Sloppy Joes, sloppy, sloppy Joes.
Sloppy Joes are the best! My mom used to make them all the time when I was little. With 4 kids, it was something easy and super quick for her to make as we all screamed about being hungry. I may only have one kid, but I still always want quick and easy dinners. The only difference is, Lenore and I don’t eat meat! So these vegan sweet and spicy chipotle BBQ sloppy joes are perfect for us!
The base for these is lentils, but it would work with lots of different proteins. Tofu crumbles, other beans, tvp, etc. I like to buy pre cooked lentils, they have great ones at Trader Joe’s. That makes this meal take about 15 minutes or so.
Once you have cooked lentils, either bought that way, or dried ones you have cooked, all you have to do is make the tastiest BBQ sauce ever! Sweet and spicy chipotle BBQ sauce is ahhhhmazing! It is also easy, and refined sugar free! So just whisk together some ingredients, heat it up to develop the flavor, then just toss with some lentils in a sauce pan to heat it all together and make the best dinner ever!
I like my sloppy joes pretty sloppy, so I added pretty much all of the BBQ sauce. However, you can definitely customize how sloppy you want your sloppy joes to be! I like to top mine with some lightly dressed coleslaw, it gives it some freshness and a nice crunch to contrast the dare I say sloppiness.
The perfect comfort food in winter or a nice BBQ meal in the summer, all the time is a good time for these sloppy joes. Everyone loves them, and when I make them for children, I just make the BBQ sauce a bit less spicy! You can easily make these however you want!
Vegan Sweet and Spicy Chipotle BBQ Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 15 oz. can Tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Tomato paste
- 1/3 C. Agave nectar
- 2 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 C. Apple juice
- 1/2 tsp. Liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp. Molasses
- 1 Chipotle in adobo, chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 tsp. Olive oil
- 1/4 C. Sweet onion, chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
- 2 C. Cooked lentils
- Buns for serving
Instructions
- In a medium sized sauce pan, combine the tomato sauce, tomato paste, agave, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, liquid smoke, molasses and chopped chipotle.
- Whisk everything together and heat on medium. Bring to a simmer, season with a bit of salt and pepper, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes while you make them lentil mixture.
- Now heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet or non stick pan on medium high, add the onions and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes or so until the onions are translucent.
- Now add the cooked lentils, and saute everything together until the lentils are warmed through and the garlic and onions are completely cooked. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Now taste the BBQ sauce and adjust seasoning. Then add the BBQ sauce to the lentils. I started by adding about half of the BBQ sauce, then a little at a time until it was as saucy as I wanted it. It will thicken as you cook it all together.
- Stir and reduce heat to low, simmer for a minute or so until it thickens a bit, adding as much sauce as you want(I used almost all of it, but it is up to you).
- Now remove from heat, scoop some of the lentils onto a bun. Serve as is, or top with some vegan coleslaw, or raw onions, or anything your heart desires. Serve immediately.
emma
is there any way i can substitute the agave with something else and not alter the taste?
Lauren Hartmann
Maple syrup, coconut sugar or brown sugar should all work great!
Jamie
A new staple meal in my house. So incredibly good 😍 cant wait for the cookbook to come out.
Steve Perucca
Super yummy! Was looking for An oil free vegan receipt And this did the trick, just omitted the olive oil. Might be on the sweet side s could reduce the sugar a bit. Making it a second time right now since it was a hit. Also doing oil free hash brown in a waffle maker and can this tastes great over the crunchy hash browns, on whole wheat buns or corn taco shells
Anelyse
I loved this! I used 3 cups cooked lentils and cut down the agave/sweetener a bit. Served it with a slaw using the Caesar dressing from your crispy “chicken” Caesar sandwiches.
Linda
Looks yummy! What kind of lentils do you use?
Megan
First made this a couple years ago and I finally came back to say this is a go to recipe for me. Perfect balance of sweet/spicy and so flavorful and hearty. And it’s healthy, cuz, lentils…am I right?