Break out your slow cooker folks. That’s how easy I’m making this recipe for Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos. Throw all your ingredients in and, voila! Tacs (pronounced “tahks”) – in two hours, barely any effort required.
My recipe for Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos was almost named “Hybrid Gringo-Mexican Vegan Tacos” instead. Why, you ask? Yes, you are correct. I have a taco story I’d like to tell you. Actually, less a story and more a lesson.
The boy and I ventured down to Maxwell Street Market a few weekends ago for breakfast tacos. No, these were not egg and cheese and sausage filled. It was indeed about 10 a.m., but I ate lingua (beef tongue) and nopales (cactus) tacs. I ordered in español (brushes shoulder off) and then el vendedor asked, Quieres gringo o mexicano? … Um, hi, what?
This is what I learned: Gringo Tacos = lettuce, tomato, cheese. Mexican Tacos = onion, cilantro, lime. Somehow, I walked away feeling as if American-style tacos are inferior and I may never eat one again. (Lies. I will certainly, at some point, prepare ground beef with McCormick Taco Seasoning, stuff them into taco shells, top them with lettuce, tomato, and cheese, and serve them to my kids. Or maybe I’ll be that mom who all the other moms scoff at because her kids just loooove Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos. I hereby pray for children with refined palates.)
Regardless, I went deep into my files to find this recipe and these pictures. I mean, I rolled the “My Documents” folder back to 2015 and sitting there were these pictures of Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos, which I wouldn’t classify as either Gringo or Mexican. Which is fitting. We’re talking about me, after all. Is anything I do “inside the box?”
Nope. These tacs – Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos – are hybrids. Missing tomato and cheese to call them American. Missing cilantro and lime to call them Mexican. If I’m honest – and I’ll let you in on a little secret here – I’m fairly sure I chose these toppings not because they were somehow more authentic, but because I thought the color would look pretty in pictures. And I was right about that.
Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos
Break out your slow cooker folks. That’s how easy I’m making this recipe for Easy Vegan Lentil Tacos. Throw all your ingredients in and, voila!
Ingredients
For taco filling
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 cup quinoa
- 4 cups water
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large onion minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and black pepper to taste
For taco assembly
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 3 cups shredded lettuce
- Any other American-style or Mexican-style toppings your heart desires
Instructions
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Add all taco filling ingredients to your slow cooker except for salt and pepper. Cook on high about 2 hours or until lentils and quinoa are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Assemble tacos. I’ve used shredded lettuce and diced red onion to add color and crunch, but use any toppings you’d like. For “American style” tacos, add lettuce, tomato, and cheese. For “Mexican style” add diced onion, cilantro, and lime.
