One of my favorite childhood memories is my mom making taquitos when I arrived home from school. But, of course, those taquitos were frozen and by no means vegan. Since then, I learned how to 'veganize' my favorite foods, but vegan taquitos taste much better than I remember. My oil-free vegan taquitos are baked or air-fried with various filling options.
Taquitos, also called rolled tacos, are traditionally fried, but I bake or air-fry my vegan taquitos.
My mom, for example, used to give us guacamole, salsa, and hot sauce to dip our taquitos.
Regardless of what fillings and toppings are chosen, vegan taquitos make a great snack, lunch, or dinner. And, kids LOVE them!
Vegan Taquito Fillings
I decided to fill my taquitos with the lentil taco meat from my Vegan Lentil Tacos recipe for tonight's taquitos. Additionally, I suggest other filling options that taste great in these tiny rolled tacos.
OTHER POSSIBLE TAQUITO FILLINGS (CHOOSE YOUR VEGAN FILLING)
- Potato Tacos (a filling made of potatoes, seasonings, onions, and jalapenos)
- Walnut Meat Tacos (a filing made from raw walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs)
- Tofu Tacos (grilled taco flavored tofu)
- Tempeh Tacos (grilled tempeh marinated in a southwest marinade)
- Mushroom Chorizo Tacos (a combination of mushrooms, walnuts, and seasonings)
- Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado-Cilantro Cream (roasted cauliflower and herbs)
How to make vegan lentil taco filling for vegan taquitos
- Brown, Red, or Green Lentils
- White Onion
- Garlic
- Jalapeño
- Rotel Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilies
- Organic Vegetable Broth
- Vegan Taco Seasoning
How to bake taquitos
First, choose the type of tortilla. If using corn tortillas, heat them in a pan or microwave before filling to make them more pliable (so they don't break).
On the other hand, flour tortillas don't need heating before use because of their sturdiness. However, since the taquitos require hand rolling, allow the chosen filling to cool before handling.
Unlike a standard taco, vegan taquitos use a small amount of filling on one side of the tortilla. Then, roll each taquito tightly.
I brush each taquito with fresh lime juice and sprinkle it with chili powder as an added fun extra.
- Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet
- Bake at 400 degrees
- Cook for 20 minutes until crisp
BENEFITS TO BAKING
- Can bake several taquitos at one time
NEGATIVES TO BAKING
- It takes twice the time as the air-fryer
- Not as crispy as the air-fryer
How to make air-fried taquitos
The vegan taquitos are rolled, brushed with lime juice, and sprinkled with chili powder like the baked version. However, instead of placing on a silicone baking, place a single layer of taquitos in the base of the air fryer.
BENEFITS TO AIR-FRYING
- Very crispy like a fried taquito
- It takes half the time of an oven
NEGATIVES TO AIR-FRYING
- Can only air-fry 3 to 4 taquitos at a time
What to serve with vegan taquitos
Once cooked, serve the vegan taquitos with a salad dressed in Vegan Southwest Dressing, homemade guacamole, jalapeños, and lime wedges.
OTHER POPULAR TOPPINGS FOR VEGAN TAQUITOS
- Sour Cream (vegan)
- Fruit Salsa Recipe
- Tomatillo Salsa
- Nacho Cheese Sauce(vegan)
- Southwest Dressing (vegan)
So, the next time you consider Taco Tuesday, think about making taquitos instead of tacos. Not only are vegan taquitos crunchy, but they also taste fabulous. When planning a meal for the family, kids love vegan taquitos,
FAQs
Do you love vegan Mexican food? Try these healthy recipes!
- Vegan Enchiladas
- Green Plant-Based Potato and Kale Enchiladas
- Mexican Lasagna
- Mexican Corn Salad
- Southwest Salad
- Vegan Taco Salad
- Vegan 7 Layer Taco Dip
- Chili Cheese Dip
- Vegan Tortilla Soup
- Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
Vegan Taquitos
Switch up Taco Tuesday with oil-free, crunchy vegan taquitos. With various filling choices, tortilla choices, and even two cooking options, this vegan taquito recipe is fabulous, especially for the kids.
