Once you try this delicious take on a classic sandwich, you’ll never make your sloppy joes the old way again! The flavorful combination of spicy buffalo sauce and creamy blue cheese slaw make this unique vegetarian recipe the perfect option for dinner tonight. All you need are cooked lentils and a handful of other delicious ingredients to prepare these vegan sloppy joes.
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What Do I Need to Make Vegan Sloppy Joes?
This delicious recipe is packed with flavor thanks to a variety of simple vegan ingredients. To make your own buffalo flavored vegan sloppy joes at home, you’ll need:
- Vegan butter
- Green bell pepper
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Dried chives
- Dried dill
- Onion powder
- Garlic salt
- Black pepper
- Unsweetened tomato sauce
- Buffalo sauce
- Cooked lentils
- Coleslaw cabbage mix
- Vegan blue cheese dressing: Such as DAIYA brand
- Buns for serving
Looking for more delicious vegan dinner ideas? Give these reader favorites a try!
Vegan Portobello Burgers with Pesto Mayonnaise | Quinoa Chili Recipe | Vegan Chicken Salad with Chickpeas | Thai Coconut Soup with Crispy Tofu
How Do I Make Vegan Sloppy Joes?
Once you have all your vegetarian ingredients gathered up, you can start preparing your sandwiches. Before you get cooking, take a few minutes to prepare your ingredients. Start by cooking the lentils, then chop your bell pepper and onion. When those ingredients are ready to go, follow these four simple steps:
Step One: Saute the vegetables
Heat the vegan butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is hot, add the green bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook for three to four minutes until the pepper is tender and the onions are translucent.
Step Two: Add the sauce
Season the vegetables with the parsley, chives, dill, onion powder, garlic salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine the seasoning with the veggies and saute until fragrant, around 30 second. Then, pour the tomato sauce and buffalo sauce in the pan. Stir to mix all the ingredients together.
Step Three: Mix in the lentils
Add the cooked lentils to the pan, then stir to mix all the ingredients together and coat the lentils in the sauce. Allow the ingredients to simmer for three to four minutes.
Step Four: Prepare the slaw
While the sauce is simmering, combine the slaw mixture with the vegan blue cheese dressing. Season with salt and pepper, then toss all the ingredients together until the coleslaw mixture is coated in dressing. Serve your vegan sloppy joes topped with slaw on a bun.
How to Cook Lentils
Preparing your lentils before you mix them in with the rest of your sloppy joe ingredients is an important step in this recipe. But if you’ve never prepared them from scratch before, you may be wonder how to cook lentils. Follow these simple steps to prepare your dried lentils:
- Rinse the lentils. Before you start cooking your lentils, pour them in a fine mesh strainer and run them under cold water to remove dust and debris.
- Cover with water. Add the clean lentils to a large pot and cover with 3 cups of water or vegetable broth for one cup of dry lentils.
- Bring to a boil. Cover the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Once the liquid begins to boil, reduce the heat and allow the lentils to simmer until they’re tender. For whole lentils, it typically takes 15 to 20 minutes of cooking. Split red lentils cook more quickly and are typically ready after around 5 minutes of simmering.
- Skip the seasoning. There’s no need to season your lentils before cooking them. In fact, adding salt to the liquid could cause them to become tough as they cook. If you want to add seasoning to the lentils, wait until they’re finished cooking.
Vegan Sloppy Joe Recipe Ideas
This simple recipe is the perfect quick dinner idea! And the best part about it is that you can customize it to suit your own tastes. Try these vegan sloppy joe recipe ideas to change up the recipe to make it perfect for your family.
- Make it gluten free. You can easily make this recipe into a delicious gluten free dinner by serving your vegan sloppy joes on gluten free buns. All the other ingredients in this easy dish are already naturally gluten free.
- Prepare a traditional sloppy joe. This recipe is packed with flavor thanks to its buffalo sauce. But you can easily turn this into a traditional vegan sloppy joe with the help of Manwich. You might be wondering, is Manwich vegan? Manwich original sauce is vegetarian and vegan, making it a great option for creating a more traditional sandwich. Simply replace the tomato sauce and buffalo sauce in my recipe with a 15-ounce can of Manwich, then follow the recipe instructions as written.
- Try it with a potato. While serving your vegan sloppy joe on a bun is the most popular way to enjoy it, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other delicious ways to use your lentils! Instead of serving your buffalo lentils on a bun, serve them over the top of a baked potato for a delicious dinner idea.
- Use canned lentils. Preparing your lentils at home is a budget-friendly option, but it does take a little more prep time. To speed up the cooking process, try using canned lintels in place of dried ones. There’s no need to pre-cook canned lentils – just remove them from the can and rinse them, then add them right to the pan with your veggies and sauce.
Vegan Sloppy Joes with Buffalo Sauce
Ingredients
Vegan Sloppy Joe Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- ½ green bell pepper small diced
- ½ large yellow onion small diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried chive
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup unsweetened tomato sauce
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce we used Franks RedHot
- 2 ½ cups cooked lentils about 1 cup uncooked
- 4 buns
For the Slaw:
- 3 cups coleslaw cabbage mix
- ¼ cup vegan blue cheese dressing or regular if not vegan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.
- Add in the spices and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add in the tomato sauce and buffalo sauce. Stir to combine then add in the lentils. Gently stir to combine and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the slaw mixture with the blue cheese dressing. Toss to combine then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, divide the sloppy joe mixture and slaw between each bun.