Simple Vegetarian Tacos

"How do you get your protein?" This is often the first question I am asked when someone finds out I am vegetarian. While my favorite protein-rich food is black beans, I also enjoy some of the 'fake meat' products that you can buy. Some of the ones I like are Boca Original Vegan burgers, Traders Joe's Meatless Meatballs and Smart Ground Original Veggie Protein Crumbles.

Smart Ground crumbles have the same appearance and texture as cooked ground beef and take on the taste of foods that are heavily spiced. I love them in tacos and chili. *They also have 12 g of protein per 1/3 cup serving*

Simple Vegetarian Tacos


Here is a list of the ingredients I used:

Trader Joe's Taco Shells
Smart Ground Original Veggie Protein Crumbles (located in the produce section at Jewel or Meijer)
Lawry's Taco Seasoning 
2/3 cup of Water
Small Velveeta Cheese + Can of Rotel
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

I know Velveeta is not... real cheese and is terrible for you, but microwaving a small brick of Velveeta with 3/4 a can of drained Rotel is one of my guilty pleasures. And when it's only Tuesday and it feels like it needs to be Friday.. Bring on the Velveeta! I made this before the tacos so that I could snack on it with chips while the Smart Ground is cooking. :)

To cook the Smart Ground, pour about a tablespoon of vegetable oil into a large skillet and turn it up to medium heat. Pour the bag of veggie crumbles into the skillet, break it apart with a fork, and let it cook for 6-8 minutes until browned (it starts out brown so... more brown? haha), stirring occasionally. Once it's browned, add 2/3 cup of water and the Lawry's seasoning packet and mix thoroughly. That's it! Simple, no?

Now it's time to load up your tacos however you like! I like to load mine in the following order... sour cream at the bottom, then veggie crumbles, velveeta dip and cheddar cheese. Then I microwave them for 20 seconds to make the cheese melt and the hard shells a little chewy! (Rocket science, I know).