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
Anne Vaughan
June 22, 2018 at 11:31 amHi Nora! One meat item I really miss is sloppy joes! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks
Nora
June 23, 2018 at 6:23 amOh great! These are so good, I think you’ll love them.
Sam Wester
June 27, 2018 at 8:56 amMade these and they were so good. Had with coleslaw. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for the recipe. Totally complaint for my wfpb no oil way of eating.
Nora
June 28, 2018 at 9:16 amGreat idea with the coleslaw! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Leslie
June 27, 2018 at 9:14 pmI made these tonight and they are so perfectly rich and delicious! I like them much better than the meat version. It’s also very easy and fun to make. Thanks for bringing us this recipe!
Nora
June 28, 2018 at 9:16 amOh goody! Thanks so much for sharing, glad you guys enjoyed them!
Christine
July 15, 2018 at 7:50 pmThis was really good! Tasted like a sloppy joe… we didn’t miss the meat.
Nora
July 16, 2018 at 6:57 amI’m so glad! Thanks for sharing Christine. 🙂
Stephanie
September 21, 2018 at 5:42 amThese were great! I was looking for a meatless sloppy joe recipe to use up a green pepper from my veggie share. I should have doubled the recipe, now I’m making it again. Thanks for the recipe
Nora
September 21, 2018 at 7:40 amSo glad you like the sloppy joes Stephanie! I know, these go fast in our house too!
Janet shogren
October 27, 2018 at 1:42 pmJust had your sloppy Joes. It was delicious. Even the meat eaters in my home.loved it.
Nora
October 27, 2018 at 6:18 pmYay! Thanks for sharing.
Lindsay
November 5, 2018 at 4:15 pmI made this last night. Amazing and easy to make! Some vegan recipes are hit and miss but I’m 2 for 2 so far with noracooks.com. I am definitely going to try all the recipes Nora posts!
Thanks Nora for creating easy delicous recipes!
Nora
November 5, 2018 at 4:48 pmThanks so much Lindsay! I’m glad you liked these, and I hope you find many more to enjoy! 🙂 I LOVE creating easy delicious recipes, so you are welcome!
Jill
December 5, 2018 at 12:41 pmWe loved the flavor of these. Any suggestions on how to make this in the instant pot?
Nora
December 5, 2018 at 3:31 pmI’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! To make it in the Instant Pot, I would first cook the lentils in the IP (6-8 minutes). Drain them, and set aside. Then using the Instant Pot saute feature, I’d cook the rest of the dish, so not using pressure, but just the saute feature. It may be possible to make it all at once using pressure, I’m not sure! It would be fun to play around with.
Laurel Silva
February 1, 2019 at 11:37 amThese were absolutely AMAZING! My non-Vegan husband loved it too. Even my 3 year old son was licking his plate clean!
Jo
February 7, 2019 at 2:18 pmMy husband and I loved the flavor! We used whole wheat pita bread. I am going to try it on a baked potato next time. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
Lisa
February 20, 2019 at 11:10 pmAn alternative to adding the cooked lentils to the sauce:
1) soak the dry lentils in hot water for 3-4 hours. Process in food processor til almost smooth. Put in a bowl. Add a little salt and a little baking powder.
2) Pan- or deep-fry small spoonfuls of this batter til medium-brown. Put all the fried pieces in a bowl, break them up somewhat, add to the sauce, cover and simmer til the sauce is absorbed. You may need to add more liquid to the sauce.
Marie
May 14, 2019 at 9:50 amAny suggestions for making this in a crockpot? Just put it all in the pot together? More water? Less water? I want to make this for a potluck!
Nora
May 15, 2019 at 3:48 pmI’ve never tried it in a crock pot! I think the same amount of water would be fine, but I don’t really know how long it would take, sorry! Maybe I’ll experiment one day.
Marie
May 16, 2019 at 8:16 amThanks for your reply! I’ll try it out and let you know!