Vegan Taquitos

4.85 from 13 votes

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.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Entrees

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 339kcal

Author: Kathy Carmichael

Ingredients

Vegan Lentil Taco Meat

1 ½ cups Brown 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
¼ 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

Tortillas

Using corn tortillas, 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 vegetable broth, 1 can of 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.
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-frying or baking.

Air Frying

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.

Baking

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

When working with corn tortillas, the trick to prevent them from cracking or breaking is to get them moist first. Do this my warming them in a microwave with a moist paper towel or in a pan on the stove. Ir spray them lightly with water or lime juice.

Skip making homemade guacamole and salsa and buy fresh guacamole and salsa in the grocery store deli section.

Choose unique fillings to make different types of taquitos.

Preheating the air fryer first helps to cook the taquitos evenly. If you don't, remember that subsequent batches will cook more quickly than the first batch.

If you have a small air fryer, preheat an oven to 325 degrees to keep the cooked taquitos warm while batch-cooking the others.

Serve with Mexican rice, Mexican chopped salad, or Southwest coleslaw.
For gluten-free taquitos, choose corn tortillas.

Nutrition