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Lentil Sloppy Joes

October 24, 2020 by Lindsay 14 Comments

These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that’s perfect for lunch or dinner. Serve over spaghetti squash to keep it gluten-free or on a bun!

These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that's perfect for lunch or dinner. Serve over spaghetti squash to keep it gluten-free or on a bun!

Hi Friends!

Today I’ve got a nice little vegetarian recipe for you. Longtime readers may remember that I followed a vegetarian diet for a while a couple of years ago. Then I wrote this post about how my diet doesn’t need a label, and that mentality has been working well for me for the past three years. I tend to go through periods where I just don’t feel like eating meat…so I don’t. Then things change and i’m back on the chicken train.

Currently, I’m in a lentil-loving phase so I whipped up these lentil sloppy joes a couple weeks ago. They turned out so well that I remade them so I could share with you!

If you’re not a lentil lover, you could easily sub ground meat. You can serve these the traditional way – on a bun…or change things up like I did and serve them in a nice little spaghetti squash boat. Not sure how to cook that? Here are 3 ways to cook spaghetti squash. You could also cook it in your instant pot!

These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that's perfect for lunch or dinner. Serve over spaghetti squash to keep it gluten-free or on a bun!

This recipe is very forgiving. Feel free to add some extra veggies or swap out ones you don’t like. If your mixture gets too thick, just add a little water to make them sloppier!

Here’s the recipe:

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Lentil Sloppy Joes

Lentil Sloppy Joes 2
Print Recipe

★★★★

4 from 1 reviews

These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that’s perfect for lunch or dinner. Serve over spaghetti squash to keep it gluten-free or on a bun!

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3/4 cup dry lentils
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2/3 cup onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 medium sweet potato, chopped
  • 3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
  • 1– 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 cup broth or water for thinning (optional)

Instructions

  1. Cook lentils in broth or water according to package directions.
  2. In a large pan (with a little oil), saute garlic, onion, peppers, sweet potato and mushrooms over medium high heat until sweet potatoes reach desired tenderness.
  3. Add cooked lentils, tomato sauce, spices and sugar and heat through.
  4. Add water or broth if needed to reach desired consistency.
  5. Taste and adjust spices as needed.
  6. Serve over cooked spaghetti squash or on a bun!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

If you want this to cook even faster, toss your sweet potatoes in a little oil, put them in a bowl and microwave 2-3 minutes so they won’t take as long to cook in the pan!

Like I mentioned above, you could use ground meat…just throw a pound in with the veggies and cook thoroughly.

These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that's perfect for lunch or dinner. Serve over spaghetti squash to keep it gluten-free or on a bun!

[clickToTweet tweet=”These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that’s perfect for lunch or dinner.” quote=”These Lentil Sloppy Joes are a healthy vegetarian recipe that’s perfect for lunch or dinner.”]

Let’s chat!

Did you eat sloppy joes growing up? Were you a fan or not?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch Tagged With: Chicken Broth, Garlic, Lentils, Onion, Sweet Potato, Tomato Sauce

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Autumn @ AutumnPTW.com says

    January 11, 2017 at 8:07 AM

    Loved sloppy joes as a kid! I love the idea of swapping lentils and serving in spaghetti squash. This looks amazing!

    Reply
  2. [email protected] a Dash of Cinnamon says

    January 11, 2017 at 8:19 AM

    I loved sloppy joes as a kid too. It was a Halloween tradition to have them before we went out trick or treating lol. Random I know. A few years ago I started getting into making lentil sloppy joes and they are so good! I love that too!Great way to swap out the meat.

    Reply
  3. Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona says

    January 11, 2017 at 9:58 AM

    Yum! These look delicious. I’m bookmarking this recipe to make next week.

    Reply
  4. Jessica @ The Balanced Kitchen says

    January 11, 2017 at 1:36 PM

    This looks like an awesome way to use lentils. My whole family would love these! Definitely adding it to the meal plan for next week!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 12, 2017 at 6:11 AM

      hope they’re a hit!

      Reply
  5. Kelli says

    January 12, 2017 at 6:28 AM

    I haven’t thought about sloppy joes in so long! Love the vegetarian twist on them.

    Reply
  6. Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says

    January 12, 2017 at 7:14 AM

    I was totally a sloppy joe fan, but this lentil version looks way better than the original to me 🙂 And I love the idea of switching things up and serving in a spaghetti squash boat 🙂

    Reply
  7. Kristen Chang says

    January 14, 2017 at 7:55 AM

    Your post about how your diet doesn’t need a label 3 years ago has really stuck with me! Especially when I found out I was iron-deficient last summer, it helped me to feel free in adding iron-rich animal products without ditching the plant based mentality. I too am on a lentil kick and can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks Lindsay!

    Reply
  8. Riya says

    January 19, 2017 at 2:58 AM

    Yum,

    I Bookmarked this recipe, to cook in this weekend, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  9. Meredith says

    August 30, 2019 at 12:57 AM

    We enjoyed this a lot! Trying to include more plant based meals in our menu! We topped with Siracha!

    Reply
  10. Dave says

    March 7, 2022 at 8:50 PM

    Very new to vegetarian cooking! Sorry, no intention to make it a fact of life. This was my Very first attempt at cooking with lentils. Pretty impressed! I followed instructions in your ‘preamble’ for cooking. ( 12 minutes at simmer etc). Lentils were still a little crunchy. We had leftovers tonight. Added some water And heated up on the stove for a good bit. Softened the lentils and they were much better tonight. Have to go and find some more green lentil recipes! (Still lots in the bag!). Thanks for this !!

    ★★★★

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 29 Healthy Legume Recipes - Food, Pleasure, and Health says:
    January 2, 2018 at 2:20 PM

    […] Lentil Sloppy Joes by The Lean Green Bean (vegan // gf) […]

    Reply
  2. Lentil Taco Salad says:
    January 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM

    […] also similar in size and texture to ground meat. You’ve seen me use them before in these Lentil Sloppy Joes, this Vegetarian Instant Pot Lasagna Soup and this Lentil Mac and Cheese. If you’re just not […]

    Reply
  3. 20 Recipes to Make With a Bag of Lentils - A Cedar Spoon says:
    January 15, 2019 at 10:16 AM

    […] Lentil Sloppy Joes // The Lean Green Bean […]

    Reply

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I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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