Lentil Sloppy Joes!
Seeing as I’ve posted recipes for both Healthy Oreos and Healthy Butterfingers this week, I figured a non-dessert post was in order. After all, a person can’t live on chocolate, cookies, and candy, alone. We can come close…
Anywhoos, so last night I made these:
Thinking of sloppy joes brings me back to high school.
My mom always placed high importance on family dinner nights, and she’d somehow manage to make a big meal even on days we were super busy. (We were always super busy!)
My sister and I played on the school’s varsity tennis team, with long practices each day, and Friday nights were particularly animated: we’d board a bus in the afternoon, then play intense matches until well after dark. Intense might not be a strong enough word… we sometimes played against China’s future Olympic team!
Ever the supportive parent, my mom attended almost every match. Yet, when we’d finally drag our tired (and hungry) bodies off the courts, there it would magically sit, waiting for us:
A home-cooked meal.
Sloppy joes became one of our favorite Friday-night dinners, and one of our mom’s favorites as well, because she could make them in the morning in the crock pot. Her recipe is actually meatless (I’ve been a vegetarian since high school), but it calls for a few ingredients one can’t buy in the US. So last night I changed it up, and I incorporated lentils into my new creation.
Although I didn’t use a crock pot for this recipe, I imagine you could. The recipe comes together very quickly, and there’s even a microwave option!
Did you sit down to family meals when you were growing up?
Or do you try to have family meals with your own kids? My family tried to all eat together whenever we could. Sometimes after-school activities got in the way; and sometimes we were forced to eat in the car, en route to soccer practice or art class. But when we got the opportunity to sit down as a family, we took advantage.
I don’t remember ever eating dinner in front of the television, unless it was a special “movie night.”
Lentil Sloppy Joes
(Sloppy Loes)
- 2 15-oz cans lentils, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups cooked lentils)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1-2 stevia packets, or 3-5 tsp sugar or sweetener of choice, or to taste
- 14 oz tomato sauce (I used no-salt-added)
- up to 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or soy-free alternative)
- optional: 1/2 an onion (diced) and 2 tsp oil
Lentil sloppy joes: If making these on the stovetop: sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until onion is translucent. Add lentils and spices, stir, then add all other ingredients and cook uncovered (stirring occasionally) until thick like sloppy joe filling. If making this in the microwave: add all ingredients to a large microwave-safe dish (minus the onion and oil, which you won’t use with this method). Microwave until it boils, stir, then repeat the process until it is thick like sloppy joe filling. Makes about 5 cups.
View Sloppy Joes Nutrition Facts
Link Of The Day:
Just made these tonight So awesome!!! I added extra garlic, mustard powder, and a little Worcester Sauce to mine.
I’ve shared this website with all my gf’s and they fell in love with it too! Can’t wait for your cookbook!
My family always ate together at the table (tv and radio had to be turned off as well). If someone wasn’t home, the rest of the family ate together anyways. Heck, even as adults we still do the same – although we might be allowed to leave the news on the tv in the living room now 😉
Hi Katie,
I made these last night for my daughters and myself. They groaned when they realized I was making them without meat and kicked up a fuss but when it came time to eat dinner, they cleaned their plates! They even suggested the filling as a possibility for nachos.
Thanks for the great recipe! I think it will be in regular rotation at my house!
Cheers,
Dana
I’m trying to cut down on my animal consumption, which has proven tricky due to my husband’s love of meat. But he LOVES this recipe! Yay!
I just made this and it turned out absolutely delicious! I am actually enjoying some right now. Mmm! It’s hardy and delicious. I will definitely make this again.
Wowwwwwwww, just had this for dinner…thank you so much! It was fantabulous and reminded me of when I was young and had dinner around the table with my family. I haven’t had a sloppy joe since I left home (over 27 years ago), and it was even better than the hamburger version I used to eat. I ate it just like I did as a kid…with mustard on a bun. And…it was just as sloppy to eat which made it fun:) And…best of all…it was sooooo healthy that I even think I will have some chocolate for dessert and won’t feel the least bit of guilt:)
Thanks Katie!
These are absolutely amazing. I was a little skeptical about them tasting like actual sloppy joes, but I went ahead with the recipe anyway. When I took the first bite I was blown away! I will never eat (or cook) any other sloppy joe. I was so excited at how yummy they were I went straight to Skype to call my mom and share the recipe with her!!
I give this recipe 5 stars 🙂
Really really really love this recipe. I ate it like a sandwich with honey mustard on top (is that weird? It made it even more delicious!). I also made your chocolate chip blondies today for the first time! Although my family said “they taste something like a dessert…” I thought they were yummy! And I made your crumbly cornbread today too! It turned out really well!
I asked this a few weeks ago, but didn’t get a response (probably because it was on a VERY popular post!), so I will ask again…. did you/do you miss cheese? Any good suggestions for coping with that? I love gouda, goat cheese, and blue cheese, and its the only struggle I am having with going fully vegan! Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! I do like nutritional yeast, but it’s really not a good sub when you are craving a creamy cheese in a salad or with crackers, ya know? Thanks 🙂
I did when I first went vegan. I was a cheese-a-holic! 🙂
At first, I just tried to stay far away from it (which was easier for me, since I was living in China where they consume very little of it). After awhile, I really did lose a lot of my taste for it… now I can’t stand the smell! But I still do love cheesecake, and tofutti is a great cream cheese sub. For actual cheese, I know a lot of people like Daiya. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is the closest thing I’ve found to real cheese.
Finally, this might be worth looking into: http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Vegan-Cheese-Miyoko-Schinner/dp/1570672830
Katie
What kind of lentils did you use? The picture looks like beans. I have green , red and black dried lentils at home and they are all small and flat. I’m thinking about making this one night and was curious. I’m new to using lentils and still don’t know much about how to fix them but am trying to incorporate those in my diet as well.
Thanks!
Robyn
I used Westbrae canned.
What a healthy choice! Looks delicious–making this soon. 😀