Incredibly flavorful and delicious, these lentil tacos couldn’t be any easier.  Put all the ingredients into an Instant Pot set for 14 minutes, and you are ready for perfectly yummy taco-seasoned lentils that can be served in a variety of different dishes, keeping dinner preparation to under 20 minutes.  Perfectly seasoned just right, these taco lentils are great for Taco Tuesdays, taco salads, nachos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, baked potato toppers, and Taco Joes, making them an ultimate Whole Food Plant Based “endless dish options” recipe! Vegan, no oil, no refined sugar, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Ameera here!

Guess who got an Instant Pot?  That’s right! We did.  We finally took the plunge and bought one, and oh my goodness, we are so happy we did.  That thing is awesome!  I could go on and on, but if you already have one, then my gushing is unnecessary as you already know how cool Instant Pots are.  We ended up buying the 8-quart duo (7 in 1 Multi-Use).  We have been using it like our life depended on it.  LOL

Taco Lentils

Of course, we had to test our taco flavored lentils recipe in our Instant Pot.  We had been previously kitchen testing it on the stove top over the past several months.  We were close to perfecting this recipe, then once we got the Instant Pot, we decided to do the final test with that.  Our goal was to just place everything in the Instant Pot and be done with it.  It took a few tiny tweaks, then we were completely ecstatic with the results.  Our Instant Pot Taco Lentils turned out fabulous.  We were doing a happy dance while chowing down.

“Eat the Rainbow” Lentil Tacos

We love our “Eat the Rainbow” Instant Pot Lentil Tacos.  We put tons of raw veggies on our tacos so you are eating this colorful and delicious taco full of vitamins and nutrients.  We put the following on our “Eat the Rainbow” tacos:

• Shredded carrots, all types of lettuce, finely shredded purple cabbage, finely sliced red onions, sliced grape tomatoes, all types of finely diced bell peppers, avocado slices, corn, black beans, radishes, cilantro, finely sliced jalapeno peppers, and salsa. Literally any type of vegetable that compliments a taco, goes onto our lentil tacos.

They are so delicious. You simply can’t go wrong with a taco that bursts with flavor and color.  Who can resist, right?

Taco Lentil Versatility

You know what else is so flippin fantastic about this recipe?  It is an amazing recipe for food prepping because it is so gosh-darn versatile. While we absolutely love our “Eat the Rainbow” Instant Pot Lentil Tacos, my dad goes crazy over our “Taco Joes.” Think “Sloppy Joe” and you get the idea. All you need to do is toast a Whole Food Plant Based compliant bun (bread, etc.), then load it up with the taco seasoned lentils, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado slices, jalapenos and salsa, and you are in heaven.  We make ours open-faced because we typically load them up.

We also love to make taco salads with them.  I love warm taco lentils on a cold salad. Soooo good.  They are also super yummy in burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas, not to mention as a nacho snack.  Soooo good!

I also love putting them on a baked potato as a topper, along with an avocado.  It really sends a regular baked potato over the top! You could literally eat them a different way each day of the week and not get bored with them.

Hi!  Robin here.

Yes, yes, yes, we finally got an Instant Pot.  I have been putting it off since I was not 100% sure I wanted to spend the money on it. I have an “Easy Bean Cooker” pressure cooker and I have been perfectly happy with it.  We use it at least once a week to make hummus, so when Monkey wanted to get an Instant Pot, I wasn’t sure it would bring value since I already had a “pressure cooker.”   I knew that Instant Pot has a following, and we got a ton of Instant Pot questions on our blog, so it made sense to get onboard.

Instant Pot

Love it!  Some of you have probably had yours for years and are probably thinking, “it’s about time,” and I would agree with you.  We have been using it like crazy ever since we opened the box.  Stay tuned for a ton of new Instant Pot recipes.

Taco Seasoned Lentils

My favorite way to eat these taco seasoned lentils is in a taco salad.  I warm up a cup of them and toss them in a salad with a ton of raw veggies and use salsa as the salad dressing.  Sooooo delicious!  If you haven’t tried them this way, you simply have to!  You won’t be sorry.

Products Used:

• Instant Pot
• Strainer (to rinse the lentils)

Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 14 minutes
• Total Time: 19 minutes
• Yield: 5.5 Cups 1x
• Category: Dinner

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Description

Incredibly flavorful and delicious, these lentil tacos couldn’t be any easier.  Put all the ingredients into an Instant Pot set for 14 minutes, and you are ready for perfectly yummy taco-seasoned lentils that can be served in a variety of different dishes, keeping dinner preparation to under 20 minutes.  Perfectly seasoned just right, these taco lentils are great for Taco Tuesdays, taco salads, nachos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, baked potato toppers, and Taco Joes, making them an ultimate Whole Food Plant Based “endless dish options” recipe! Vegan, no oil, no refined sugar, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Taco Lentils Ingredients:

• 2 cups small brown lentils (uncooked) *
• 1 ¾ cup water
• 2 cups vegetable broth *
• 1 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon organic maple syrup

Spice/Herb Ingredients: 

• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon regular chili powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
• 3 teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Taco Lentils Serving Ideas:

• Tacos
• Taco salad
• Nachos
• Burritos
• Enchiladas
• Quesadillas
• Baked Potato Topper
• Taco Joes (similar to Sloppy Joes, but with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and avocadoes on a WFPB compliant toasted sandwich bun)

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Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

1. Place all the Taco Lentils Ingredients (except the lentils) and the Spice/Herb Ingredients into an Instant Pot, and stir well to combine everything. Make sure you blend the tomato paste into the mixture.
2. Pick through and rinse the small brown lentils really well, then add to the Instant Pot.
3. Set the Instant Pot manual high pressure cook for 14 minutes. When finished, allow to sit undisturbed for 4 minutes, then do a quick release.
4. Carefully remove the Instant Pot lid. Add a little water if the lentils are too dry. The water will instantly blend when stirred.
5. The Taco Lentils can be served in a number of different dishes. See serving ideas.

Stove top Instructions

1. Place all the Taco Lentils Ingredients (except the lentils) and Spice/Herb Ingredients into a ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, and stir well to combine everything. Make sure you blend the tomato paste into the mixture.  Increase the heat to boiling, then immediately lower to a simmer.
2. Pick through and rinse the small brown lentils really well, then add to the Dutch oven.
3. Simmer until the lentils are tender, approx. 40-50 minutes largely dependent upon which lentils you use.
4. The Taco Lentils can be served in a number of different dishes. See serving ideas.

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Notes

*Vegetable Stock:  We used Low Sodium Pacific Organic Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Small Brown Lentils (Pardina/Spanish Brown):  You can substitute any type of lentil for the brown lentil (other than red); however, you may need to adjust the cooking time.  We have found that the Small Brown Lentil works beautifully with this recipe as they tend to hold their shape really well.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving: Makes approximately 5 ½ cups of taco lentils.  Freezes well.

Storage:  Refrigerate or freeze.  

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.