Baked Vegan Taquitos
This classic Mexican dish turned late-night gas station snack turned vegan recipe is a delicious, easy, super healthy version of a great meal. Switch out ground beef for mushrooms and lentils, top with avocado crema and salsa, and stuff your face, guilt-free.
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Introduction
It’s 11 o’clock at night and you’re driving back home from God-Knows-Where, hungry and empty-tanked, when you pull into a gas station. You fill up and step inside to pay, only to be greeted by the warmth of a heat lamp, beneath which sit four taquitos. Seemingly being shone on by a ray of sunshine, they radiate golden and glowing, and rotate eternally. What may seem like a metaphor for the continual and constant passage of time is more so a testament to why you should leave the taquitos at the gas station, and make your own at home.
Which is surprisingly easy. Not to mention, they taste like the real deal. Packed with mushroom and lentils instead of ground beef, baked instead of fried, and topped with avocado crema and salsa instead of the guilt and certainty of a stomach ache that comes with buying a taquito from the same place that sells condoms, Bic razors, and petrol.
Go for the smaller wraps. The grocery store usually offers 10-inch and 7-inch, and the latter is the way to go. The tortillas will crisp up more easily in the oven, and you’ll be able to make more individual taquitos by having less filling going into each tortilla. Dice your mushrooms up as finely as you can, and rinse your lentils (I can’t stress that enough!). Your lentils will come out so much better if you give them a quick rinse underneath the tap before throwing them into a pot.
The secret to this dish is to follow the correct instructions for your lentils. There are many different types of lentils, each with different cooking instructions and timings. Choose the instructions pertaining to the type you have, follow the instructions to a tee, and you’re set. When you’re making your avocado crema, taste taste taste. If you want it to be a bit lighter, add a touch more lime juice or cilantro. If it’s a bit bland, add more salt. Too thick? Add a bit more water.
Check out the Spruce it Up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes
Yield: 7 or 8 Taquitos
Ingredients
7 or 8, 7-inch Tortillas
1/2 Onion
3 cloves Garlic
350g White Mushrooms
1.5 cups Uncooked Lentils
I used Split Red Lentils
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tbsp. Lime Juice
1 Avocado
1 bunch Cilantro
1/2 cup Unsweetened, Dairy-Free Milk
I used almond milk.
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
If you don’t have Extra Virgin Olive Oil, don’t sweat it. Use whatever you have on hand.
Method
Following the instructions for your 1.5 cups of (rinsed!) lentils, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook.
Continue to do the steps below while your water is coming to a boil, and while the lentils are cooking as well.
Set a timer for the time they need to cook so that you don’t forget about them while doing other steps.
Preheat your oven to 350°F, and place a large pan over medium-high heat, with oil.
Finely dice your onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Finely chop your mushrooms.
Try to make your mushrooms as small as possible - put some proper elbow grease in.
When the pan has come to temperature and the oil is shimmering, add your onion and garlic, and allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes.
The oil is “shimmering” when you tilt the pan and it runs more like water than it does oil.
Add all of your mushrooms into the pan, and salt generously. Stir every once in a while until all of the water that comes out of the mushrooms disappears.
The mushrooms will release water after you salt them. Stir for a bit, the water will come out, and continue stirring until it’s all gone.
After this, add your soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp. lime juice, immediately followed by your cooked lentils.
Fold in your lentils, making sure everything is coated with soy sauce. Add your chili powder and cumin, and stir again.
Have a taste, and add salt as needed.
Lay one of your tortillas out on a cutting board, and spoon some of your mixture onto the tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam-side down on a baking tray. Repeat until you run out of tortillas or filling.
No need to roll up the sides of the tortilla. The ends of a Taquito are typically open.
When you’ve rolled them all up, toss your taquitos into the oven, and set a timer for ten minutes.
During this time, add your avocado, oil, a good handful of cilantro, 1.5 tbsp. lime juice, 1/4 cup of water, dairy-free milk, a clove of garlic, and 1 tsp. of salt to a blender. Blend until smooth.
Add more water if it is too thick, and add more salt or lime juice to taste.
After the 10 minute timer goes off, check your taquitos by pressing on them. If they are still soft, leave them in for another three minutes and check again.
The edges will turn a golden brown when they’re finished.
Bake until you’re happy with them. Check often and pull them out of the oven as soon as you like ‘em.
Pull your taquitos out of the oven. Dice up a tomato, and roughly chop some cilantro.
Put a few on your plate, spoon on some avocado crema, and top with tomato and cilantro.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
If you’re a big salsa fan, go wild with the toppings you spoon over the taquito.
A bit of tomato paste in the filling will make it taste richer - just make sure to add a bit more salt to account for the acidity of the tomato paste.
Try different types of tortillas until you find your favourite, or make them at home for the best results!