These lettuce wrap tacos are fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavor thanks to a saovry walnut taco “meat”, black bean corn salsa, and a bright and herbaceous chimichurri sauce. If you’ve been looking for a healthier, plant-based taco recipe that doesn’t require any cooking, this one delivers big flavor with minimal effort in just 20 minutes!
No-Cook Lettuce Wrap Tacos for Summer and Beyond
The lettuce wrap tacos deliver all of the familiar savory and fresh flavors you love in a taco without any cooking! Made with simple, whole-food ingredients, these vegan tacos with walnut “meat” are naturally gluten free and perfect for summer meals, quick lunches, or light dinners.
The walnuts and black beans deliver a fair amount of plant-based protein while the chimichurri packs in tons of fresh flavor. Since these are served on lettuce or endive, you don’t even have to worry about warming up tortillas! I’ve served these vegan and gluten free tacos for many summer gatherings and they’re always a hit. These roasted okra tacos with cucumber pico are also a hit if you feel like turning on the oven!
Key Ingredients for Lettuce Wrap Tacos
- Walnuts (raw or roasted, your choice) – create a hearty, meaty texture for the taco filling while adding plant-based protein.
- Lettuce or Endive Leaves – a crisp, low-carb taco shell. Butter lettuce, iceburg lettuce, and endive leaves all work well. I tend to prefer endive since the leaves are firm and hold their little taco shape on their own!
- Black Beans – add protein and texture. You can use pinto beans instead if you like!
- Corn – adds a touch of sweetness to balance out the spices in the taco meat.
- Cilantro and Parsley – this combo packs a huge punch of fresh flavor in the chimichurri. If you love chimichurri, try these roasted cauliflower tacos with pickled jalapeno chimichurri!
How to Make Each Component for These Lettuce Wrap Tacos
Don’t be discouraged by the lengthy ingredient list down in the recipe card! Every component comes together quickly since there’s no cooking and only minimal chopping involved.
The spiced walnut “meat” comes together quickly in the food processor. You’ll add all of the walnuts and spices and pulse the walnuts are finely chopped and resemble taco meat. Make sure to add salt to taste!
The black bean and corn salsa requires a little chopping, but nothing crazy! You’ll mix together a drained can of black beans with the kernels from two corn cobs (about 1 1/2 cups total), diced red onion, lime juice, and salt to taste. Since you won’t use all of the red onion, you can pickle the rest!
The chimichurri is made in a blender, or you can wipe out your food processor and use it again to lessen the amount of dishes to wash. In order to keep it easy, you’ll use one whole bunch of cilantro leaves and one whole bunch of parsley leaves.
Tips for Making these Ahead of Time
Whether you’re making these vegan tacos for a gathering or just your weekly meal prep, all of these components can easily be made ahead of time! Keep the walnut taco meat, black bean and corn salsa, and chimichurri stored in separate containers in the fridge until you need to assemble your tacos. I recommend only assembling as many tacos as you can eat because the leftover components store best when kept separately.
More Delicious Vegetarian Tacos You Have to Try
If you love breakfast tacos as much as I do, you have to try these tofu scramble tacos with chiopotle crema. They only take 20 minutes to make! If you want to serve a crowd, make these crispy black bean sweet potato tacos. They’re baked together on a sheet pan until crisp and the cheese is deliciously melty and their pair really well with the creamy poblano sauce for dipping.
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Lettuce Wrap Tacos with Walnut Meat & Chimichurri
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
These lettuce wrap tacos are fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavor thanks to a saovry walnut taco “meat”, black bean corn salsa, and a bright and herbaceous chimichurri sauce. If you’ve been looking for a healthier, plant-based taco recipe that doesn’t require any cooking, this one delivers big flavor with minimal effort in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients
for the walnut taco meat:
- 2 cups raw walnuts
- 1 scant tablespoon coconut aminos, or tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- sea salt, to taste
for the black bean & corn salad:
- 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 2 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 medium lime, zested and juiced
- sea salt, to taste
for the chimichurri:
- 1 bunch cilantro, leaves removed and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves removed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 medium lime, juiced
- 1 small serrano pepper, seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt, to taste
for assembly:
- 1–2 heads butter lettuce, or 3–4 endive
- 1–2 avocados, sliced
- lime wedges, optional
Instructions
To make the walnut taco meat, add everything to a food process and pulse until the walnuts are finely chopped. Taste and add salt as needed.
To make the black bean and corn salad, mix everything together in a bowl. Taste and season with salt as needed.
For the chimichurri, combine everything in a blender or food processor. Blend or pulse until relatively smooth. If it seems a bit dry or too chunky, add a little more olive oil and blend again.
To serve, separate the individual lettuce or endive leaves. Layer your endive or butter lettuce leaves with the walnut taco meat, the black bean and corn salad, the sliced avocado, and the chimichurri. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Notes
- Leftover walnut taco meat is great for using in a batch of vegan nachos or on a taco salad.
- Store leftover components separately and enjoy within 5 days.
- If you don’t have access to fresh corn, use 1 can of sweet corn (drain it first!) or 1 1/2 cups of thawed frozen sweet corn (drain it first!).
- Yields enough for roughly 6-8 servings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
Must must must have this.
I loved the flavor of the “walnut meat” with the texture of the lettuce wrap.
So happy you enjoyed the flavors and textures!