These vegan sloppy joes have the most delicious tangy sauce and meaty filling! This easy-to-make and freezer-friendly meal is perfect for Meatless Monday and it's ready in 30 minutes!
You're going to love these vegan sloppy joes! The filling is so easy to make and it has the most delicious tangy tomato-based sauce. The filling tastes very meat-like because it contains two types of legumes. The french lentils hold their shape while the red lentils break down and it creates a thick and chunky texture.
This kid-approved sloppy joes recipe is great for a quick Meatless Monday dinner. Serve the sandwiches with a side of chickpea puffs, sesame ginger coleslaw, avocado tomato salad, creamy broccoli salad, or lemon tahini zucchini salad for a balanced meal that the whole family will love!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Lentils - I used both french and red for plant-based protein and to create a chunky and creamy texture. You can substitute green or brown lentils, Beyond Meat crumbles, or riced cauliflower if needed.
- Bell Peppers - Red bell peppers give a pop of color, but you can use any color fresh or frozen bell peppers you like.
- Tomato Paste - This deepens the tomato flavor in the sauce. If you don't have it, you can substitute an additional ½ cup of ketchup.
- Maple Syrup - If you need a low-glycemic sweetener, date syrup can be used instead of maple syrup 1:1. If you're sugar-free, you can omit the sweetener completely. It's only added to balance the acidity of the tomatoes in the sloppy joes sauce.
- Chili Powder - Make sure you use a mild chili powder blend, not a spicy chili powder.
- Vegan Worcestershire - This ingredient gives so much flavor! If you need a substitute, you can use 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce. Omit the sea salt listed in the recipe card and add more salt to taste only if necessary because soy sauce is salty.
- Balsamic Vinegar - Vinegar adds a delicious tang to the sloppy joes sauce.
How to Make Vegan Sloppy Joes
Begin by cooking the green lentils in a medium pot (they take about 20-25 minutes to cook), so at the halfway point, add the red lentils to the same pot (they take 10-12 minutes to cook) and let both finish cooking together in the same pot. When they are done cooking, drain any excess liquid out.
Next, saute the diced onions and bell peppers in a large pan until they are translucent (Photo 1). Add the minced garlic, tomato paste, and all of the dry seasonings. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant (Photos 2 & 3).
Add the Worcestershire, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, and water to the pan. Stir a few times and let it cook for 2-3 minutes (Photo 4).
Add the cooked legumes to the pan and stir them into the sloppy joes sauce (Photo 5). Let the filling cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes (Photo 6). Serve on soft buns.
Slow Cooker Instructions
To make the sloppy joes in the slow cooker, put all of the ingredients (except the burger buns) into a large slow cooker. You'll need to put an extra 6 cups of water or vegetable broth into the slow cooker. Stir to combine the mixture together, cover it, and set it to cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Expert Tips
- Rinse the dried lentils with fresh water until the water runs clear. The water will be pretty cloudy at first.
- Cook all of the lentils in the same pot so you'll have one less pot to clean!
- You can use fresh or frozen bell peppers, both are delicious in this recipe. I often use frozen bell peppers to save time and they're usually cheaper too.
- This sloppy joes recipe makes a large amount, and it freezes perfectly. So, it's great to freeze half for a future meal if you like to plan ahead.
FAQ
Yes. 1 cup of dried = 2 ½ cups cooked. (1) 15 oz can contains about 2 cups of cooked, so, you'll need 2 ½ cans for this recipe.
Make sure to read the ingredient label on the bottle symbol before you buy it because not all Worcestershire sauces are vegan. I've tried multiple brands but this vegan Worcestershire is my favorite. It's smoky and tangy and it gives a lot of flavor to the sloppy joe filling.
Storage
Refrigerate it: Store the sloppy joes filling in an airtight container in the fridge and it should stay fresh for 3-4 days.
Freeze It: It freezes and reheats perfectly! Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Reheat From the Freezer: Take the container out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw for 24 hours. Then you can warm it up in a pan on the stove or in the microwave. When you reheat it, add a little bit of water or vegetable broth to help loosen up the sauce a bit if it's too thick.
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Easy Vegan Sloppy Joes
Equipment
- Medium Pot
- Large Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried green lentils (rinsed and drained)
- 1 cup dried red lentils (rinsed and drained)
- ½ cup water or vegetable broth (to saute)
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 2 medium red bell peppers diced (fresh or frozen)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp sea salt add more to taste
- 1 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Cook the green lentils (rinsed and drained) according to package instructions. Halfway through, add the red lentils, stir to combine, and let both finish cooking together in the same pot.
- (Do this step while the lentils are cooking.) In a large pan, saute the diced onion and bell peppers in vegetable broth over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the minced garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, tomato paste, and salt. Stir to combine and let the mixture cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. You might need to add a splash of water if the mixture gets to dry and it's sticking to the pan.
- Add the maple syrup, Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, and water. Stir to combine and let it cook for 2-3 minutes so the flavors begin to meld together.
- Add the cooked lentils to the pan, stir everything together, and reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for 15 minutes. Spoon the filling into burger buns and enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftover vegan sloppy joes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze it for 2-3 months. Then take the container out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw for 24 hours. Then you can warm it up in the microwave or in a pot on the stove top. Add a little bit of water to thin the sauce if necessary.
Nutrition
*This post was originally published on 4/23/17 but I updated it with new pictures and better recipe instructions on 9/11/22.
