Description
Learn how to make this simple and delicious lentil and walnut taco meat. It’s a delicious, vegan, gluten-free and soy-free!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted walnuts
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh lime juice, as desired
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add in the walnuts along with enough lukewarm water to fully submerge the nuts. In a separate bowl, add in the lentils also with enough lukewarm water to cover them. Soak both the walnuts and lentils for about 30 minutes.
- Once the walnuts have finished soaking, drain them and transfer them to a cutting board (or a food processor). We just let the lentils continue to sit in the water during this time. Roughly chop the walnuts until they have broken down into a “meat crumble”-like texture. You don’t want them to be powder, you want them to still have some texture in the mixture.
- In the medium-sized pan, add in 1 tablespoon of cooking oil along. Once warm, add in the onions and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add in the chopped walnuts, cumin, chili powder, oregano and cayenne, and cook for 1 minute more.
- Drain the lentils and add them into the mixture along with the liquid smoke, tomatoes, and broth. Mix until everything is combined and then bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Allow the mixture to simmer covered for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the lid from the pan and continue sautéing until the liquid has cooked off and the lentils are soft.
- Remove from heat and add in the cilantro. Mix until well combined and serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can skip the walnuts if you would like.
- We used green lentils for this recipe but you could really use any variety that is available to you.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
Keywords: Vegan, Gluten-free, Soy-free, entree, taco, lentil, walnut