Instant Pot! Quick Lentil Taco Filling. Vegan + Gluten-Free

From the archives!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MY FORMER BLOG – JULIE & KITTEE

VEGAN + GLUTEN-FREE / SOY-FREE / NUT-FREE / CAN EASILY BE OIL-FREE

These super-easy lentils are great to make ahead to use for meal prepping. I love keeping them in the fridge and rolling them into corn tortillas for fast air-fried taquitos or taco salad. They are very reminiscent of lentil chili and pack a good punch of protein!

During the height of the pandemic, I taught my sister-in-law, Helen, to cook over FaceTime. Besides being an inexperienced cook, she was also new to veganism and air fryers. These lentils are the first recipe I showed her how to make.

Its become one of her staple recipes, the lentils are yummy, fast, easy-to-make and versatile.

Helen says:

“This is a very good first Instant Pot recipe! It tastes like you have been cooking with an Instant Pot for years! We love this recipe and think it’s incredibly filling and easy to make. Put some in a bowl and eat with chips, or if you wanna go low calorie, eat in lettuce cups.”

Print Recipe

Instant Pot! Quick Lentil Taco Filling

2

These taco flavored lentils make a high protein filling for tacos, taquitos or taco salad.

Use pre-made taco seasoning to save time!

Course: Beans and Legumes, Main, Protein

Keyword: Easy to be Oil-Free, Gluten-Free, high protein, palm, Soy-Free, Tacos, Vegan

Servings: 3 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup black or beluga lentils
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil optional
• 1 cup onion diced (about 1/2 medium onion)
• 1 stalk celery minced (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• 2 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning

Instructions

• Pick over the lentils and remove any visible debris or foreign objects. Rinse, drain. and set aside.
• Press the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, and let it get hot. Add the oil, if using, onion, optional celery and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies have softened, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from scorching.
• Turn the Instant Pot off, and add the lentils and water. Cover, lock the lid, close the vent, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Let the Instant Pot release steam naturally for another 5 minutes. At this time, if the Instant Pot is still under pressure, carefully quick-release the valve. The lentils should be tender, but still have a slight bite.
• Switch the Instant Pot back to the saute setting. Add the taco seasoning and stir. Heat until any excess liquid has evaporated and the filling has thickened (most commercial taco seasonings contain corn flour or another thickener, so the lentils should thicken within a few minutes).
• Season to taste with salt.

Notes

• If making these oil-free, omit the oil and saute the onion and celery together with the salt. Add a little water, if necessary, to prevent burning.
• For extra veggies, add 1/2 cup sliced peppers to the onion and celery.

I’m hoping to build the recipe section of this site to be a mix of new and old recipes you may have seen before. I want my best recipes culled from my old projects to have a place where I can access and share them easily, and I want a place for new recipes, too!

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