Vegan Burrito Bowl with Spiced Lentil Taco Meat
The ultimate vegan burrito bowl loaded with the easiest spiced lentil taco meat. Simple ingredients, minimal chopping and no cooking required!
It’s hot and humid out and summer hasn’t really set in quite yet, but I’m ready to turn in my oven mitts. So let’s focus on some more no cook meals. I became obsessed with the concept after making this really tasty Lemon Garlic Marinated Chickpea Wrap, but now I’m ready for some burritos…but in bowl form.
And this is a hearty burrito bowl loaded with a well spiced lentil taco ‘meat’. And surprisingly, no stove was needed to cook this.
Why You’ll Love This Burrito Bowl
- High in iron, plant-protein and antioxidants
- A no-cook recipe just requiring some minimal chopping and no fancy equipment
- Can be made ahead for weekly meal prep
- Ready to eat in 20 minutes
- Vegan and gluten-free
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Lentils: For convenience, I used canned small brown lentils or French Lentils. Be mindful of the can label to see if the lentils are salted or not. If not salted, make sure to adjust for more salt as needed for flavor.
- Walnuts: You can buy these chopped or chop them yourself. If you deal with a nut allergy, you can replace with equal amount of pepitas or double the sunflower seeds.
- Sunflower Seeds: I love using roasted unsalted sunflower seeds. If using salted, make sure to adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Adobo Sauce: This is the sauce that is found in a can of chipotle peppers. If you didn’t want to use the adobo sauce, you can also use chipotle powder or more chili powder and an extra splash of soy sauce to enhance some of the umami flavor.
- Vegan Yogurt: I used a plain unsweetened cashew yogurt by Forager Project. If you don’t have a plain yogurt available, you can replace with vegan mayo.
- Lime: Both the juice and zest for extra flavor.
- Vegetable Salad Base: The vegetable base includes romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, fire roasted corn from frozen, bell pepper, avocado and cilantro. I have some extra tips below for those that are not big on chopping.
- Spices: I used a blend of smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, and chili powder. You can adjust more or less to preference.
How to Make Lentil Taco Meat
To a bowl add in your rinsed and drained canned lentils along with your chopped walnuts and sunflower seeds. Now add the oil, spices, adobo sauce, soy sauce and salt to taste. Toss everything to mix together and adjust seasonings as desired.
Assembling Your Vegan Burrito Bowl
In a small cup or jar combine all the salad dressing ingredients. You can also double the dressing to use for different meals or bowls throughout the week.
For the salad bowl, add your shredded lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, corn, and cilantro to a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and then toss to combine. Then, top the salad with the lentil taco meat and drizzle the dressing over top.
Tips for the Perfect Nourish Bowl
- Make this bowl convenient. Use pre-shredded lettuce in a bag, leave the cherry tomatoes whole, and tear the cilantro up with your hands to minimize chopping and time needed to assemble.
- For extra iron absorption, don’t skip out on adding the bell pepper. Bell peppers are high in vitamin C, which helps to significantly enhance the absorption of iron from a meal.
- Make this bowl even more filling. If the corn is not enough, add some cooked rice or quinoa to the bowl.
- Season your salad. Before topping with the lentil taco meat and dressing, make sure to add a pinch of salt and pepper and squeeze of lime juice to the vegetables to help enhance the flavor of the salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
When meal prepping, use the salad jar layering method, and no you don’t need a giant mason jar to do this. In a large airtight container, just layer your ingredients, leaving hearty vegetables towards the bottom and delicate vegetables like the lettuce at the top. This will ensure that your salad doesn’t get soggy. You can add the dressing at the bottom with the corn, then layer the bell peppers, tomatoes, taco meat, and then the lettuce. If using avocado, use freshly cut avocado day of and squeeze with some lime juice to have it last.
You can store the properly layered salad in an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 3 days. The lentil meat can also be stored separately and will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. The dressing can also be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days.
For this recipe to remain no cook, I would highly recommend sticking to the lentils. But, you can also make this recipe with black beans and walnuts as the main base like I do in this Walnut Taco Meat recipe.
How to Serve
This bowl is great as is, but can also be served in an actual burrito wrap. You can also serve with some cilantro lime rice or quinoa to make for a heartier meal if desired.
More Easy Vegan Salad Recipes
- Roasted Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad
- Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus
- Roasted Potato Salad with BBQ Chickpeas
- Protein Packed Avocado Chickpea Salad
- Tahini Ranch Pasta Salad
Vegan Burrito Bowl with Spiced Lentil Taco Meat
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The ultimate vegan burrito bowl loaded with the easiest spiced lentil taco meat. Simple ingredients, minimal chopping and no cooking required!
Ingredients
Lentil Walnut ‘Meat’
- 1, 15 oz can small brown or black lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup chopped unsalted walnuts
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1 1/2 tbsp adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
- 1 tsp gluten-free soy sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Salad Base
- 1 head Romaine Lettuce, shredded
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 cup frozen fire roasted corn, thawed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
- Juice of half a lime
Chipotle Yogurt Dressing
- 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened plant-based yogurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- Zest and juice of half a lime
Instructions
- Seasoned Lentils. Add your lentils to a small bowl with the chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, adobo sauce, soy sauce, spices and toss together then adjust salt to your liking.
- Salad Base. To a large salad bowl or mixing bowl add the lettuce, tomatoes, corn, bell pepper and cilantro then season well with a pinch of salt, pepper and lime juice then toss together to combine.
- Chipotle Yogurt Dressing. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to a cup and mix well until smooth then add a pinch of salt to taste
- Assemble. Add the seasoned lentils on top of the salad base, serve with avocado, then drizzle the chipotle yogurt dressing overtop before serving.
Notes
Make this bowl convenient. Use pre-shredded lettuce in a bag, leave the cherry tomatoes whole, and tear the cilantro up with your hands to minimize chopping and time needed to assemble.
For extra iron absorption, don’t skip out on adding the bell pepper. Bell peppers are high in vitamin C, which helps to significantly enhance the absorption of iron from a meal.
Make this bowl even more filling. If the corn is not enough, add some cooked rice or quinoa to the bowl.
Season your salad. Before topping with the lentil taco meat and dressing, make sure to add a pinch of salt and pepper and squeeze of lime juice to the vegetables to help enhance the flavor of the salad.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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I made this and it’s so good!! I made it as written, except i needed the lime juice for something else, so I only used zest in the dressing.
Yay! Truly so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking time to comment, truly appreciate it!