Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are an integral part of growing up American. They are a great way of using up left-over ground meat and are a popular dish for families because they are quick and easy to make! A traditional recipe involves ground meat, ketchup, BBQ sauce and cheese. My mom always added an egg or two to help the mixture stick together better. Feel free to add an egg as long as you’re not making this vegan or Engine 2. It’s totally optional but does help make the dish a little less “sloppy”.

If you are following a special diet, make sure to get the correct type of burger buns required for that diet, i.e. for a vegan diet make sure to get vegan burger buns. You can also forgo the buns and use several pieces of iceburg lettuce to wrap the sloppy joe mixture in!

Makes: 4 servigs

Preparation time: 10m
Cooking time: 10m
Total time: 15m

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups cooked green lentils (Paleo: use 1 pound ground turkey or bison)
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1 large carrot (8-9 inches long)
  • 1 small red bell pepper
  • 3 pitted dates
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (make sure to get vegetarian or gluten free if needed. If following Paleo or soy-free diet use the same amount of umeboshi paste instead)
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon double concentrated tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic granules
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/8 teaspoon anise seed
  • 1 large organic egg (vegan/Engine 2: omit this - it is optional)
  • 4 burger buns (or several pieces of iceberg lettuce per serving)

Equipment: blender,medium saucepan

Instructions:

  1. If you have not done so already, cook the lentils.
  2. Roughly chop the onion, carrot and bell pepper and place into a blender along with the dates, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, rosemary, and anise.
  3. Blend on high until smooth.
  4. Pour the sauce and the cooked lentils into a medium sized sauce pan and heat over medium for 5-10 minutes until the sauce isn’t runny anymore and the onion is cooked.
  5. If using the option egg, crack the egg into the saucepan and quickly stir it into the sloppy joe mixture. Continue to stir until the egg is cooked through so you don't end up with egg lumps.
  6. Serve either on burger buns or wrapped in iceberg lettuce.