Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes are the perfect plant based vegan dinner for someone who wants a childhood classic or is transitioning to a more plant based diet. Easy to make and Top 8 Allergen Free.
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These vegan lentil sloppy joes are absolutely delicious and so easy to make.
Once your lentils are made the entire dish is ready in less than 10 minutes after that. You could even used canned lentils to make this dish in just about 10 minutes total.
Lentils are a great meat replacement because they are filling and take on somewhat of a similar texture in that they are hearty.
They do well in a dish like this vegetarian sloppy joe mixture since they hold onto the sauce and thicken up well.
Definitely a great meal if you are looking to meal plan or even have frozen meals ready too.
Why You’ll Love This Lentil Sloppy Joe Recipe
- Flavorful – There is so much flavor inside eat bite you’ll take with these!
- High Protein – lentils are a great source of protein and make these sandwiches a great way to increase your protein intake
- Easy – This only takes 10 minutes to cook, making it quick and delicious!
What ingredients do I need to make vegan lentil sloppy joes?
There really aren’t a lot of ingredients that go into the dish. Most are spices and seasonings components.
Full amounts listed in the printable recipe card below.
The ingredients that you need are:
- sweet onions
- garlic
- red pepper (or other color bell pepper)
- canned diced tomatoes
- liquid smoke
- soy sauce (can sub coconut aminos or noy soy soy sauce)
- cooked lentils
- garlic powder
- chili powder
- smoked paprika
- yellow mustard
- ketchup
- brown sugar
- Optional: Sriracha or red pepper flakes to make spicy
Can I use canned lentils?
Yes. We used dried; however, you can use canned. Make sure you drain and rinse them first, then proceed with the recipe.
How do you make vegan lentil sloppy joes?
The first step is cooking your lentils. We do this according to the package instructions except cook them in vegetable stock instead of water.
While lentils are cooking, chop your onions, garlic, and peppers.
About 5 minutes before your lentils will be done, add a small amount of oil to a skillet (you could also do vegetable stock), and saute your onions and peppers until translucent (about 2-3 minutes). Add in the garlic for 1 more minute. Sprinkle your seasonings across and stir to combine.
Add in the cooked lentils and stir very well.
Pour in your canned tomatoes, soy sauce (or substitute) and liquid smoke. Stir well.
Stir together well but carefully.
Add in the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar.
Stir and cook until the dish is heated throughout.
Take off the stove and serve.
Can this be Top 8 Allergen Free vegan sloppy joes?
This recipe as written is already Top 8 allergen free. You do not need to make changes it.
Can I prep this vegan dinner ahead?
Yes! Once made and cooled, this walnut vegan sloppy joes recipe can be stored in an air tight container for up to 5 ays.
Serving Suggestions for Vegan Sloppy Joes
Traditionally sloppy joes are served on buns or two slices of bread which is how we recommend serving this as well. However, if you’re gluten free or just want to switch it up, you can also do:
- lettuce wraps – butter lettuce leaves are our favorite
- grains – serve of rice, quinoa, farro, etc
- with chips – grab your favorite tortilla or pita chips and scoop it up
To make it a full meal, here’s some ideas for serving with your sloppy joes:
How to Store Vegan Sloppy Joes
You’ll want to let your sloppy joes mixture cool completely and then store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat you can place the desired amount and place into a microwave safe bowl or container for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
What are other vegan dinner ideas I should try?
Once you try our vegan pizza dough without yeast, you may be wondering what other delicious vegan meal ideas you should try. We’ve rounded up a few that we love ourselves and think you will too!
- No Yeast Vegan Pizza Dough
- Vegan Pizza Casserole
- The Best Vegan Black Bean Burger
- Cashew, Chickpea, and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce Skillet
- Best Vegan Chickpea Burgers
- Vegan Cauliflower Coconut Curry
- The Best Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Walnut Taco Meat
Pin these vegan lentil sloppy joes for later:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked lentils (1 cup dried cooked will give you 3 cups cooked)
- 1 sweet onions, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper (other colors work too)
- 1 tablespoon avocado (or olive) oil (can sub vegetable stock if oil free)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes (drained)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce (can use coconut aminos or no soy soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- ¼ cup brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar)
- 4 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1-2 tablespoon sriracha, optional only if you want it spicy
- 8 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Cook lentils if using dried. *We do this according to the package instructions except cook them in vegetable stock instead of water. *Or used equal amount of canned lentils, drained and rinsed.
- While lentils are cooking, chop onions, garlic, and peppers.
- About 5 minutes before lentils will be done, add a small amount of oil to a skillet and saute your onions and peppers until translucent (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add in the garlic for 1 more minute. Sprinkle seasonings across and stir to combine.
- Add in the cooked lentils and stir very well.
- Pour in canned tomatoes, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Stir together well but carefully.
- Add in the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. If wanting it spicy, add the sriracha.
- Stir and cook until the dish is heated throughout.
- Take off the stove and serve on buns
Notes
Video
Nutrition
I’ve made this twice now and LOVE it. However, in an effort to reduce calories, I didn’t put it on a bun, I just ate it from a bowl! I also sautéed the onions and pepper in veggie broth instead of oil.
Happy to hear that you’re enjoying it!
Super fast to put together and so tasty!! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Glad you’re enjoying!
This is OUTSTANDING! I’ve struggled for years to make a vegan sloppy joe that hubby will love and this was a hit with him and 17 year old. Comes together quick and easy.
So happy to hear that!
Good stuff. I was a little short on ketchup. Added a little more than a tablespoon of tomato paste and extra mustard. For my taste the smoked paprika was too much. Next time I’ll do a mix of smoked and regular paprika.
Thanks for sharing, glad you enjoyed
easy prep. fairly quick to bring everything together. great flavor! definitely adding to regular meal rotation.
Love it! Thank you for leaving a review!
This recipe is Phenomenal!!! I’ve just started to venture into the world of lentils and I may very well never go back after using your recipes. The only difference I did was just put everything into my instapot on high pressure for 10 minutes. It came out soooooo good. My whole family loves this!
So excited to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we really appreciate it!
Absolutely delicious! Changed up a few items since I didn’t have them, but delicious nevertheless. Even my parents, who aren’t big on vegan or vegetarian style food loved it.
We’re so excited to hear that the whole family loved the recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! We would love to hear what changes you made 🙂 We appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day and stay well.