Poor Kid Lentil Tacos
These lentil tacos are delicious and affordable, even for poor kids. Tomatoes, adobo cream sauce, and cheddar complete the lentil filling.
Servings: 24 tacos
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Ingredients
For the lentils:
- 1 cup lentils, rinsed
- 3 ½ cups water
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion salt
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp sea salt
For the tomatoes:
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
For the adobo cream sauce:
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2-3 tsp adobo sauce, from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 4 pinches sea salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp maple syrup, substitute with brown sugar if you don't have maple syrup on hand
- ¼ tsp liquid smoke
Everything else:
- 2 cups freshly grated cheddar, I recommend using sharp cheddar; use more or less cheddar according to your preference
- 24 mini street taco corn and/or flour tortillas, my tortilla recommendation, but use whatever you’ve got
Instructions
Cook the lentils
- Place the rinsed lentils, water, garlic powder, onion salt, chili powder, and smoked paprika in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and bring the lentils to a simmer. Simmer for about 40-45 minutes, until the lentils are cooked through and there is no liquid remaining.
- Once the lentils finish cooking, add the salt.
- While the lentils cook, prepare the other recipe components.
Cook the tomatoes
- Add the olive oil, salt, and halved tomatoes to a skillet. Turn the heat on to medium-high, and cook the tomatoes for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes will sizzle.
- Now turn the heat down to medium, and cook the tomatoes for 2 minutes. Continue stirring occasionally.
- Turn the heat down to low, add 1-2 tsp olive oil if the pan is dry, and cook the tomatoes for a final 4 minutes. Tomatoes are done, set aside.
Make the adobo cream sauce
- While the tomatoes and lentils cook, make the adobo cream sauce.
- Simply add all the sauce ingredients to a cereal bowl, and whisk together until smooth.
Bring it all together
- Add 2 tsp of the adobo cream sauce to the tomatoes. Mix until combined.
- Once the lentils finish cooking, add the tomatoes to the pot with the lentils. Stir until the tomatoes are disbursed throughout the lentils.
- Now add 2 Tbsp of the adobo cream sauce to the lentils and tomatoes. Stir it in, then taste. If you’d like a stronger adobo flavor, add more sauce. Continue adding sauce until you reach your desired flavor level.
- Last, add 1 tsp of fresh lime juice to the lentils and tomatoes. Stir, and add more lime juice, if desired.
- Turn the heat on under the lentils once more to medium, and cook for 2-3 minutes to get rid of any extra liquid that came from adding the tomatoes and sauce.
- Turn the heat off, and mash the lentils lightly with your fork, if desired, to make them more of a ground beef texture.
Compile the tacos
- Take a tortilla. On one half of the tortilla, spread 1-2 Tbsp of the lentil filling, followed by 1-2 Tbsp of cheddar. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling.
- Note: Don’t fold the tortilla over just yet if using corn tortillas. If using corn tortillas, I recommend waiting to fold the tortilla until the taco is in the frying pan. The warm oil will help keep the corn tortillas from breaking when folded.
- Repeat the compilation process until you run out of filling. (Alternately, make as many tacos as you want, and put the remaining lentil filling in the refrigerator for later use.)
Fry the tacos
- Heat a few Tbsps of olive oil or canola oil in a clean frying pan. Let the oil get warm, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add 1-3 tacos to the frying pan. Fry for 1-3 minutes, then flip the taco over. Fry for an additional 1-3 minutes. Each side of the tortilla should be golden brown.
- Place the lentil tacos on a plate lined with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Repeat the frying process with the remaining tacos.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve the tacos with sour cream, your favorite hot sauce, and a salad like this one. Enjoy!
Notes
These lentil tacos are vegetarian.
These lentil tacos are vegan if you use vegan cheddar.
These lentil tacos are gluten-free if you use corn tortillas.
To keep the tacos warm after frying, place them on a standard size baking sheet in a 200 degree oven. Remove from the oven when ready to serve.
Serve these tacos with a salad like this one.