The Best and Easiest Vegan Sloppy Joes
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Smoky & savory Vegan Sloppy Joes, made with whole food plant ingredients and naturally sweetened. Only 30 minutes from start to finish, this is a tasty plant based meal that the whole family will love!
Meet one of my favorite vegan meals: the Best and Easiest Vegan Sloppy Joes!
When I went vegan 8 years ago, vegan sloppy joes were one of the meals I made most often. One of the first cookbooks I got was Veganomicon and the recipe I used was from that book. I still have that cookbook, it’s a great one, especially for vegan beginners!
What’s so great about Vegan Sloppy Joes?
- They are super inexpensive to make, with lentils as the base. You can find cheap lentils in the bulk section of your grocery store.
- Going along with the inexpensive bonus, they also use everyday ingredients you can buy at any grocery store and keep in your pantry for last minute meals.
- They are filling and SO satisfying!
- They are oil free, naturally sweetened and FULL of fiber and protein.
- Leftover sloppy joes keep really well in the fridge, and they can also be frozen!
- And best of all, they are so flavorful- rich, smoky, sweet and savory; the sauce will keep you coming back for more!
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How should I serve Vegan Sloppy Joes?
You can go the traditional route and serve sloppy joes on any kind of bun (just check the ingredients to ensure vegan). Either fill a burger bun, or serve open faced. I like the whole wheat buns from Trader Joes.
Or simply serve open faced on sprouted wheat bread, or gluten free bread if needed.
The mixture also tastes good served with a baked potato, or straight out of a bowl! Usually, we just use Ezekiel bread or whole wheat burger buns.
Sometimes, I like to add pickled red onion or sliced pickles. Yum!
FAST AND EASY TIP:
You can buy pre-packaged cooked lentils, or canned lentils to make this recipe even faster! If you do that, this meal will only take you 10-15 minutes to make, talk about fast food. You will need about 3 cups cooked lentils.
Want more easy & healthy vegan dinner recipes? Check out my eBook, Plant Based Family Dinners or any of these recipes:
Spaghetti and Easy Vegan Meatballs
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest for more easy, healthy and tasty plant based vegan recipes!
Recipe adapted from Veganomicon cookbook.
The Best and Easiest Vegan Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils
- 4 cups water
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped small
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- (1) 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup (or tomato paste)
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- For serving: whole grain hamburger buns
Instructions
- First, cook the lentils: In a medium pot with a lid, add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 18-20 minutes or until tender. Drain excess liquid and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onion, green bell pepper and garlic. Use a few tablespoons of water, or vegetable broth, to saute and prevent burning. Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes, using more water as needed.
- Now add the chili powder and smoked paprika, and stir to coat the vegetables for about 1 minute. Add a little water if it's too dry.
- Next, add the tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard and maple syrup. Stir until well incorporated. Add in the cooked lentils and stir. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve on burger buns with red onion slices if desired and enjoy! We also eat this open faced on sprouted wheat bread, over a baked potato or even just out of a bowl, it's so good!
Notes
- To make this meal faster and easier, you may use canned or packaged already cooked lentils. You will need about 3 cups cooked lentils.
- The sloppy joe mixture freezes well, simply fill freezer friendly containers, leaving a little room for expansion and freeze. Let defrost when ready to use, add to a pot and cook until warm.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Nutritional information is for the sloppy joe filling only.
Nutrition
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111 Comments on “The Best and Easiest Vegan Sloppy Joes”
This is my go to recipe for weeknights and I eat the leftovers for a few days! Soooo delicious! I NEVER comment on recipes but I have to think 3 TBL of chili powder may be a typo. It was way too much. I scaled back to 1-1/2 TBL next time and it was amazing . I just don’t want someone to miss out on this great recipe!
These are delicious! A staple in my house.
We make a quick vegan cole slaw to go on top and it adds a great creamy and tangy element too!!!
Sounds like the perfect addition! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Pretty good! My 3 yr old and I enjoyed this with whole wheat bread and chao vegan cheese. My chili powder blend is that spicy but I only added 2.5 tbsp and it wasn’t spicy at all. I also used 4 cloves of garlic, and added an extra tbsp or 2 of maple syrup, since I used tomato paste. I cooked the green pepper and onion down more so the park weren’t crunchy. We have lots of leftover to enjoy throughout the week
This combines my plant-based diet with my desire for comfort food. I will continue to use this recipe for lunch and dinner because it’s delicious. I made it without the maple syrup but put sweet pickle relish on top. Yum! Tastes great on a whole wheat bun. I love it.
Is tomato sauce and marinara sauce the same thing?
Marinara is not as heavy or flavorful as tomato sauce. The flavor and texture of the finished dish will be different.
Amazzzzing!!!! These are superior to any other vegan. Sloppy joes I’ve made. I made the potato wedges with them for dinner last night. We were stuffed full😋
Your review and comments made my day! Thank you for sharing them! I’m glad you guys loved the Sloppy Joes, and everyone was full and content!
Came together so quickly and easily! Hearty, filling, and delicious. I followed the recipe as written. It was a perfect meal to warm me up on this snowy night. This will be one of my go to recipes in the future! 💖🍃
Snow!! Sloppy Joes do sound good on a cold, snowy night! I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments! I’m thrilled these are going onto your meal rotation! Happy cooking!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious. My family loved it.
Thanks so much for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad your family loved the sloppy joes!
I’ve made this recipe many many times, and I make it exactly as written. Delicious every time. Don’t be afraid of the 3 tablespoons of chili powder everyone, it’s not too much – my 7 year old loves these, and he’s quick to tell me when something is too spicy 🙂 He’s never complained about these. Great recipe.
Hi Sabrina. I’m so glad you guys love the sloppy joes! Thanks for taking your time to share your review and comments!