Easy Veggie Taco Bowls

These Veggie Taco Bowls are a healthy alternative to the traditional taco salad. Full of veggies, greens, and beans, this meal is filling and guilt-free. Serve with your favorite toppings for your next Taco Tuesday.

---

I love these veggie taco bowls. There is such an interesting combination of flavors and textures and all of the topping choices allow everyone to customize their meal. You can eat this with corn or flour tortillas as well, but the bowl is a great lower-carb option. This dish is a real crowd pleaser and may easily become a weeknight staple.

Ingredient Notes for Veggie Taco Bowls

• Lentil Taco Meat: I have tried a lot of variations for making veggie taco “meat” and this by far is my favorite. It’s so easy to make with lentils and mushrooms, and it can be made ahead of time. It’s a fantastic addition to these veggie taco bowls but it’s so versatile, you can use it for all kinds of Mexican-inspired dishes.

• Zucchini and carrots: For this recipe, the zucchini and carrots are shredded before cooking in the skillet. This gives a lighter texture to these veggies and allows you to incorporate more veg into this meal. Be sure to take a look at the Cooking Tips for the zucchini prep so they don’t make the dish too watery. I do not recommend using cumin in this recipe as it will turn the zucchini to a vary unappetizing brown color.

• Corn: I am a big fan of frozen corn. It is so much healthier and crunchier than canned and just as healthy as fresh. Plus, it’s a huge time saver. If you want to use fresh, I like to cook the ears in the oven and roast them on the grill or gas burner.

• Leafy greens: I try to add greens to every meal when possible. Dark leafy greens are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Research has shown that eating 2 to 3 servings of green leafy vegetables per week may lower the risk of breast, skin, and stomach cancer and decrease the risk of heart disease. There are many varieties of leafy greens, but I typically use a blend of spinach, kale, and chard called Super Greens which I can buy at my local HEB grocery store. If you don’t live in Texas, look for something similar at your local grocery store.

• Pico de Gallo: So I totally cheat on this one and buy store-bought Pico. Yes, it costs more but the convenience is hard to beat. If you want to make your own Pico, it is essentially diced tomatoes, diced white onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Choose whatever works best for you.

• Avocado Crema: This is an optional topping for your veggie taco bowls. You can make avocado crema by mashing fresh avocado with desired seasonings and 1-2 tsp of soy yogurt, sour cream, or Mexican crema.

Cooking Tips

• I recommend preparing the Lentil Taco Meat the day before if possible. Then it simply needs to be reheated before adding to the veggie taco bowls.

• Grate the zucchini on a stand up cheese grater. You will need about 1 shredded zucchini per bowl. No need to remove the skins but I highly recommend placing the zucchini shreds into a colander, salting them, and allowing them to sit for at least 5 minutes. Then use the back of a wooden spoon to press out as much water as possible.

• Once you are ready with the zucchini shreds, cook them in a skillet on medium high for just about 3-4 minutes. Add your carrots, corn and seasonings and in 2 minutes, you’re done.

• Now you just need to arrange your taco bowls. I like to do 1/3 chopped greens, 1/3 Lentil Taco Meat, and 1/3 veg mix. Then I add my toppings. Dig in and enjoy!

---