Who needs ground beef when you can fill your tacos with this delicious lentil walnut meat? I’ve always loved tacos, burritos, and Mexican food in general, but these vegan tacos with lentil walnut meat and homemade cashew sour cream we had the other day seriously blew my mind! A fresh, healthy, and savory filling topped with creamy sour cream all in a crispy portable shell – I mean how much better can life actually get?!
If you want it even healthier, try serving the filling in lettuce shells. Of course the taco lettuce wraps can’t make up for the crispiness of the real taco shells, but it’s still really delicious and just perfect for a healthy snack or a light dinner.
The lentil walnut meat already tastes awesome on its own, but I think it’s even better with sour cream. I just love the combo of this hearty vegan meat alternative (I actually hate using this word as it’s not just a substitute but sooo much better!) and the creaminess and slightly sour taste of cashew sour cream. I also like eating this easy vegan version of sour cream together with potatoes and salad. The recipe really couldn’t be easier. You only need four ingredients (not including salt and pepper): cashews, water, one clove of garlic, and lemon juice. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. I also used avocado, kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, and some lettuce to fill the taco.
I hope you like Mexican food as much as I do and give these vegan tacos with lentil walnut meat a try! If you do let me know how you liked them. I always love hearing from you guys! :-) Hope you all have a great week!
If you like these vegan tacos with lentil walnut meat or Mexican food in general, check out this tofu chili:
Vegan Tacos with Lentil Walnut Meat
Ingredients
For the lentil walnut meat:
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- salt
- black pepper
For the vegan sour cream:
- 1 cup cashews, soaked for 30 minutes
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 clove of garlic
- salt
- black pepper
For the tacos:
- 1 tomato
- 1 avocado
- 1 cup kidney beans
- 1 cup corn
- lettuce
- about 8 taco shells
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to the instructions. Drain and set aside. In a medium pan, roast the walnuts without oil for about 2 minutes or until they're lightly golden. Put the walnuts and the cooked lentils in a food processor and process until chopped. Make sure to leave some texture!
- In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sautée the onions for about 3 minutes. Then add the lentil walnut mixture and stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and the spices (paprika powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper).
- Make the sour cream: Drain the cashews and put all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Fill the taco shells with the lentil walnut meat, tomato, avocado, kidney beans, corn, and lettuce and top with sour cream.
Oh my gosh! These vegan tacos look just so YUM, Sina! Lentils and walnut are the most addicting things! Con’t wait to try these beauties! YUMMY!
Thanks, Anu! :-) I totally agree with you. Lentils are sooo good and healthy at the same time! They’re one of my favorite foods.
Tacos are just perfect vessels of awesome…always ;)
I totally agree with you, Rebecca! :-)
Tacos are one of the most fun things to veganize because you can hide all sorts of nutrition things under that myriad of spices and it almost always tastes exactly like tacos! I’ve never tried lentils, but I love lentils in veggie burgers, so I bet it would be deeelicious! And these pictures are beautiful! How you managed to get so many of them standing up in one pic is a mystery to me, mine are usually flopping all over the place :D haha Awesome recipe!
That’s so true, Natalie! :-) If you love lentil burgers I guess you should really give these guys a try. ;-) I was actually having the same problems when I took the pictures. Haha! They just wouldn’t stand up for even a second and I was getting reeeally hungry!! But then I had the idea to just put a lemon behind them to hold them up, which worked really well. So in the end, I was actually able to take some pictures and eat them before I was starving. :-)
Wow, Sina these look fantastic – and read fantastic too. I do use lentils (and keep cooked bags of them in the freezer) but haven’t given them a taco vibe. Totally doing this the next taco craving! Pinning etc :-)
Thanks, Kellie! :-) Oh I’ve never thought of freezing lentils. This is such a great idea! Do you just cook them and put them in freezer bags or in containers? I really gotta try this, it probably saves lots of time!
Oooh I love walnuts in sweets but never think to incorporate them in savoury!
Yeah, they’re so versatile and delicious! You really should give them a try in savoury meals, Kavey! :-)
You need to get yourself a Taco holder to make them stand up effortlessly! Love the vibrant colours and flavours.
Oh I’ve never known that there is such a thing as a taco holder, Claire! Haha. Thanks so much for the tip. :-) I really struggled to make them stand up, so I guess this will definitely help! ;-)
Wow, these looks so good! I love adding walnuts to “meat.” Your pictures seriously have me drooling!! Yum!
Haha! Thanks, Jenn! :-) The same happened to me when I looked at your bean tostadas yesterday! Isn’t Mexican food just awesome?!
these tacos looks absolutely divine Sina, I wish I had this for lunch today! *drooling*
Thanks, Manali! :-) So glad you like them and sorry for making you drool. ;-)
These look so incredible, they would be so perfect for lunch right now!! Love the bright colors!
