I have been eating a mostly vegetarian diet for a little over five years. One of the things I find myself easily doing is eating a lot of carbohydrates. I get plenty of protein too, but when you are searching for substitutes in a dish like sloppy joes, carb-heavy fillers can become the easy choice. I finally upgraded my lentil and bulgar sloppy joes recipe, focusing on getting a serving of veggies instead of carbs. Lentil cauliflower vegan sloppy joes are just as tasty, and help me to focus on eating more vegetables!
Variations to the Lentil Cauliflower Vegan Sloppy Joes recipe:
- I like to pulse the lentils to break up their texture before I cook them. You can skip this step if you don’t mind a non-ground style texture in your sloppy joes.
- You can use a teaspoon of dry mustard powder in place of the prepared mustard if that is what you keep in your pantry.
- I like steak seasoning in this recipe because it easily adds depth of flavor. If you don’t stock steak seasoning, try 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and paprika.
- Minced carrots and celery would be great additions to add even more vegetables to this dish.
Lentil Cauliflower Vegan Sloppy Joes
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Alison's Allspice
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6 large sloppy joes
Ingredients
- ½ small onion, diced
- splash oilve oil
- ¾ cup brown lentils
- 2-3 cups cauliflower florets
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 TBS apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBS soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, and yellow mustard, each
- 1 tsp steak seasoning
- 2 TBS bulgar
- 6 whole wheat buns
Instructions
- In a medium (2 qt) dutch oven or similar sized pot, saute the onion in a splash of olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare the lentils and cauliflower. In a blender pulse the dry lentils 3-4 times or until broken up. Rinse the pulsed lentils and set aside. Repeat with the cauliflower, pulsing in the blender until they are about the consistency of rice. Do this in batches if necessary.
- Add the lentils and cauliflower to the pot with the onions. Stir in tomato sauce through steak seasoning. Simmer partially covered for 20 minutes.
- Mix in bulgar and simmer for 10-15 more minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking. When the sloppy joe mixture is done, it should be thick and starting to dry.
- Serve sloppy joes on whole wheat buns.
Adapted from my Lentil and Bulgar Sloppy Joes recipe. This recipe was shared at What’s Cookin Wednesday, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Meatless Mondays by Confessions of a Mother Runner and The Fit Foodie Mama, and the Plant Based Potluck.
This recipe was featured at Healthy Vegan Fridays!
This recipe really appeals to me. I understand the carb issue- I feel I eat a lot of carbs too, and I also have been substituting cauliflower rice in many recipes. Great idea – thanks
Cauliflower has become my new go-to! I hope you love the recipe!
My what a healthy and delicious dish! Thank you so much for sharing your yummy Lentil Cauliflower Vegan Sloppy Joes with us at the Plant-based Potluck Party. I’m pinning and sharing.
Thanks for hosting and stopping by Deborah!
Oh cauliflower! What a fun take on an old favourite. I have to admit to being a little carb heavy myself sometimes, it’s good to get more veggies in there. Especially combined with a good protein like lentils. These sound super delicious!
Thanks for sharing at Healthy Vegan Fridays! I’m pinning & sharing.
I hope you are having a wonderful start to the week, Alison!
Thank you Kimmy!
I’ve been a vegetarian for years, and I have a recipe I call “Sloppy Jane” for vegetarian sloppy joes. It’s good, but it’s not quite right. I never thought about adding cauliflower – I’m going to definitely try this version. I’m a big steak seasoning fan – I’m also use Trader Joe’s 21 Salute blend in a lot of dishes like this for that added depth of flavor.
I’ll have to try the Salute blend, sounds good! Thanks for stopping by Susan!
since i dont eat beef a lot, i hardly ever make or eat sloppy joes but this version sounds really delicious. i bet the steak seasoning adds a nice depth of flavor.
Thanks Dixya! I like using steak seasoning in meatless dishes because it does add depth of flavor very easily.
This looks yummy! I never seen vegan sloppy joes, but it looks interesting. I will definitely try it!
Thanks Balvinder! I think you will enjoy them, I know I do!
I’m all about sloppy joes – one of my favorite dinners! I especially love this recipe because it includes another one of my BFF’s – cauliflower! Can’t wait to try!
Thanks Pamela! I hope you enjoy them!
I’ve never tried vegan sloppy joes but this looks delicious! Thanks for linking up and sharing 🙂
I was never a huge sloppy joes fan until I tried them with lentils, highly recommended!
Great recipe! I love this- I would eat it over rice I think or make more cauliflower for cauli-rice! Such comfort food, but healthy-fied!
It would be great over rice, or maybe even a lettuce wrap! I hope you enjoy it!