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Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

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You really wont miss the meat in these flavorful, filling, and healthy Instant Pot Lentil Tacos! Ready in 20 minutes, and easily adaptable to use ingredients and toppings you already have, this vegetarian instant pot recipe is a WINNER.

A tray full of lentil tacos made in the instant pot, served inside a tortilla, garnished with lettuce, tomato and avocado.

I’m a big fan of mixing up our dinners with some meatless meals. I’m not a vegetarian (far from it 🙂 ) but I also don’t like my family eating heavy servings of meat every single night.

One of my favorite vegetarian meals is black bean burgers — so dang easy and TASTY! I love that I usually always have what I need to make them. I also really love this creamy pesto tortellini.

I feel like Mexican flavored dishes are even easier to make meatless because of all of the delicious flavor and spices you can add to the dish. These sweet potato and black bean enchiladas, and these black bean and corn quesadillas, for example, always leave us feeling satisfied.

What I really love about these Mexican inspired lentil tacos are how hearty the mixture is–you wont even miss the meat! They are soo flavorful, and delicious, and one of my absolute favorite vegetarian instant pot recipes.

An instant pot filled with the ingredients needed for lentil tacos including lentils, salsa, and spices.

The Instant Pot makes this meal even more genius. Throw everything in the pot, and give it a stir. That’s it! Cook it for 15 minutes on high pressure, and you’re ready to eat. No babysitting the lentils, no stirring the pot. You don’t even need to let the pressure naturally release!

Overhead view of a wood cutting board with parchment paper on it and tacos filled with lentil mixture and topped with lettuce, tomato and avocado.

This Instant pot lentil tacos recipe is also really easily adaptable to what you have on hand.

Substitution Ideas:

 

Chopped onion for onion powder.

Use the saute function on the instant pot to saute 1 cup chopped onion in a little bit of oil, before adding the rest of the ingredients. 

Water for chicken broth.

You can use water if you don’t have chicken broth. I just like the extra boost of flavor that the chicken broth adds. Or you could add 4 teaspoons/4 chicken bullion cubes to the water.

Tomato sauce instead of salsa. 
Additional veggies:

Try adding corn, diced green chilies (if you like it spicy), or another chopped vegetable, like zucchini.

More great Instant Pot Dinner recipes:

Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls

Instant Pot Spaghetti

Instant Pot Beef Gyros

 

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5 from 7 votes
A tray full of lentil tacos made in the instant pot, served inside a tortilla, garnished with lettuce, tomato and avocado.
Instant Pot Lentil Tacos
Print Recipe
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 

You really wont miss the meat in these flavorful, filling, and healthy Instant Pot Lentil Tacos! Ready in 20 minutes, and easily adaptable to use ingredients and toppings you already have, this vegetarian instant pot recipe is a WINNER. 

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: instant pot, Vegetarian
Keyword: healthy instant pot recipe, instant pot recipe, lentil tacos
Unit: cup, ounce can, teaspoon
Servings: 16
Calories: 97 kcal
Author: Lauren Allen
Ingredients
  • 2 cups dry lentils , green or brown
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup salsa
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Topping ideas:
  • corn or flour tortillas , for serving
  • shredded cheese
  • 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • avocado , chopped (or guacamole)
  • fresh cilantro
  • green onion , chopped
  • olives
  • sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
  • salsa , or hot sauce
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to instant pot and stir to combine.
  2. Close the lid and move valve to sealing position.
  3. Cook on manual (high pressure) for 15 minutes.
  4. Once the timer beeps, cover the valve with a towel and switch it to quick release to release all of the pressure.
  5. Open lid and gently stir.

  6. Allow to cool while you prepare toppings.

  7. Serve warm, inside corn or flour tortillas, with desired toppings.
Recipe Notes

*Makes 4 cups, to make about 16 tacos (using 1/4 cup mixture/per serving.) 

 

Try my other Instant Pot Recipes!

Recipe adapted from My Plant Based Family.

 

Nutritional label is based off a 1/4 cup servings (to fill 1 taco). Does not include toppings.

Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Lentil Tacos
Amount Per Serving
Calories 97
% Daily Value*
Sodium 76mg 3%
Potassium 305mg 9%
Total Carbohydrates 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 7g 28%
Protein 7g 14%
Vitamin A 1%
Vitamin C 1.5%
Calcium 1.8%
Iron 11.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Have you tried this recipe?! 

RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

 

 

You really wont miss the meat in these flavorful, filling, and healthy Instant Pot Lentil Tacos! Ready in 20 minutes, and easily adaptable to use ingredients and toppings you already have, this vegetarian instant pot recipe is a WINNER.  #lentils #instantpot #tacos #vegetarian
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30-Minute Meals· Instant Pot· Kid-friendly· Main Dish· Mexican· One Pan Meals· Skinny Main Dish· Vegetarian
25 Comments

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Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling »

Comments

  1. Daniele says

    February 11, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    I just made these for dinner and they’re sooo good! So easy and full of flavor!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      February 11, 2018 at 7:53 pm

      Thanks so much Daniele! So happy you liked them 🙂

      Reply
  2. Lynnda Yager-Hale says

    March 25, 2018 at 7:58 pm

    These are our new addiction! We ate them 3 times last week and I am now making another batch! Thank you for bringing this into our life!!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      March 25, 2018 at 9:07 pm

      Wonderful! I’m really happy to hear that. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

      Reply
  3. LMK says

    April 4, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    Delicious and so easy!! Will definitely be added to our rotation!

    Reply
  4. Susan says

    April 17, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    I was skeptical but thought i would give these a try – I am SO glad I did! Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply
  5. claudia desiree zepeda says

    April 27, 2018 at 8:19 pm

    Yum! Thanks so much for this recipe! Just made them and my lentil came out a little hard. Should I add a few minutes to the instant pot? Thanks! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      April 28, 2018 at 10:19 am

      Yes, I would just add 1-2 more minutes 🙂 Enjoy!

      Reply
  6. Jermaine says

    July 17, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    Hi! I’m going to make these tonight 🙂 I was wondering, is the serving size 1 taco?

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      July 17, 2018 at 3:18 pm

      I’d love to hear what you think! Yes, the serving size is for 1 taco

      Reply
  7. Sian says

    August 30, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    These were fantastic! We are a mostly-vegan household, so I used vegetable broth in place of chicken and adapted the condiments accordingly. Having tried a variety of recipes for lentil taco filling, I must say this is hands down the best: the lentils are perfectly tender, the filling thickens on cooling, and the spices are just enough for those who are heat-averse (and the rest of us can add more salsa as needed). We’ve so far used the filling in tacos, burritos, and nachos, but I have a feeling it will be outstanding in cornmeal and tortilla-based casseroles, as well. Thanks so much for posting the recipe!

    Reply
  8. cla says

    October 2, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    these look so yummy- mixing it up right now, and i was curious…my hubby can’t do tomatoes…what do i sub for the salsa? thanks!!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      October 2, 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Hope you enjoy it! You could substitute a green salsa verde or green enchilada sauce instead…

      Reply
  9. Gabrielle Guy says

    October 20, 2018 at 2:04 pm

    I have a question. Do the lentils still need to be soaked overnight? I’m brand new to using the instant pot so sorry if this is an obvious one!? looking forward to trying this recipe. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      October 21, 2018 at 11:06 am

      No, they dont 🙂 Enjoy!

      Reply
  10. Lisa says

    November 25, 2018 at 8:34 am

    How is this considered vegetarian if you use chicken broth??

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      December 23, 2018 at 3:47 pm

      Feel free to use vegetable broth instead.

      Reply
    • Diner says

      January 15, 2019 at 9:12 am

      Clearly says you can use water. How about saying “thank you for your wonderful recipe” and then adjust to suit your self imposed dietary restrictions?

      Reply
  11. Carolyn says

    January 16, 2019 at 6:03 pm

    I just made this and it turned into slop! I’m not sure where I went wrong. The taste was delicious but the texture way off!
    2 things that maybe happened?
    a) I used red lentils as that’s all the store had
    b) I let it slow release the pressure as I was busy running around so it sat on keep warm for 20 min naturally releasing pressure.
    Any ideas? I want to make it again

    Reply
    • Will says

      February 15, 2019 at 9:52 am

      Red lentils do not hold up to pressure cooking like green or brown lentils do

      Reply
  12. Marybeth says

    January 21, 2019 at 6:48 pm

    This was a big hit! I love how easy dry legumes are in the instant pot! Next time I’ll add just a but more spice as we like it a little spicier but it was really good. This left the lentils done and soft but still with a bit of chew. If you wanted a creamier lentil filling, you could add more liquid and cook a bit longer. But we loved how it turned out. Now I want to okay with it and see what veggies I can add in, like shredded carrots and so on!

    Reply
  13. Katie S says

    February 6, 2019 at 5:57 am

    Can I use red lentils? That is all I have on hand. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      February 7, 2019 at 12:18 pm

      Hi Katie,
      I haven’t tried it with red lentil- I think it should work given that there cook times are very similar. I’d love to hear how it goes!

      Reply
  14. Lee ~ Dragon'sEyeView says

    February 7, 2019 at 5:27 pm

    I used half a can of diced tomatoes instead of salsa. They turned out awesome, AND mild enough even the pickiest little dragon liked them. Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      February 7, 2019 at 6:51 pm

      So glad to hear, thanks for sharing!

      Reply

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Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of 3 and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos. Read More
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