Ok did you know you could make vegetarian sloppy lentil joes similar to our Sloppy Joes 3 Ingredients but healthy, easy and in just 30 minutes? With a rich tomato sauce you can make spicy or mild. A family friendly cheap dinner idea.
If you have kids you should make lentil joes as mini loose meat sliders with little buns! There are many options for serving once made. With guests over you can double it and keep warm in a slow cooker too. A hearty option without ground beef we love. (post may contain affiliate links present)
Why we Love Sloppy Joes with Green Lentils
When we aren’t in the mood for beef, this is a great option that tastes amazingly similar. You could make this faster too with soaked Red Lentils and our Instant Pot Sloppy Joes instructions. We used the stovetop this go around but love giving alternative options.
Timing for this vegan sloppy joes recipe is based on the green variety, which takes about the same time as brown too. We did share here How Long to Cook Green Lentils on Stove here which covers all of the varieties in case you want to use black or red instead. You’ll start with boiling them to tender, drain and incorporate at the end once they’re tender to your liking. You will need;
Sloppy Joes with Lentils Ingredients
- 1 c green lentils + water or broth to boil them
- 1 tbsp olive oil is best
- Onion diced are optional but great
- Bell pepper green, diced
- Minced garlic we love
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- Paprika just a bit for seasonings
- Salt and pepper are the basics
- Tomato sauce to make sauce thicker
- Dijon mustard gives it a pop
- Brown sugar or a bit of maple syrup could be used
If you want traditional flavors you would typically use with ground beef you could use our Not So Sloppy Joe Sauce instead of the one below which is more tomato sauce based than with ketchup. And if you want hamburger buns for serving then you would need some of those.
How to serve open faced sloppy joes
You can serve these on little Hawaiian rolls like little “cute” burgers, as a stew or as Texas Toast Sloppy Joes! I mean the latter may be my very favorite if I have a box of this ready made garlic bread in the freezer. Adding even more flavor to the dish with less bread served open faced is a killer dinner.
This is kinda’ a thicker version of our Lentil Stew Recipe which many times we will make in a slow cooker which you could do for this one too if you wanted to.
How to Make Sloppy Joes Vegetarian
- Rinse lentils and add into a saucepan or pot and cover with water, making sure water is at least 2″ above them.
- Heat over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
- Cook for about 25 minutes or until they are tender to your liking, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse.
- Add the onions, bell pepper, olive oil, and garlic to a skillet and heat over medium high heat until onions are translucent and green peppers are tender.
- Add chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Stir in tomato sauce, mustard and brown sugar and mix well.
- Add the lentils you boiled and heat over medium low heat until heated through, hot, and excess liquid has set and thickened.
slow cooker directions
This is on the stove, you can also make Slow Cooker Lentils and then drain and fold those into our sauce here to make Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes that way.
1 pound of ground beef (cooked) yields approximately 2 cups of cooked meat. The lentil equivalent would be to use 1/2 cup of dry lentils, which yields about 1 1/2 cups cooked. For a slightly heartier texture, you can use 3/4 cup of dry, to make 2 cups cooked.
If your lentils are turning out soggy, it’s likely due to issues with cooking time, water amount, or the type you used. They cook quickly, typically in 15–25 minutes depending on the variety. Cooking them too long will cause them to break down and become mushy. They often have a layer of dust or debris too that can make them cook unevenly or become too soft.
How to serve
I would toast the buns so they don’t get soggy. Use a spoon to scoop the sloppy joe mixture up and set on buns or on top of toast for open faced style. You can certainly use gluten free products to make this as a hearty meal quite easily. Leftovers save well after cooling in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Jump to recipe and get started friends!!
Sloppy Lentil Joes
Equipment
- 1 pot
Ingredients
- 1 c green lentils, + water to boil them
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, green, diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 16 oz tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Rinse lentils and add into a saucepan or pot and cover with water, making sure water is at least 2" above lentils. Heat over medium high heat boiling. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for about 25 minutes, stirring at least once, or until lentils are tender to your liking. Drain in a fine mesh strainer.
- Add oil, onion, green pepper and garlic to a skillet and heat over medium high heat until onions are translucent and green peppers are tender. Add chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Stir in tomato sauce, mustard and brown sugar and mix well. Add cooked and drained lentils and heat over medium low heat until heated through and hot.
- Serve on buns sloppy joe style.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