Thanks, Brandi! :-)
wow! pinned these ;-) I definitely want to try these the lentil meat sounds amazing! I need some tacos I have been missing them for so long! YUM!
Thanks so much for pinning them, Michele! :-) Oh yeah, I just love tacos and Mexican food in general! Let me know how you liked them. ;-)
These tacos are perfect! I am obsessed with walnut meat, and I love that you added lentils into the mix – that’s such a great idea! I definitely need to try these! So yummy!
Thanks, Harriet! :-) Let me know how you liked them. ;-)
This is such a great recipe, Sina! I love Mexican food and I can’t wait to make this meat replacer.
Thanks, Linda! :-) Can’t wait to hear how you liked it.
Wow, that lentil filling looks AMAZING! :) And I love Mexican food. This while dish sounds absolutely delicious <3
Thanks so much, Audrey! :-) Mexican food is just awesome!
I cant believe these tacos are VEGAN!!! Vegan sour cream? Wow. Girl, you seriously just made my day! Delicious!
Haha! You’re welcome, Lucie! ;-) So glad you like them!
Hi Sina! These lentil tacos sounds so delicious!! And your photography is stunning! I absolutely love how colorful and bright it is xo
Thanks so much, Cara! :-) So glad you like them!
oh wow love the look of these full of flavor
Thanks, Rebecca! :-)
Sounds really, really great! Will be tested today :)
Thanks, Stevie! :-) I hope you liked it!
Oh yes, liked it so much! Thanks a lot! :)
Have you ever tried freezing any leftover “meat”? Seems to me that it would freeze fairly well. If you have tried it, how have you heated it up?
Hi Amanda! No, I haven’t tried freezing it yet as we didn’t have any leftovers yet. Haha! We’re good eaters. ;-) But I also think it would probably freeze well. Have to give this a try. Let me know if you do too. :-)
I can not pin any of your recipes. When I try to it takes me to a page of all pin pages to follow. .
I don’t know what to do , can you help?
Hi Jeanne, I’m sorry, I haven’t had that problem before. :-( Are you trying to directly pin from my blog? If yes, you could also go to my Pinterest page (https://www.pinterest.com/veganheavenorg/ ) and pin the recipes from there. Or have you tried using another browser?
I’ll be making these soon. I don’t miss taco meat at all, but I’m trying to find a vegan version my meat-eating son-in-law will love as much so I don’t have to cook meat when our families get together for taco night. These look delicious! Sharing it, with gratitude, as my pick for #RecipeOfTheDay today on my foodie Facebook page, Twitter and elsewhere.
I really hope your family will like them, Kathryn! :-) And thanks so much for sharing! <3
Woowwww, this looks sooo delicious! I love the idea of replacing minced meat with walnuts and lentils, this will come on my list of “recipes-I-want-to-try-very-soon-because-they-look-so-delicious” ;)
Thanks, Frauke! So glad you like it. It’s one of our favorite recipes around here. Perfect for Taco Tuesday! :-)
Hi Sina, I made these tacos for lunch today as my friend stopped by and we loved them, all of us, including my kids and husband. I go almost 100% vegan and your recipes are so refreshing and original. You are great inspiration. Thank you!
Hi Michaela, So glad you guys liked them! They’re one of our favorites around here too! :-) And thanks so much for the compliment. So great to have you as a reader!!
I made these yesterday and they were simply amazing!!!! The sour cream is great too! Thank you for sharing!
Does this meat hold up well in the freezer?? Also how long does the sour cream last? Looks amazing ?
Hi Jenna, Thanks so much! :-) The sour cream lasts for about 2 days in the fridge if you put it in an airtight container. Unfortunately I haven’t tried freezing the lentil walnut meat myself yet, but a friend of mine did and she said it worked pretty well. Hope that helps!
The absolute best vegan taco meat I have made since becoming vegan over 2 years ago. My search is finally over. I LOVE YOU! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Hi Heidi, Thanks so much for your comment. So glad you like it this much! <3
Is it one cup of cooked lentils or one cup uncooked?
I have the same question! It makes a huge difference in the texture. I’ve tried it both ways, and think I like it better with less lentils, but then it makes a lot less and it’d be much higher in fat because you’re eating more walnuts. Would love to know how it was intended!
I made these tacos for dinner tonight, they were wonderful ! Thank you!
I made these for dinner last night. Everyone loved them. We will for sure be having these again! Thank you!
Biggest problem I see with this recipe is actually getting the “meat” to the taco without eating it all first. Supper isn’t for another 30 minutes and I think I have 1/2 of it eaten already! DEE-licious! You need to try this. I toasted the walnuts in the oven for 10 minutes, that’s about the only change I made.
Excuse me while I go have just ONE more spoonful…..
So good! Thank you!
Incredible recipe! Featuring it on my blog tomorrow morning in my southwestern taco recipe. Thank you for sharing, even my carnivorous family members loved it!