Beth’s Sloppy Lentil Joes Recipe
Beth’s Sloppy Lentil Joes Recipe
Do you think Bobby Flay is as legit as I do? I tend to like his recipes because they’re pretty down-to-earth, and my take of his recipe from here (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/lentil-sloppy-joes-recipe/index.html) has earned me brownie points in my house. See, my kids think eating anything in a hamburger or hotdog bun is really special, so they didn’t balk the first time I served them these. They taste like traditional sloppy joe’s, and the lentils hold enough bite to them that in some ways it’s similar in texture to eating saucy ground beef. This supports my theory that it’s not so much meat that is delicious, but what flavoring you put on meat that keeps kids coming back for more. Here are some pictures to help you visualize your kids eating these up for dinner tonight.
A few of the ingredients you’ll need.
Grated and chopped vegetables ready to be sautéed.
Veggies have cooked for about five minutes and have begun to soften, which means we’re ready to add the cooked lentils.
Add the beans right in. So easy, right?
Mmm! The tang from the ketchup, then the sweetness from adding a bit of sugar, with cheese and pickles on top. Who can resist that?
All five of my kids ate their sloppy joe’s, and I didn’t even bribe them with dessert afterwards.
If you’re going to make lentils for sloppy joe’s, normal cooking time is 25-35 minutes. Because I had lentils pre-made and in my freezer, this meal took me 10 minutes, start to finish. I defrosted the lentils while I chopped and grated vegetables. While the vegetables were sautéing, I grabbed some fresh asparagus out of the fridge, drizzled olive oil on the asparagus and roasted them in the oven while I finished the sloppy joe’s. It was a simple and easy meal to fix, it made my budget happy, and I fed my family something nutritious. Win, win, win!
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 1 large carrot
- 1 medium bell pepper, green
- 1 clove garlic
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup water
- 2 cup Lentils, cooked
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 medium hamburger buns, whole wheat
- 1/4 cup slices pickle
Instructions
- In a large saute pan over medium high heat place chopped onion, grated carrot, chopped bell pepper, garlic, and 2 tablespoons ketchup.
- Add teaspoon of oil and about 1 cup of water and cook until onions start to become softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add cooked lentils, oregano, 8 tablespoons more ketchup, sugar, salt to taste, Worcestershire and mix together until heated through.
- Add more ketchup, sugar, salt or pepper to taste and remove from heat. If mixture is too thick, add tablespoon of water and mix in until you reach the desired consistency.
- Open hamburger bun and scoop 1/3 -1/2 cup bean mixture onto bun half. Top with pickles. Serve while beans are still warm.
Nutrition
(This is a post written by my sister -in law Beth! Check out Beth’s Asian Lettuce Wraps as well!)
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Do you think you could freeze this? I see that your lentils were already frozen, so if mine weren’t previously frozen could I freeze an extra batch of this recipe? I’m really reluctant about freezing lentils because I find their cook time to be so fragile. They go from raw to exploded and mushy in seconds.
I would totally freeze the sloppy joe’s mixture after I made the batch! I’m confident you’ll be fine!
Beth, do you have a good roll/bun recipe for us? 😉
Testy food and I have liked ” Veggies ” best because I like to eat it.
Love this & making it now… But your Instructions at the bottom are missing ‘what to do with the garlic” & “when to add Worcestershire sauce”. I can kinda figure it out but just wanted to let you know.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Nicole! I’ll fix it!
This sounds delicious but I wish there wasn’t sugar in it. Is it really necessary?
I too, am looking for a sugar free version.
@sarahbeek @julie- you can definitely just leave the sugar out and make no other changes.
Also check type of ketchup you use-many contain tons of added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I use tomato paste & add agave as needed, or-better yet-make homemade ketchup. Maybe SHK can feature homemade condiments in the future (if you haven’t done it already?).
Also check type of ketchup you use-many contain tons of added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I use tomato paste & add agave as needed, or-better yet-make homemade ketchup. Maybe SHK can feature homemade condiments in the future (if you haven’t done it already?).
Thanks for the reply, Amy. 🙂 I’d have to make or buy no sugar ketchup too.
Jenn- Yes, I agree! Many condiments ARE loaded with sugar and we try to avoid them. I haven’t tried to make my own condiments yet, but have seen a few recipes and have pinned them. Thanks for your input ladies.
How many cups of sloppy joe mix will this make?
I haven’t measured- but I’m guessing between 6-8 cups.
This looks great, and I’m excited to try them! Any thoughts on how many cups dry lentils would it take to make 2 cups cooked?
Usually 2 to 1. So 1 cup dry should give you two cups cooked Megan! Good luck!
I love love your recipes. Any specific kind of lentil or will any kind work? Maybe you mentioned it and I missed it.
Thanks