This one-pot vegan sloppy joes recipe with green lentils is a sweet, slightly spicy, and tasty, healthy remake of a traditional family favorite.
This post contains helpful tips and tricks to make sure you're successful in your first attempt. Below, you'll find a handy table of contents with links. But if you're in a rush, please use the link at the top to jump to the recipe card at the end!
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⭐Why this recipe works
Simple, easy cooking. One-pot recipes make for easy cooking and less mess – a few reasons we love them. With a few minutes of initial sautéing, you’ll need about 30 minutes for the lentils to get tender and the sauce to reduce – and it’s all happening in one pot.
Economically healthy. Green lentils should be top 10 on anyone’s list. They are the heart of many a delicious dinner and are inexpensive, plant-based sources of protein and dietary fiber.
📋 Key ingredients, notes, & substitutions
Lentils – We like our vegan sloppy joes made with green lentils because they maintain shape after cooking. This provides the texture and protein similar to ground beef, so a bit of texture is nice. Brown lentils or French lentils would yield similar results. Red lentils will make a creamier sloppy joe, with equally tasty results. If you want to experiment, bulgur, TVP (textured vegetable protein), or
Yellow onion – Use a regular yellow onion that is small to medium. Red onion can also be used.
Garlic – Fresh garlic cloves are my preference, but you can use a teaspoon of garlic powder if necessary.
Red bell pepper – A medium red pepper has notes of sweetness and a mild peppery flavor. You can also use yellow, orange, or green pepper if desired.
Vegan Worcestershire sauce – Be sure to select vegan Worcestershire sauce without added oil if this is your requirement. If you need a substitute, use 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of yellow mustard or Dijon mustard, and a dash of hot sauce.
Maple syrup – Sloppy joes are traditionally on the sweet side. I like using a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup or date paste because it's easy to mix. You can also use date sugar or brown sugar.
Tomato sauce – Use 2 cups of tomato sauce or 1 can of crushed tomatoes with an added tablespoon of tomato paste if you are in a pinch.
Tomato paste – Tomato paste helps thicken and gives an intense, sweet tomato flavor.
Sriracha – Sriracha or another hot sauce can be optional, or just use a little if this sloppy joe recipe is for kids.
Vegetable broth – The vegetable broth will cook down as the lentils simmer. You can also use a mix of 1 ½ cups veggie broth and 1 ½ cups water if you like.
Ground cumin – Cumin lends an earthy, slightly citrus flavor. Leave the cumin out if you substitute chili powder for the smoked paprika. Most blends, including our homemade chili powder, already have cumin.
Smoked paprika – I used hot smoked paprika, which means there's a subtle hint of smoky flavor and spice. You can also get mild smoked paprika. If you use regular paprika and want a touch of smoke, consider adding ¼ a teaspoon of liquid smoke.
🔪 Pro tips & notes
- Before you sauté the onions and peppers, pre-heat a large skillet, Dutch oven, or heavy-bottomed pot to medium heat. Pre-heating helps keep the onions from sticking and is an essential tool in oil-free cooking.
- Have the tomato sauce and broth handy so that once you add the garlic, spices, and other ingredients, you can use them to deglaze the pot. Stir the bottom of the pot to clear anything stuck to the bottom.
- 2 cups of tomato sauce and 2 ½ cups of vegetable broth will seem like a lot of liquid. It will cook down in the 30 minutes it takes for the green lentils to cook.
- If the sloppy joe filling is too thin, allow it to cook longer. You can also add another tablespoon of tomato paste if necessary.
💭 Common Questions
In short, no. It is not necessary to soak lentils of any kind before cooking them. Be sure to rinse lentils and sort through them before cooking. Remove any stones or discolored lentils.
To make this sloppy joes recipe in the Instant Pot, cut the vegetable broth to 2 cups. Follow the steps to saute the veggies and add the spices. Turn the Instant Pot off before adding the tomato sauce and broth. Clear the bottom of the Instant Pot, and then add the lentils. Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes with 10 minutes of NPR (natural pressure release).
If you don't have tomato paste, the best option is to reduce the vegetable broth to 2 cups. You may want to add more sweetener since tomato paste is used as a thickener and sweetener. As the lentils cook, if you need more broth, then add it.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Any sloppy joes are best served with hamburger buns. For a quick meal, I’m tickled to load up a whole wheat bun and make a mess as I devour it.
🥗 Sides with sloppy joes
Sloppy joes are great with potato wedges, sweet potato fries, onion rings, or twice-baked potatoes. If you are looking for salad ideas, here are a few of our favorites:
🌡️ Storage & freezing
Reheat it in a saucepan on the stovetop. Add just a little broth or water and heat it over low heat, so the lentils don't scorch and stick to the bottom of the pan. Store any leftover sloppy joe mixture in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Leftover lentil sloppy Joes freeze well. Freeze the lentil mixture in a freezer container with a tight-fitting lid or in a freezer bag.
📖 Related recipes
👩🏻🍳 Recipe
One-pot Vegan Sloppy Joes with Lentils
This one-pot vegan sloppy joes recipe with green lentils is a sweet, slightly spicy, tasty, healthy remake of a traditional family favorite.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Sandwiches
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 teaspoon sriracha
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dry green lentils, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Sauté onions and peppers. Pre-heat a medium Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Then add the diced onions and peppers. Cook them for about 5 minutes until they start to soften.
- Stir in the garlic and spices. Add the garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika and stir them to coat the onions and peppers.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir in tomato paste, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha, broth, and lentils. Use a non-abrasive utensil to scrape the bottom of the pot to release any ingredients stuck to the bottom.
- Cook the lentils. Bring the ingredients to a slow simmer, then cover the pot, leaving a little air vent. Let the lentils and sauce simmer for about 30 minutes until the lentils are tender and the sauce is reduced. Stir the lentils a few times as they cook and add ½ a cup more broth if needed.
- Taste, test, and serve. Taste the lentils to ensure that they are tender. Adjust the spices and add salt or black pepper if desired. Serve lentil sloppy joes with buns, bread, over rice. Add jalapenos, diced red onions, or shredded cabbage if desired.
Notes
- Nutritional information is for the vegan lentil filling.
- As a substitute for vegan Worcestershire sauce, use 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of yellow mustard or Dijon mustard, and a dash of hot sauce.
- To make vegan sloppy joes in the Instant Pot, reduce the amount of vegetable broth to 2 cups. Turn the Instant Pot off before adding the tomato sauce and broth. Clear the bottom of the Instant Pot, and then add the lentils. Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes with 10 minutes of NPR (natural pressure release).
Keywords: vegan sloppy joes, lentil sloppy joes, Instant Pot
Debra
Hi. Would this work with canned lentils?
Denise
Hi, if you use canned lentils, eliminate the veggie broth and just heat them with the sauce. Let them simmer a few minutes so the sauce can sook down. I should think 2 15-ounce cans would be about right. Cheers!
Debra
Thanks 😊
Denise
You are most welcome 🙂