These nutritious and naturally vegan lentil tacos come together with just 5 simple ingredients in the Instant Pot. Serve this meatless taco filling in tortillas piled high with your favorite taco toppings, on nachos, or in a salad.
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We love cooking with lentils – they’re an incredibly versatile plant-based protein (15g of protein per serving!) and adapt to whatever flavors you’re cooking with. Lentils are delicious in our sweet potato lentil stew and vegetarian lentil curry, and today we’re using them to make tacos in the Instant Pot!
This 5 ingredient meatless taco “meat” takes less than 30 minutes to cook in the Instant Pot making this a great recipe for busy weeknights or a fun twist on Taco Tuesday. Simply add everything to the Instant Pot, cook on high for 15 minutes, and enjoy.
Featured Comment
“My teenage daughter made this for the family dinner tonight. It was so easy and delicious! We are trying to to be more plant-based and no one in the family missed the meat that would usually be in our tacos.” – Maureen
What is in lentil tacos?
Lentil tacos are a perfect vegan/vegetarian ground beef replacement and all you need are 5 ingredients for this taco recipe:
- Lentils
- Vegetable broth
- Green chiles
- Tomato sauce
- Taco seasoning
Variations of Lentil Tacos
Easily adapt this lentil tacos recipe to your taste preferences.
Lentils: We like to use dried green lentils, but any color works great.
Spice: For more spice, add another can of green chiles and an extra 1-2 teaspoons of taco seasoning. For less spice, use 1 can of green chiles.
Sauciness: Once the lentils are cooked and resting, they will absorb the excess liquid. For saucier lentil tacos, mix in a little more tomato sauce (1 tablespoon at a time) before serving.
Taco Seasoning: This recipe is a great way to use our homemade taco seasoning. Your favorite store-bought seasoning also works. You’ll need 3 tablespoons total!
And, for other vegetarian tacos, give our vegan sweet potato tacos and tofu tacos a try!
FAQ
Why are my lentils still crunchy?
If the lentils are still a bit crunchy, cook them for another 2-3 minutes. This shouldn’t happen but could depending on your Instant Pot or lentils.
Can you use any kind of dried legume for these tacos?
We have only tested this recipe with dried lentils, so if you try this with any other kind of dried beans let us know how it turns out!
Try These Tacos Next
Tacos are a household favorite around here! A few other go-to taco recipes are:
Storage
This lentil taco meat is great for meal-prep. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy cold or reheat for homemade tacos anytime!
Freezer Instructions for Lentil Tacos
To freeze individual servings of already cooked lentil taco meat, transfer to freezer cubes or any freezer-safe container you’d like to use. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw and reheat before serving. We share more details in the recipe notes about freezing the ingredients for lentil tacos to use at a later date.
Serving Suggestions
Top your lentil tacos with your favorite taco toppings like fresh tomatoes, classic guacamole, and vegan queso, or serve this meatless taco meat on top or a salad or as a dip with tortilla chips.
Lentil Tacos (in the Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 cup green lentils
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 4.5-oz can green chiles
- 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into the Instant Pot and mix to combine.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, seal the vent, and set the Instant Pot to manual > high > and set the timer to 15 minutes*. It will take your Instant Pot around 5 to 10 minutes to build pressure before it starts to count down from 15.
- Once the timer goes off, open the vent to quick release and let the steam pour out. Once the Instant Pot unlocks, open the lid and stir.
- Let sit for around 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with all of your favorite taco fixings.
Tips & Notes
- Cook Time: If your lentils are still a little crunchy after 15 minutes in the Instant Pot, close the lid and cook for an additional 2 minutes at a time until they’ve reached your desired texture. As the lentils sit, they will absorb more moisture and thicken.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy cold or reheat for homemade tacos anytime!
- Freezer Instructions: Transfer individual servings of lentil tacos to freezer cubes or any freezer-safe container you’d like to use. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw and reheat before serving.
How to Freeze Individual Components to Cook at a Later Date
- Place all ingredients (except the vegetable broth) into a freezer-safe container such as a plastic gallon-size bag, Stasher bag, or glass container and mix.
- Remove as much air as possible and seal.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
To Cook (From Frozen in the Instant Pot)
Ingredients to Add Before Cooking- 1.5 cups vegetable broth (or any kind of broth or water)
- Run the frozen bag of lentil taco ingredients under hot water for a few seconds to loosen the lentils from the bag.
- Transfer all of the contents of the bag into the Instant Pot and add 1.5 cups vegetable broth.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, seal the vent, and set the Instant Pot to manual > high > and set the timer to 15 minutes*. It will take your Instant Pot around 5 to 10 minutes to build pressure before it starts to count down from 15.
- Once the timer goes off, open the vent to quick release and let the steam pour out. Once the Instant Pot unlocks, open the lid and stir.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with all of your favorite taco fixings.
These are so great. I’m not vegan but I prefer these to regular tacos. I add a diced up chipotle pepper in adobo sauce for a little bit of spice and Smokey flavor.
Love the adobo add!
After trying your Vegan Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta last night, I was scouring your site for some other options! I just made this to have for dinner tonight and it is wonderful! I’ve already had more than a “taste”! 😉
I made this as written with the exception I didn’t have any tomato sauce, so I threw a can of organic diced tomatoes in the Vitamix first to blend. Can’t wait to make tacos for dinner! Thank you! Love your simple and tasty vegan recipes!
YAY!! I love this recipe so much too! Thanks for the review <3
My teenage daughter made this for the family dinner tonight. It was so easy and delicious! We are trying to to be more plant-based and no one in the family missed the meat that would usually be in our tacos.
YAY! Glave you guys loved this!
Amazing!
These lentil tacos were so dang easy and insanely good. Like, I’ll-be-making-these-instead-of-beef-tacos-any-day good! All you gotta do is dump errythang in the instant pot and voila! Recipe makes a lot, so we’ve been enjoying all week for lunches. Subbed brown lentils for green and turned out just fine. Would use slightly less broth next time, they were just a bit wet for me.
YASSS! Glad you guys love them!
I’m one of the few non instant pot owners in the world, but I’m looking forward to trying this via boring old cooking. Thank you for the recipe!
Should work just the same on the stovetop!
How long and on what setting if I want to cook in the crockpot?