Made this recipe once and loved it! However, just bought new lentils and noticed that the green and red have the same cooking time listed on the packaging. Would you still start with the green and add the red halfway through? Thanks!
Hello! Usually, red lentils don't take as long to cook as green lentils do. However, if your package instructions say to cook them for the same amount of time, then I would follow the instructions. You can't go wrong because even if the red lentils are a little bit overcooked, it will make the filling taste even thicker and chunkier (which is exactly how it should be). Enjoy!
Excellent! Even my meat-eating friends enjoyed the meal.
Thank you, Lisa! I'm so glad everyone liked the sloppy joes! =)
The one food as a child I could not come to terms with is SLOPPY JOES! I think of the Matilda movie every time! However against my hatred of Sloppy Joes, I decided to give this one a whirl. I make this at LEAST once a month! It is the only meal everyone in my family will eat without complaints. And my kids have no idea its VEGAN! its a win win! Thank you for changing my mind on Sloppy Joes because this is my ALL TIME FAVORITE on your entire website. But I haven't tried them all either so that might change lol
I'm so glad that you and your family love the recipe, Candy! Thank you!
Just made this tonight and was great! Tasty and filling. I used a mix of beluga lentils and a sprouted lentil trio mix and added half the syrup.
I'm so happy you liked the recipe, thank you for the feedback!
can leftovers be frozen?
Yes, leftovers can be frozen for 3-4 months.
love everything to do with this recipe. took me an hour to prep and make the meal. New time vegetarian and would 100% recommend this recipe!
I'm so glad you liked the recipe, thank you for the feedback!
Amazing! My husband who is the biggest sloppy Joe fan adored this. Will be a regular at my house. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Can you make this in a crockpot?
Hey, Natasha! Yes, you can make this recipe in the crockpot. Add enough extra vegetable broth or water to cook the lentils in the crockpot or you could just cook the red lentils in the crockpot and mix in canned green lentils at the end. Enjoy!
My husband hates green lentils. Can I use only red lentils in this? Not sure how well it would hold up.
Does he like brown lentils? Or you could substitute another type of bean for the green lentils like chickpeas or black eyed peas? You could use all red lentils but the texture will be softer and less chunky.
Is the nutritional info per serving or pot? Have this cooking on stove as I write and just curious. Smells wonderful
Hi Rachel! The nutritional information is located at the bottom of the recipe card! I hope you enjoyed the sloppy joes!
This looks amazing!! Can’t wait to make it!! Wondering what your sub for ketchup?
You can skip the ketchup and use an extra tbsp of tomato paste instead. You may need to add a touch of maple syrup to balance the flavors if it tastes too acidic. Enjoy!
I have canned lentils on hand and I’d love to make this today. How many cans (15 oz.) do I need?
Thank you!!
Hi, Marci! Two cups of dried lentils yield about 5 cups cooked. 1 (15 oz) can of cooked lentils = about 2 cups of cooked lentils. Technically, you need 2 1/2 cans of lentils for this recipe but you can use all three cans if you like.
Thank you!! 🙂
Hi stacy. Could you use all red lentils for this instead?
Hey, Casey! You can make it with just red lentils but the texture won't be as chunky had you used both types of lentils. It will still taste good but it might be a little sloppier.
Hi Stacey,
It looks delicious and healthy. Going to take the taste soon.
Thank you, Ellen! Enjoy!
OMGOOOODNESSS!!!!!!!!!!! Have I reached Heaven? I came across your website yesterday at work while looking for something to make for supper that was meatless and THIS WAS A HUGE HIT! My husband literally licked the plate and his fingers <3 I made it exactly as instructed. Thank you so much for posting such a great recipe and I look forward to trying more.
I'm so glad that you and your husband liked the recipe! Thank you for the sweet comment, it made my day!
I made these last night for my fiance and I - we both loved them!! Delicious. He's a meat eater and was in the mood for something "meaty," and this totally hit the spot. I'm just trying to figure out how to best portion them, as you note it serves 6-8 people. How much of the "slop" (hehe) would you estimate using per sandwich? Thanks!
Hi, Holly! I'm so glad you both liked the sandwiches! It's one of our favorite "meaty" meals too. The buns I used were pretty big hamburger buns so I would say about 1/2 cup of the lentil mixture per sandwich. Sometimes my husband made his own sandwich so I'm sure he piled it on even more!
Thank you so much!
I ADORE lentils and these yummy finger licking Sloppy Joes are ABSOLUTELY delicious!
I grew up eating sloppy joes and while I'm not vegan I try to limit our meat consumption. I am going to keep this in my arsenal because I imagine my 9 month old would like to eat this once he's a toddler!
I'm sure he would love the sloppy factor! LOL Enjoy! =)
Yummy! My family loves sloppy goes and I never thought to try to make it vegetarian. I have been trying to incorporate a lot more meatless meals into my menu and this will be a perfect addition. Pinned!
Thank you! It's such an easy swap to lose the meat and you don't lose any flavor! =)
These. These look sooo good and healthy too. The whole idea with Sloppy Joes is that they fall out onto the plate. Ha! I remember the first time I made them for my kids. They just couldn't get it when I told them it was going to be o.k. to get messy. 🙂
Thank you!
YUMMMMMMMMY is all I can think of when I read your latest recipe for Lentil Sloppy Joes. I want to stop everything and make it!!!! Your mind is a fertile field of healthy food options!!!!
Thank you! I think you would love them!