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Easy Crockpot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes

Easy Crockpot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are one of those deeply nostalgic American comfort foods that somehow never get old sweet, tangy, savory, and messy enough to require approximately three napkins. Easy Crockpot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes take that exact same beloved experience and build it entirely from lentils, quinoa, mushrooms, and the most perfectly balanced sweet-tangy sauce you'll make all summer. The slow cooker handles everything. You handle the buns.
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Prep Time 4 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 4 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: crockpot, DINNER, healthy dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 319
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Five minutes of prep covers everything on this list:
  • The Filling Base:
  • 1½ cups brown lentils
  • ½ cup quinoa
  • 1 cup finely chopped carrots
  • 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
  • 1 cup finely chopped onions
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • The Sauce:
  • 1 can 8 oz tomato sauce
  • ½ cup organic ketchup agave-sweetened works well
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • 3 –4 cups vegetable broth

Equipment

  • This is genuinely one of the most equipment-minimal recipes in this entire summer series:
  • Slow cooker (4–6 quart) — the essential piece of equipment. A 4-quart slow cooker handles this recipe at the minimum, but a 6-quart gives you more room to stir without the filling threatening to overflow. The lentils and quinoa absorb liquid and expand during cooking, so adequate headspace matters.
  • Knife and cutting board — for finely chopping the carrots, mushrooms, and onions, and mincing the garlic. The recipe calls for finely chopped vegetables specifically smaller pieces integrate more seamlessly into the filling and give it a more unified, sauce-like consistency. Larger chunks would make it harder to eat as a sandwich filling.
  • Can opener — for the tomato sauce
  • Measuring cups and spoons — for the lentils, quinoa, broth, and sauce ingredients
  • Wooden spoon or silicone spatula — for stirring everything together at the start and checking consistency during cooking
  • Ladle for serving

Method
 

  1. Step-by-Step Instructions
  2. Step 1 — Add Everything to the Slow Cooker
  3. Add all the ingredients directly to the slow cooker, starting with 3 cups of vegetable broth. This means the brown lentils, quinoa, finely chopped carrots, mushrooms, onions, minced garlic, tomato sauce, ketchup, maple syrup, hot sauce, mustard, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper all go in together.
  4. Stir everything thoroughly until the sauce ingredients distribute evenly through the lentil and vegetable mixture. The slow cooker should look quite saucy at this point that's correct. The lentils and quinoa will absorb a significant amount of the liquid during cooking, so starting with adequate liquid is important.
  5. Cover the slow cooker and set it to HIGH.
  6. Step 2 — Cook and Monitor Liquid Level
  7. Cook on HIGH for 2–3 hours or LOW for 4–6 hours. At approximately the halfway point, lift the lid and check the liquid level. If the filling looks dry or the lentils aren't fully submerged, add the remaining 1 cup of broth and stir to incorporate.
  8. The lentil and quinoa mixture absorbs liquid at different rates depending on your slow cooker model some run hotter and absorb faster, some run cooler and absorb more slowly. Checking at the halfway point prevents you from ending up with either a dry, stuck filling or an overly soupy one.
  9. The Sloppy Joe filling is ready when the lentils are completely tender and the quinoa has cooked through the mixture should have a thick, saucy consistency similar to traditional Sloppy Joe meat. It should hold its shape when scooped but still be moist and saucy enough to need that napkin.
  10. Step 3 — Taste and Adjust
  11. Before serving, taste the filling and adjust seasoning. More hot sauce for heat? Add it. More maple syrup if you prefer a sweeter sauce? Stir in another teaspoon. More salt? Go gradually, tasting between each addition. The filling has been cooking for 2–3 hours and the flavors have concentrated what you added at the start may have shifted during the cook.
  12. Step 4 — Serve
  13. Spoon the hot Sloppy Joe filling generously onto your choice of base and serve immediately.

Notes

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Easy Crockpot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes deliver extraordinary nutritional value per serving:
Nutrient
 Per Serving (without bun)
Calories
 319 kcal
Carbohydrates
 60g
Protein
 18g
Fat
 2g
Saturated Fat
 0.3g
Fiber
 19g
Sugar
 14g
Sodium
 573mg
Potassium
 931mg
Vitamin A
 4,422 IU
Iron
 5mg