Lentil Burritos

The summer before my junior year of college, I decided I should have some go-to recipes that I can turn to whenever I have nothing else in mind. Since I was moving into a house with a real kitchen(!), I would be able to cook unlike when I had lived in a dorm. After experimenting with lots of different recipes, I did come up with a collection and they will all probably end up on this blog eventually. All of the recipes are vegetarian, as I was one up until May of this year.

The first one I'd like to share is Lentil Burritos. I don't have the link to the original recipe anymore, but I know I found this on Recipezaar. I would like to call this my favorite, but now that I think through the collection, I'm remembering other tasty ones, so let's just say I would put this in my Top 5. Or 10?

Lentils are pretty amazing. Since they work well with many different spices and herbs, they can be used in a lot of recipes. It keeps me feeling full and satisfied for a long time, too. What I love especially about this burrito recipe is that it can have many different flavors. It just depends on what kind of salsa you use. I've used Newman's Own Mango Salsa and it tasted great. It still tastes great with regular Tostitos's Salsa since that's what I always have in my fridge.

The recipe makes 4 cups of the burrito filling. I put about 1/2 cup in each tortilla and two burritos is enough for me as a meal. The rest is put into a container in the fridge or freezer so I can eat it in the following weeks whenever I'm feeling lazy in the kitchen and want to whip up a meal quickly.



My mise en place is missing a few ingredients...

Lentil Burritos [Makes 4 cups]

- 1 cup onions, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup lentils, soaked overnight
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 1/2 cups broth or water
- 8 oz salsa (or less. Or more. Your choice!)
- 8 tortillas

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until tender.
2. Add lentils, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Stir for 1 minute.
3. Add broth or water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.
4. Uncover and cook for about 6 more minutes until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly and stir in salsa.




Besides tortillas, you could eat the burrito filling with sandwich bread, rolls, or grains. Burritos work best for me when I take it to school for lunch.