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
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Looks delicious! How did your mom make this in the slow cooker? I just got one and am dying to try it!
I think if you used the microwave version, you could just let it sit on low until it thickened like sloppy joe filling.
We hardly ever ate/eat sit-down meals. We all have different crazy schedules, so we all grab food when we can. Several therapists and doctors have told us to eat together more, but its just not an option.
These look delicious though.. I tried a pepper/hummus/lentil wrap once and didn’t like it.. I like hummus though so I thought it was the lentils… maybe its worth trying again
Made these for dinner last night! Yummmmy! I did add a bit of ground turkey, cause my boys are carnivores……everyone loved it! I ate mine in lettuce wraps (I’m GF), and it was awesome!
I was taken back a moment to my high school days, too, when my mom would make the “Hungry Man” sloppy joes. Ours has beef, but I’m SO going to try this version and take a walk down memory lane! Thanks for sharing Katie! I LOVE your blog!
This recipe was awesome!!! I love so many of your recipes!
This looks marvelous! De-lurking to ask if you have come across or tried a substitute for tomatoes in recipes like this? I can’t eat nightshade vegetables and have yet to find a suitable replacement for tomato sauce in recipes.
Love your site!!!
Sorry, I haven’t 🙁
mixed puree of root veggies (carrot, beet…) or pumpkin puree
Violet, thank you awesome ideas! 😀
I am loving lentils lately – can’t wait to try this!
We almost always ate together as a family growing up, as often as we could. (My mom was the best Italian cook ever, God rest her soul, as she past away a few years ago. Born and raised in Italy, she began cooking at age 8! I was too busy climbing trees and playing at 8, though I wish I had interest then as I do now! Her experience reflected in her cooking, so delicious!) I love that your recipes are quick, and they all look easy enough. I love to cook! Unfortunately, I don’t usually have the time it takes to cook certain dishes I loved growing up. I have a 5yr old son with Autism, and a 2 year old who both keep me super busy! I appreciate having quick recipes like these to use, and gluten free! This sloppy joe recipe looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try it! I also want to try your cornbread recipe! I have been searching high and low for a healthy cornbread recipe! So glad to find one on your blog!
Interesting recipe — I like your spin on the sloppy joe 🙂
Where did you get the bread in the picture and what brand is it? Sorry to ask, but it looks really yummy:)
They’re actually a recipe experiment that turned out really well– homemade English muffins :).