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!
Related vegan taco recipes:
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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. ;-)
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 look so incredible, they would be so perfect for lunch right now!! Love the bright colors!
Thanks, Brandi! :-)
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. ;-)
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?!
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! ;-)
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! :-)
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!
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. :-)
Tacos are just perfect vessels of awesome…always ;)
I totally agree with you, Rebecca! :-)
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.