My grandma always baked these delectable, classic almond marzipan pastries for Christmas. I remember my mother telling me how to make them just like grandma, and I loved it.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground fennel seed
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ½ cups cooked brown or green lentils
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons water, or as needed
- 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon adobo or hot sauce
- 8 (6 inch) vegan corn or flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup guacamole
- 1 medium lime, cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- Combine ancho chile powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, salt, and fennel in a small bowl.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add spice mixture and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 30 seconds.
- Reduce heat to medium and add cooked lentils, tomato paste, a few splashes of water, and chipotle peppers. Cook, mashing lightly with a fork and adding water if necessary, until lentils are heated through and hold together, about 5 minutes. Season with additional salt if needed and adobo or hot sauce.
- Lightly toast tortillas in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Spread about 1/3 cup filling down center of each tortilla. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro. Serve with guacamole and lime wedges.
- For 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils, use 1 cup dried. Bring 3 1/2 cups water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Pour lentils into the water while stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, about 30 minutes. Drain well.
- You can substitute 1 1/2 (15-ounce) cans of lentils, rinsed and drained.
Reviews
Yes and yes! So good! Maybe a bit more spice but such a nice change. I plan to use leftovers to stuff a green pepper tonight.
Awesome flavor and perfect for tacos, taco salads, burrito bowls, etc. My husband generally doesn’t like lentils and he said I could make this weekly!
This has become my “go to” quick meal. I cheat by using the prepared lentils from Trader Joe’s and packaged chipotle taco seasoning. I top my tacos with sliced radish and shredded carrots for some crunch and texture and add some pico de gallo or salsa and maybe a sprinkle of cheese. So good! Thank you for this great idea.
Decrease the ground chipotle to 1/2 tsp and double fennel seed. I went with 2 bulb shallot and a tablespoon of garlic. Cooked w 4c broth to 1 bag dried lentils. IP bean setting 8 minutes. Flavor was excellent
I’ve made this recipe a few times already in a month as I have two vegans in my family. These are great, wouldn’t change anything in the recipe!
Fantastic idea and thanks for sharing. I bought a basic taco kit and substituted the lentils for meat. So good and very filling. It is nice to be able to buy these kits
Wow, this is tasty! Really a good taco flavor, and the ancho pepper powder on its own is not hot, just very flavorful. I just cooked a batch of this as part of meal prep for the week, and my husband rushed into the kitchen to see what smelled so good. So we each sampled a little bit now, and during the week it will be used for both taco night and baked potato bar. Thanks for sharing this delicious creation. Like another reviewer mentioned, I am going to mix up some of the dry spice mix to have handy for other dishes. I added some turmeric because I sneak it into a lot of dishes anyway. Now I can’t wait for taco night…
Nice substitute ‘meat’ for vegetarians. I made a large pot and then turned it into meatloaf, tacos and pasta sauce over the week. Highly recommend!
I make these at least once every two weeks and this is a great recipe especially for people like me who are new to vegetarian meals and trying to get away from meat. I do not like spicy so I do not use any of the spicy ingredients and this still comes out delicious. It is easy to make and filling and I do not miss the ground beef I would have used in the past. I love the slightly sweet taste the tomato paste gives the dish. Great recipe!
This was our first recipe in our attempt to eat vegetarian for 30 days. We all thought this recipe was outstanding – better than beef tacos. We will keep this one forever.
This is a delicious meat replacement idea using the lintels. I didn’t have the chipotle chiles in adobo sauce so I used what I had, 2 Tblsp roasted green chiles. This was just the right amount of heat for us. I used the lintel mixture for taco salad. It was delicious and will be on our next camping menu, also.
Absolutely fantastic. Even my vegetable-hating 13yo son had to admit these were really good. I used the pack of pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s and the entire recipe was ready in less than 15 minutes. !!! I also subbed ketchup for tomato paste (for a little sweetness and convenience) and chipotle powder for the cannned chipotle chiles (to better adjust for heat). As a result, I needed to add a bit more water to create more of a sauce. This recipe is about to go into steady rotation on weeknights and for potlucks. It’s healthy, quick, tasty and more affordable than using animal protein.
Why oh why can’t we leave 100 stars? These are amazing tacos. Make extra seasoning mix to use in other recipes. I added some of it to my guacamole. Make these for your taco Tuesday get-together. Even your most carnivore of carnivores will like them. They are a bit spicy so I suggest going easy on the chipotles and add them on the side for those who like it hot. I didn’t mash the lentils and enjoyed having them to bite into. The sauce thickens enough to keep it all together. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m sure the recipe is perfectly fine when executed well. Unfortunately, as is it is missing key instructions and information, such as the ratio of dry to cooked lentils and how exactly one goes about cooking them, it took me an hour longer than it should have to make this, and once it was done it was unusable. I am somewhat new to lentils, and outside vegan circles, so are most people. Without instructions as to how to manage this massive chunk of the cooking, the recipe is useless.
best taco I’ve had!
These were a hit with the vegetarian family members, and a welcome change from tofu tacos. The chipotle peppers made this dish a bit spicy so just use one if you don’t like it spicy. The fresh veggies added a nice crunch
The chipotle peppers were a bit much in that was all you tasted. I should have tasted as i added it.