Used a tiny bit of soy sauce for umami instead of coconut aminos. The whole family liked it, even my “lentil hating” husband.

Very tasty

Delicious filling! Love the texture and bite of the lentils and smoky flavors. We eat it with the nacho flavored hard taco shells and top it with lettuce to riff Taco Bell tacos 😁. This recipe is on the weeknight meal rotation. Thank you!

This recipe was SO delicious. I’m always looking for great vegan taco variations, and this hit the spot. I had to sub soy sauce for coconut aminos, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly!

She does it again! I think I overcooked my carrots and lentils so the texture was not very “meaty”, but the flavors were ON POINT. It’s spicy, sweet, warming, and hearty. I served over some rice, avocado, and lettuce. I didn’t want to serve it with anything too strong in flavor because I didn’t want to take away from the perfection of this dish!

This recipe is amazing! I tried it tonight purely as I had some green lentils lying around my pantry, and was pleasantly surprised by the result. One of the best, if not the best, vegan taco meats!

This lentil meat is so delicious, I’ve made it 2x this week. I didn’t have coconut aminos so I subbed with tamari and I didn’t have limes, and it still turned out amazing. I can’t wait till I have those 2 ingredients to see how it changes the flavor profile. I’ll definitely be making this again and again, and I would highly recommend this to people who are looking for a “meaty” taste.

Delicious!! I added extra cumin, paprika, chipotle and extra splash of lime. So savory and great textures. Zingy. Sweet, spicy. Served on warm corn tortillas with melted violife cheddar, shredded red cabbage, home pickled red onion, avocado and culantro

Made these tonight for “Taco Tuesday”. They were delicious. The favour combinations worked really well and the texture was great. The best part is that my “chicken fajita loving” kiddos also enjoyed them. I’m trying to slowly incorporate more and more plant-based meals into our diet… so always a big hit when the kids enjoy it. (And BTW, your website is a major source of inspiration for this transition).

We added avocados into our tacos too :)

100% delicious, I’ve made it twice already and I’m going to make it again. This is a great staple that will satisfy the meat eaters as well

This was so yummy! I’ve made it twice already and will be making it regularly. Love that it’s budget friendly. I omitted the sweetener and it still tasted great. Served burrito style with some massaged kale, tomato, and avocado sauce. Yum!

Used this as empanada filling, it was delicious! The texture and hearty flavor was perfect for a vegan “beef” empanada. I love how the ingredients are so simple and affordable. I’ll definitely be making this again.

I saw the video this morning and realized I have so many carrots I need to use. I added tempeh just cuz I have some and figured it would lend to the meaty texture.

Amazing recipe. The perfect thing to quell my spice cravings.

Second time making this and wow – so good and so easy!!! My boyfriend is actually the one who requested I make it again, so it passes the ultimate test. I make mine with black beans which I highly recommend.

LOVED this recipe!! we are spice fiends so we actually nearly doubled the cumin, paprika and chili powder. added a pinch of cayenne pepper to give it a kick and added ~1/4 cup of salsa in to give it a tomatoey saucey texture rather than blending a portion of it. Instant favorite!

Delicious taco filling! Never would have thought to use carrots in something like this but the texture is so great. I made a double batch and froze half to bring for an easy camping meal and it kept very well.
Thanks!!

This recipe was a nice change of pace. I had so many carrots to use up, so gave it a try. Adjusted seasonings to my taste, added a a cap full of liquid smoke for an extra Smokey flavor.
Will be making this again.
Thank you,
Trina

Yes, please!! My daughter (12) made this last night and it was a hit! We used carrots and gluten-free soy sauce and it was super. She ate them in the tacos, I ate threw it on top of a salad and my husband ate it with rice. My only thing I would tweak would be to throw some heat via cayenne or red pepper flakes for those who want it.

I really liked this recipe. I used the precooked lentils in the fridge aisle from Trader Joe’s. No Chile in adobo but threw in a small can of mild green chilies I also had from Trader Joe’s. I used a whole grated sweet potato. I don’t think you’ll “fool” people into thinking it’s meat, but it was like super delicious bean base for taco night. Topped with a vinegary coleslaw I had, avocado and hot sauce on corn tortillas. Super super good. No need to blend in my opinion. Will make again for sure.

Delicious! Tacos are a favorite of ours, and this will be added to our regular rotation. We doubled the recipe, adjusted some of the seasonings to suit our tastes, skipped the sugar and added some apple cider vinegar instead.

Wowza, this was tasty. I love the smokiness that the chipotle brings, and I found the texture to be perfect for tacos. I made your corn tortilla recipe for these, and topped with roasted cauliflower, cabbage slaw, and cashew cream. This will be a regular in our house now! Thanks, MB!

This was simple and oh, so flavorful! We loved it.

This was the best tacos we’ve had.

The best things about this recipe (in my opinion) are that it comes together quickly and is very flexible. I made several modifications and it still turned out wonderfully. I used canned pinto beans instead of lentils. Since I only had regular paprika I added a dash of liquid smoke to get that smoky taste. I left the chipotle pepper and nutritional yeast out. I used soy sauce instead of coconut aminos and started with 1 tsp to avoid over salting. Put it all together in tacos topped with chopped tomato and a cashew jalapeno sauce that I whipped up. Absolutely delicious, really filling, and healthy! This will definitely be my go-to taco filling from now on. I’m looking forward to trying it with other proteins.

Sorry but this is the exact same as your one-pot barbacoa (which has been a go-to for me for months!) What’s the difference?

These are amazing, smokey, spicy and a little sweet! We ended up doubling the recipe and used half carrot and half sweet potato, cut on a mandoline. We used 2 peppers – rather large, but perfect level of spice. The sweet potato definitely gave it more of a dense consistency, perhaps more like taco meat. We used French green lentils. We used the small jar on the Blendtec to blend half of it and that made the consistency ideal as a taco filling. We used corn tortillas and topped with avocado. They were great with a side of stir fried red peppers and zucchini. Very filling! We will definitely make it again, even my 14 year old daughter ate it.

Hi Dana!
You’ve done it yet again. An awesome recipe using all the ingredients I already had on hand. I omitted the onions because I don’t li me them. I doubled the recipe, so unfortunately I had to use a wok instead of a skillet and could not cover the wok. However, it still came out delicious in the end 😊.

delicious, loved it!

I made this!! It was delicious!!! But be careful w/ the chipotle as they can make the dish a little too spicy. I doubled the recipe and used 3 peppers and that was a little too many for my kids but my husband and I LOVED it!! Will definitely make again!!

I made these tacos for dinner tonight—they were fantastic! It’s often a challenge finding recipes that my entire family likes, but, like many Minimalist Baker recipes, this was a winner. An added plus was that it was also nice and easy for a weeknight meal. I subbed sweet potato for the carrot, but otherwise followed ther recipe to the letter. I suspect that we’ll be making these regularly.