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    Home » Main Courses

    Walnut Meat Vegan Sloppy Joes

    Published: May 14, 2020 · Modified: Sep 15, 2022 by Larisha Bernard · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

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    These meatless walnut meat vegan sloppy joes will blow your mind!  Super easy to make and perfectly similar to the traditional version. 

    A walnut meat vegan sloppy joe sandwich with fries and mayo.

    When we originally made our vegan walnut taco eat, I knew it had so many possibilities.  After that, I knew I had to turn it into delicious vegan sloppy joes. 

    It’s a childhood classic and a family favorite for so many and it’s just so simple and easy to make. 

    It’s also eerily realistic looking to what the traditional meat version looks like, so it’s a great transition meal or something to make when trying to convince someone to go vegan. 

    And it’s a meal that is good for meal prepping. 

    You also have the choice to make it spicy or not depending on your preferences. 

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    A hand holding a walnut meat vegan sloppy joes.

    What ingredients do I need to make walnut meat vegan 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)
    • walnuts
    • garlic powder
    • chili powder
    • smoked paprika 
    • yellow mustard 
    • ketchup
    • brown sugar 
    • Optional: Sriracha or red pepper flakes to make spicy
    Thick stack of walnut meat vegan sloppy joes on a bun.

    How do you make walnut meat vegan sloppy joes?

    The first step is letting your walnuts soak.  You can do this by letting them sit in boiling hot water for 30 minutes or let them soak in an air tight container for up to 5 days.  We usually let them sit for 24 hours and then use them. 

    Once your walnuts have soaked, drain them and you are going to put them into a food processor and pulse until you have meat like crumbles.

    They should be small in size.  Be careful not to over process or you will end up with walnut butter. 

    Then, chop your onions, garlic, and peppers.  

    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 crumbled walnut and stir very well. 

    Pour in your canned tomatoes, soy sauce (or substitute) and liquid smoke.  Stir well.  

    Cook until the liquid has evaporated, stirring every few minutes. This will take 20-30 minutes. 

    Add in the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. 

    Stir and cook until the dish is heated throughout. 

    Take off the stove and serve.

    A golden brown bun with walnut meat vegan sloppy joes.

    Can this be Top 8 Allergen Free vegan sloppy joes?

    This recipe is made with the base ingredient of walnuts, so unfortunately It contains nuts.  If you are allergic to nuts, we encourage you to try our vegan lentil sloppy joes.  

    The soy sauce is the only other ingredient that we are concerned with.

    Depending on the allergies you have, you can replace the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari, coconut aminos or a Top 8 no soy sauce (click links to see each).

    Otherwise this recipe is allergen free!  

    Walnut meat vegan sloppy joe sandwich and fries.

    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. 

    No yeast vegan pizza.

    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 walnut meat vegan sloppy joes for later:

    Walnut meat vegan sloppy joe with recipe name overlayed.
    A walnut meat vegan sloppy joe topped with french fries.
    Print Recipe
    4.50 from 2 votes

    Walnut Meat Vegan Sloppy Joes

    These meatless walnut meat vegan sloppy joes will blow your mind! Super easy to make and perfectly similar to the traditional version.
    Prep Time30 minutes mins
    Cook Time40 minutes mins
    Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 8 sandwiches
    Calories: 655kcal
    Author: Larisha Bernard

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups walnuts, soaked
    • 2 sweet onions, diced
    • 8 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 (not drained)
    • 2 tablespoon soy sauce (can use coconut aminos or no soy soy sauce)
    • 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
    • 2 cups ketchup
    • ¼ cup brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar)
    • 4 teaspoon yellow mustard
    • 1-2 tablespoon sriracha (Optional. Only add if wanting it spicy)
    • 8 hamburger buns

    Instructions

    • Soak walnuts first if not already soaked.
      *You can do this by letting them sit in boiling hot water for 30 minutes or let them soak in an air tight container for up to 5 days.  We usually let them sit for 24 hours and then use them. 
    • Drain soaked walnuts and put them into a food processor and pulse until you have meat like crumbles. Scrapping down as needed.
      *Do not over process or you will end up with walnut butter. 
    • Chop onions, garlic, and peppers.  
    • Add a small amount of oil to a skillet, and saute onions and peppers until translucent (about 2-3 minutes).
    • Add in the garlic for 1 more minute.
    • Sprinkle garlic powder, chili powder, and smoked paprika across and stir to combine.  
    • Add in the crumbled walnut and stir very well. 
    • Pour in canned tomatoes, soy sauce, and liquid smoke.  Stir well.  
    • Cook until the liquid has evaporated, stirring every few minutes. This will take 20-30 minutes. 
    • 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

    Video

    Notes

    **Nutritional facts are just estimates. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. 
    *Please see notes for tips and tricks

    Nutrition

    Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1057mg | Potassium: 682mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 982IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 4mg

    Let’s see your creations!
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    Collage of walnut meat vegan sloppy joes.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Melissa Barrett

      May 03, 2021 at 10:24 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious!

      Reply
      • LarishaBernard

        May 04, 2021 at 4:15 pm

        So glad you like it! Thanks for taking time to leave a review

        Reply
    2. Marino

      December 30, 2020 at 11:51 am

      Is 4 cups walnuts really right? It sounds like a lot and the video shows a lot less.

      Reply
      • LarishaBernard

        February 24, 2021 at 2:45 pm

        it’s really right, in the video we are making half the recipe

        Reply
    3. Erica Parshikova

      November 07, 2020 at 11:06 pm

      4 stars
      Wonderful and so so so delicious! This is such a creative way to replace meat with simple ingredients. I didn’t have canned tomatoes so I just used more bell papers and grated carrots and it turned out wonderfully. Also, very understandable and easy steps. Will be sure to check out more recipes!!

      Reply
      • LarishaBernard

        November 17, 2020 at 4:08 pm

        We’re so happy to hear you liked it! Thanks for taking time out of your day to leave a review. We really appreciate it.

        Reply

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