Ingredients
Vegan Lentil Taco Meat
- 1 1/2 cups Brown, Red, or Green Lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 1 large, diced White Onion
- 2 cloves, minced Garlic
- 1 Jalapeño de-seeded
- 2 cans Rotel Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilies
- 4 cups Organic Vegetable Broth
- 2 packages Vegan Taco Seasoning or use your own brew
Other Ingredients
- 1 package Corn or Flour Tortillas (12 tortillas)
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- Chilii powder (sprinkled)
- 3 Jalapeños, de-seeded and sliced
- Salsa of choice or hot sauce
- Vegan sour cream
Other Taquito Fillings (Instead of lentil taco filling)
Instructions
Corn tortillas or flour tortillas?
- Using corn tortillas, they need to be heated in a skillet or microwave to soften them before rolling the taquitos.
- Flour tortillas do not need to be heated.
Lentil Taco Meat (or choose one of the other filling options)
- Sauté the onion in a medium-sized saute pan with garlic and jalapeno.
- You do not need oil.
- The vegetables sweat and produce moisture.
- You can always splash with vegetable broth, but don't waste the fat and calories on oil.
- When the onions begin to be translucent, add the lentils and 3 cups of the vegetable broth, 1 can of the tomatoes, and the seasoning packages, stir, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and cook, covered for 30 minutes.
LENTIL MEAT STEP 2
- After 30 minutes, remove the top of the saute pan, and stir the contents.
- Add the next can of tomatoes.
- Continue to cook on low, stirring often.
- Use the remaining vegetable broth if the mixture appears dry.
- The goal is for it to have a thick consistency.
- Allow cooling completely before rolling taquitos.
Rolling and cooking the taquitos
- Place each tortilla (corn or flour on a flat surface.
- Add a small amount of taco filling on one side of the tortilla (about 4 Tablespoons) and tightly roll each tortilla.
- Brush each taquito with lime juice and sprinkle with chili powder.
Choose your cooking method: Air-fryer or oven
Air-fryer
- Set as many taquitos (fold down) in the base of the air-fryer.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes until crispy
- Remove from the air-fryer and cover to keep warm while the other taquitos cook.
OVEN
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Place a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Lay each taquito fold it down on the baking sheet.
- Cook for 20 minutes until crispy.
Notes
OTHER POSSIBLE TAQUITO FILLINGS (CHOOSE YOUR VEGAN FILLING)
- Potato Tacos (a filling made of potatoes, seasonings, onions, and jalapenos)
- Walnut Meat Tacos (a filing made from raw walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs)
- Tofu Tacos (grilled taco flavored tofu)
- Tempeh Tacos (grilled tempeh marinated in a southwest marinade)
- Mushroom Chorizo Tacos (a combination of mushrooms, walnuts, and seasonings)
- Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado-Cilantro Cream (roasted cauliflower and herbs)
Nutrition Information
Yield
6 servingsServing Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 351Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 10mgSodium 321mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 7gSugar 3gProtein 16g
Nutrition facts may not be 100% accurate.
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Quincee
Thank you so much for the recipe. I added vegan shredded cheese
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Quincee, I'm so glad you enjoyed the vegan taquitos. If you liked those, you will love the chimichanga recpe! Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate it!
Joy Patras
Hi Kathy! My teenage daughter found your taquitos recipe online while searching for healthy vegan meals because I told her that I need dinner ideas for us. Anyway, I made the lentil filling last night, along with the taco seasonings recipe from your blog. I also flavored a combination of rice, lentils, veggies and taco seasonings for another filling. Lastly, I was inspired by your fillings to make a bean filling for the taquitos for an additional stuffing for the corn tortillas that we used. After I rolled them up, I baked them in the oven for 10 minutes. Thank you very much for sharing your recipe and I am now your newest Pinterest follower, too!
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Joy, thank you so much for sharing! I am so glad you found the blog and your daughter is enjoying the recipes. Both my kids are vegan and now adults. If you or your daughter use Facebook, you should join our recipe share page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/veganrecipesKVK
Joy
Hi Kathy! I am on Facebook. I did just fill out the questions to join the group. However, it asked for my email address so I can get recipes sent to me. I hope it is okay to decline
as I prefer to just look at blogs on my own time for recipes.
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Joy, you are already approved and ready to go. No worries. I hope you enjoy the recipe share page.