January 28, 2014 January 28, 2014/ Morgan
Here’s a quick appetizer you can throw together last minute for a get together or party. It would be even simpler if you used premade taco seasoning but you’ve gotta watch out for that stuff. Sometimes it has nasty things (msg, whey, etc!) in them and usually they are VERY high sodium. Just make your own and you’ll love it!
This seasoning blend is based off the one in my Taco Party Cookbooklet. It’s just a much smaller amount (and I cut the salt back by quite a bit! I’ve noticed that my tastes have changed to enjoy less salty foods. Add more salt to these if you find it necessary for your own tastes!)
I think these would be really fun if you set out little bowls of different vegan toppings for people to try out on each taco pepper. My kid loves to add toppings to her own foods so maybe your kids would have fun making their own too!
I got these sweet peppers at my regular grocery store but I’ve seen them at Costco too. They are SO beautiful and very very sweet. Not at all spicy. They make perfect little stuffing peppers. You could even make the Tofu Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Peppers with these instead of jalapenos if you’d like!
- 1 can brown lentils, drained (about 1.5 cups cooked)
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder (my favorite no-salt chili powder!)
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup water
- 15-20 mini sweet peppers, cut in half lengthwise (or large bell peppers cut into “scoop” sized bites)
- extra optional toppings – Chili Cheese Sauce, olives, green onions, cilantro, avocado, guacamole, tomato, salsa, vegan sour cream, jalapenos, etc
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium high heat and cook the onions until they are translucent. Add the lentils, spices, salt and water to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the lentils have absorbed most of the liquid (about 5 minutes.) Roughly smash some of the lentils up with a fork so that they stay together inside the peppers, unless you like em messy!
Spoon the lentil taco filling into the raw pepper halves and add whatever toppings you like. Then there is only one thing left to do: dig in!