Beef and Lentil Taco Meat is a favorite in my household! This recipe is delicious with tacos, nachos, taco salad, enchiladas..etc! It can be used in place of taco meat in any recipe. It’s a taco seasoned mixture of beef and lentils with a little bit of sautéed onion- super easy to make & ultra delicious!!
Why add lentils??
This recipe is a mix between traditional taco meat and plant based taco meat. I’ve found that my favorite is a mix of both for more than one reason! If you’re a big meat eater or if you’ve never tried it before, you might be wondering why add lentils!? Here are the reasons why I like to add lentils into my taco meat:
- Added Nutrition: Lentils provide a high amount of plant based protein while being very low in fat. They also contain lots of fiber, potassium, folate, iron and manganese.
- Lentils are VERY cheap: I don’t know about you, but in our home 1 lb of beef doesn’t last long when we make tacos. By adding lentils it helps the meat go further and last longer. If you’re really wanting to save money, you can add even more lentils than the recipe calls for.
- Health Benefits: According to Medical News Today, lentils are great at helping increase heart health, fight cancer, fight fatigue, and help promote better digestion and regularity.
- Quick & Easy: Unlike most beans, dried lentils can be soaked and cooked in about 30 minutes- 1 hour. That’s very fast! Of course you can always use canned lentils and that’s even faster.
- Great texture & taste: Lentils have a great texture and taste for being added to taco meat. They blend in well and I honestly can’t even tell they’re in there unless I add a ton of them!
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I would love to know what you think of this Beef and Lentil Taco Meat! Please share comments and pictures of how it turns out for you! Happy cooking, friends!
Xo,
- 1 lb Beef
- ¾ cup Cooked Lentils (Canned or cooked from Dry)
- ⅓ cup White Onion, very finely diced
- 2½ Tbsp Taco Seasoning
- ½ Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Water
- In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion in about ½ Tbsp olive oil until soft and slightly browned.
- Next, add the beef to the pan and sauté until cooked through. Drain out and dispose of the fat.
- Next, turn the heat to low and add in the lentils, taco seasoning and water. Sauté the mixture until all combined and the water is cooked out.
- Serve immediately! Left overs will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Did you use Red Lentils for this recipe?
Hi Jillian! I typically use brown or green but you can use any color!