Enjoy this plant-based sloppy joe recipe. A great plant-based alternative to sloppy joes. Loaded with veggies, lentils and a one of a kind homemade sloppy joe sauce.

Plant-Based Sloppy Joe’s

Sloppy Joe, Slop Slop Sloppy Joe. My husband and I have been singing the sloppy joe song for the past week and a half I think. We have both been wanting sloppy joes and last year we had subscribed to Sunbasket and they had a meatless sloppy joe. It was so good that I thought I would try converting my original sloppy joe recipe into a plant based one and we were so delighted with the results! Let’s break this down…

What’s Included:

In the picture above is our “meat”, red lentils and mushrooms. Since there is no meat in this dish, I really wanted the mushrooms to give that umami savory flavor and the red lentils have a long of protein that works well to give that ground meat consistency.

I also wanted to pack in the flavor for this dish and my favorite flavor bombs are yellow onions, carrots, green pepper and garlic. This in itself will make your kitchen smell so amazing and just think about all of those good veggies you are going to get. I add just a little salt and pepper at this stage. Taste your food when it’s fully cooked to determine if you need to add more.

The sauce is so simple, using apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, liquid aminos, tomato paste, French’s spicy brown mustard and cayenne pepper. If you don’t have liquid aminos you can use soy sauce. You can also replace the maple syrup, ACV, liquid aminos and cayenne pepper with Worcestershire sauce.

The Cooking:

I was surprised at how cheap and easy the lentils were to make. I rinsed the beans and then cooked them according to the directions on the bag but instead of water I used mushroom stock and I used half of the liquid than what they called for.

Then in a large skillet, I add a tablespoon of olive oil. Then I add the green pepper, carrot, onion and garlic and cook until just softened. You can add a little salt and pepper here if you like to taste.

Finally, once the veggies are cooked, add the mushrooms and cook until they darken and then add your lentils and mix in your sauce. Finish up with a toasted bun and some cheese if you like.

Enjoy!

For more plant-based recipes try our Vegan Bangers and Mash as well as our Papaya fruit salad.

Plant-Based Sloppy Joes

Author: Elena
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

A great plant-based alternative to sloppy joes. Loaded with veggies, lentils and that one of a kind homemade sloppy joe sauce.

Ingredients

Scale

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 green pepper chopped
1/2 yellow onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
8 oz of bella mushrooms chopped
8 oz of red lentils (we used Goya brand)
2 cups of mushroom stock
6 oz of tomato paste
4 tablespoons of maple syrup
4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons of liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
4 teaspoons of brown mustard
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Your favorite hamburger buns
Optional : a slice of cheese or coleslaw

Instructions

Make 1 cup and a half of red lentils according to directions.
Instead of water for the lentils use 2 cups of mushroom stock.
Heat the lentils and mushroom stock to a boil and then cover and lower to a low simmer.
When lentils are completely cooked (approximately 9 minutes) set aside.
In a large skillet cook chopped carrots, onion, and green pepper for about 15 to 20 minutes until onions look translucent and carrots are soft.
Add chopped mushroom and cook until mushroom change color and begin to darken.
Add cooked lentils to the pan.
In a small bowl mix together tomato paste, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, liquid aminos, brown mustard and cayenne pepper.
Pour the sauce into skillet and mix well.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toast hamburger buns on a clean skillet using a little butter or a small amount of oil.
Optional: Add American cheese or in my case vegan American cheese.

Notes

I enjoy pre-chopping all the veggies and setting them aside until I’m ready to make the entire dish.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: stove top
Cuisine: American