I received products from Udi’s Gluten Free for this post but, as always, all opinions are my own! Thank you so much for supporting the brands that support me!
It is officially the first day of summer! But, if you live anywhere near where I live, you know that it has been feeling like summer for a few weeks now. Today’s high is 110 and I’m not sure I can take much more! I’ve thought about jumping the fence and sneaking into the neighbors pool a few times, but I’m guessing that would frowned upon. The summer solstice also marks the 8th anniversary for my husband and I 🙂 I’m not sure if you are supposed to still celebrate your dating anniversary once you are married, but I say the more celebrations the better!
Now that summer is in full swing that means lot of BBQs. Which also means that I need to have a recipe box packed full of delicious vegetarian sandwiches I can eat. You probably all know by now how much I love me some veggie burgers, but to be honest, I think that these vegetarian sloppy joes just slid into first place.
I’m not sure if I had ever really had a sloppy joe before I cooked these up. I remember them serving sloppy joes in the cafeteria growing up and having zero interest in them. I liked the idea, but I wasn’t ever really sure what they were putting in them! Not to be left out, I decided to come up with my own version. These vegetarian sloppy joes are packed with tons of protein by adding both lentils and chickpeas and this homemade BBQ sauce is so easy to make and so flavorful.
The ingredient list for the BBQ sauce may look a little intimidating at first, but if you are a regular here I’m guessing that you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already. While the heaping mound of coleslaw on top isn’t required, I would definitely recommend it! And, as the name states, these are pretty sloppy so a napkin is most likely needed if you don’t want to stain your pretty t-shirt (I might have done that a few times..), but they are totally worth it!
Happy Summer Solstice to everyone!
Print
Vegetarian Sloppy Joes {vegan}
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry green lentils
- 1 –15 ounce can cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1.5 cups)
- Coleslaw for topping, if desired
- Hamburger buns, I used Udi’s gluten free
BBQ Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small shallot, diced (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 small cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon tamari
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place lentils in a medium sized pot and cover with 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook lentils until tender and cooked through, 20-25 minutes.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil and shallots. Season with a pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Next, add the remaining BBQ sauce ingredients and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cooked lentils and chickpeas to the BBQ sauce and cook for another 5-10 minutes until everything is heated through.
- Scoop the sloppy joe mix onto the buns and top with coleslaw if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Sandwich, Gluten Free, Vegan
BBQ Sauce recipe adapted from Laura’s BBQ Lentil and Polenta recipe at The First Mess.
This was so delicious and easy to make! Thank you for the recipe!!! ❤️
So glad you enjoyed them!!
These sound really good :). I’m wondering if I can use canned lentils instead of dry? I don’t have a lot of experience using them so I wasnt sure if they would be too mushy from the can.
Definitely!
The whole family ate these!!
I am no vegan but I am adding more vegetables and legumes in my diet. I decided we needed a meatless night and I have to say I am totally impressed by this recipie Thank you for posting it
That’s so nice to hear!!
These are delicious and surprisingly filling! Most sloppy joe sauce recipes I’ve encountered are a little too heavy on the cumin flavor, so I liked that this one relied on some other ingredients that gave it a sweet + spicy kick. I *did* resort to fork-and-knifing it, but I don’t think you can expect any sloppy joe to stay together all that well 🙂
Haha, I fork and knife mine sometimes too! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
BBQ sauce top on right! Yum!
Thanks!!
I have never tried or eaten Lentils or chickpeas (besides hummus), and I am beginning a vegan lifestyle. This recipe looks amazing and I am willing to give this recipe a go!! I’m a meat lover, but per doctor’s orders I need this new lifestyle change!!
I hope you enjoy them! My husband is a meat eater and he loves them 🙂
I tried this recipe tonight and really loved the barbecue sauce. I love chickpeas, but my family didn’t care for them in this recipe. I will do the recipe again, leave out the chickpeas and add more lentils instead. It would be more helpful if people leaving comments would do so after trying the recipe. I plan to try many more recipes on your site. Thanks!
I love this BBQ sauce too! More lentils would work well, or anything else your family loves 🙂
These are superb! I highly recommend this recipe!!! We made them tonight for the fist time. Looking forward to making them again in the future.
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed them!! They are one of my favorite dinners too! Thank you 🙂
Made this last night for me and my non-veggie roommate… SO GOOD. The BBQ sauce hit the spot =D
Yah! I’m so glad you guys liked it! The BBQ sauce is one of my favorites 🙂
These Sloppy Joes are scrumptious!!! What a fantastic recipe! Thank you for sharing it!!!
Thanks so much, Tracey! I’m so glad you liked them! 🙂
Love me some chickpeas!! And I love me some sloppy joes!
110 is just too hot for me! Jumping in the neighbors pool sounds like a plan =) I love all the ingredients in your BBQ sauce, so versatile and could be used for several different recipes. I don’t think I’ve ever made Sloppy Joes before, especially your spin on them and I’m starting to wonder why. As always, love the eye popping color. I need to work on my gluten free recipes for my sister’s family who is particularly sensitive!!
Dear Isadora, what a fabulous recipe…I love your vegetarian style sloppy joe. I have to give this a try this summer. Looks absolutely delish! xo, Catherine
What a delicious vegetarian meal! These sloppy joes look so hearty!