This grilled vegetable healthy tacos recipe features charred zucchini and onion, taco-spiced lentils, and a creamy sauce to tie it all together.
Over here, we’re all about tacos. Whether they’re authentic or fusion tacos with creative flair, we love finding new and interesting filling combinations. Since we eat mainly meatless at home, it’s sometimes a challenge thinking of vegetarian taco ideas that are both flavorful and satisfying. This time, we decided to combine our favorite standard lentil tacos recipe with another one of our favorites — grilled vegetables! The result was were delicious healthy tacos with just the right amount of contrasting textures and flavor complexity to satisfy our palates. Keep reading for the recipe!
Related: 10 Best Vegetarian Tacos
How to make this healthy tacos recipe
Our lentil tacos recipe is one of our favorite go to recipes, and it’s become a fan favorite. We took our old recipe and gave it a new spin as healthy tacos with grilled vegetables. In this version, I got lazy and didn’t want to make the entire taco seasoning batch, so I threw all the spices in with the lentils. It may seem like a lot of spices, but you’ll likely find many of them in your spice drawer (if not, they’re good ones to have around!).
For the grilled vegetables, they’re very easy to make. Simply slice red onion, zucchini, and summer squash into thin strips, drizzle them with olive oil and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Then toss them on the grill and cook at medium heat for about 5 minutes, until tender. They’ll come off the grill a bit charred and with a smoky flavor, perfect for tacos!
These healthy tacos may take a bit of time to put together, but they’re worth it! To save time, you could make the lentils in advance. And make sure to make up the pickled onions in advance (they’re easy to put together!).
Looking for more vegan & vegetarian tacos?
Outside of these grilled vegetable healthy tacos, here are a few of our favorite vegan and vegetarian tacos recipes:
- Loaded Quinoa Tacos
- Instant Pot Tacos with Smoky Lentils
- Grilled Mango Tacos with Dream Sauce
- Chickpea & Veggie Tacos
- “Verde” Lentil Vegan Tacos
- Spiced Chickpea Tacos with Avocado Cream
- Refried Bean Tacos
- BBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
- Carrot & Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro Yogurt
- Easy Tofu Tacos with tofu crumbles
- Loaded Huevos Rancheros Tacos
- 34 Taco Recipes
- Vegetarian Lentil Tacos
- Homemade Corn Tortillas
This grilled vegetable healthy tacos recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Grilled Vegetable Healthy Tacos
This grilled vegetable healthy tacos recipe features charred zucchini and onion, taco-spiced lentils, and a creamy sauce to tie it all together.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
Ingredients
For the lentils
- 1 ¼ cups brown lentils (8 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon each paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (or more, depending on your spice tolerance)
For the grilled vegetables
- 1 summer squash
- 1 zucchini
- 1 onion
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
For the tacos toppings
- Tortillas (make your own, or purchase them)
- Pickled red onions
- Chili lime sour cream, Cashew cream, Chipotle sauce, or Creamy cilantro sauce
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium heat.
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ¾ cups water to a boil (and add a pinch of kosher salt). Once boiling, add the brown lentils, cover and reduce heat. Simmer covered for 20 to 25 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed.
- Turn off the heat, then stir in the olive oil, ketchup, chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Meanwhile, cut the squash, zucchini and onion into thin strips. Place them in a bowl; toss with enough olive oil to coat, and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables until tender, for about 5 minutes, turning frequently.
- Make the pickled red onions and the sauce of your choosing (Chili lime sour cream, Cashew cream, Chipotle sauce, or Creamy cilantro sauce).
- To serve, add lentils to a warmed tortilla; top with grilled vegetables, pickled onions, and chili lime sour cream.
I just made these for dinner. I was honestly a little bit weirded out about the ketchup, but I’m so glad I made these anyway. Absolutely delicious!