“Plus? What is this ‘plus’ business?” … I can hear it now. Well, the “plus” is LENTILS! *crowd cheers* Yes, these easy Homemade Sloppy Joes Plus have lentils for added fiber and to bulk them up a bit without bulking up the price.
I know, the idea of adding lentils to Sloppy Joes is going to make some of you squirm, but if you want regular old Manwich-style American Sloppy Joes, just make the recipe as directed below and skip adding the lentils in the last step. Without the lentils this is a very good, classic homemade sloppy joe recipe. But I gotta tell ya, it’s yummy with lentils! They add a nice texture and almost disappear visually (see photos below). Live on the edge and give lentils a shot.
What Are Sloppy Joes?
If you’re not familiar with this American classic, it’s a loose meat sandwich with a sauce that is kind of like a cross between BBQ sauce and chili. It is tomato based, tangy, sweet, and full of spices. They’re super fast to make and are quite freezer friendly! So if you make a batch of the filling, you can portion it out and freeze it for later.
Can I Freeze Sloppy Joes?
Yes! The Sloppy Joe mixture freezes beautifully. Just cool the saucy beef and bean mixture completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer to a zip top freezer bag or other freezer safe container before transferring to the freezer. Keep the frozen Sloppy Joe mixture for about 3 months. To thaw, simply transfer to the refrigerator the day before, then reheat over medium-low, stirring often, until heated through.
What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
This is a classic American meal, so I’m going to suggest serving the sloppy Joes with another classic, French Fries, but homemade, like these Thick Cut Garlic Parmesan Oven Fries. I think the flavors of the Sloppy Joe sauce also go great with sweet potatoes, so you could try something like Chili Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
Other Sneaky Legumes to Try
If you’re not into lentils, you can try stirring in a drained can of red beans, kidney beans, or even pinto beans to your Sloppy Joes Plus. You’ll still be getting a ton of extra nutrition for very little extra cost. Plus, beans are a natural with the chili/bbq flavor of the sloppy joe sauce.
Not into beans? Try our classic Homemade Sloppy Joes recipe.
Sloppy Joes Plus
Servings 8Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dry brown lentils ($0.34)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1 Vidalia onion ($0.53)
- 1 green bell pepper ($0.50)
- 1 lb. lean ground beef ($4.57)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce ($0.69)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.29)
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.09)
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.12)
- 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (optional) ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder ($0.05)
- 8 hamburger buns ($2.29)
Instructions
- Before cooking the lentils, sort through them to remove any stones or debris. Bring a large sauce pot of water to a boil over high heat, then add the lentils. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes*. Test the lentils to make sure they are tender and then drain in a colander. Set the cooked lentils aside until you are ready to add them to the sloppy joes. The lentils can be simmering while you make the rest of the sloppy joes.
- Mince the garlic and finely dice the onion. Add both to a large skillet along with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften (3-5 minutes).
- While the onion and garlic are cooking, finely dice the bell pepper. Add the diced bell pepper to the skillet and sauté a few minutes more.
- Add the ground beef and continue to cook until the beef is fully browned (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, cider vinegar, brown sugar, dijon, chili powder, and salt. Stir well and let simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to your liking.
- Stir in the cooked lentils and heat through. Taste and adjust the salt, if needed. Serve warm on a bun!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Sloppy Joes – Step By Step Photos
Lentils cook really fast and require no presoaking. You can have them simmering while you make the rest of the sloppy joes. Begin by sorting through 3/4 cup brown lentils to remove stones or debris. The easiest way to do this is to spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet so they can all be seen. Pick out any stones or other particles.
Bring a large sauce pot full of water to a boil over high heat, then add the sorted lentils. Turn the heat down to low, replace the lid, and let them simmer for 20 minutes (you can begin preparing the rest of the sloppy joes while the lentils simmer). After 20 minutes test a few lentils for doneness. They should be tender, but firm enough to hold together. Drain the lentils in a colander and set them aside until you’re ready to add them to the sloppy joes.
Mince one clove of garlic and finely dice one sweet onion (like vidalia). Add the onion and garlic to a large skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften (3-5 minutes).
While the onion and garlic are cooking, finely dice one green bell pepper. Add the diced pepper to the skillet and sauté a few minutes more, or just until it begins to soften (it will continue cooking as we add the rest of the ingredients).
Add 1 lb. lean ground beef and continue to sauté until it is fully browned (5-7 min.). I used extra lean ground beef (93/7) so there was no need to drain off any fat. If you’re using a fattier beef, you may want to drain off the fat.
Once the beef is browned, add a 15oz. can of tomato sauce, 3oz. tomato paste (half of a 6oz. can, or about 4 Tbsp), 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp chili powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. This chili powder is a mild spice blend, not hot red cayenne pepper.
I always get a lot of questions from my non-American readers about what “tomato sauce” is, so here is a photo of the can. It’s basically tomato purée that has a small amount of salt and seasoning. It is not the same as spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce. It’s very, very lightly seasoned puréed tomato.
Stir the ingredients in the skillet together and let simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened to your liking. If you want plain beef sloppy joes, stop here and serve this mixture in a bun.
OR, add those cooked lentils, stir, and heat through. It’s always a good idea to taste again after adding the lentils and adjust the salt if needed.
This makes a pretty big batch (about 8 cups), so I am freezing half of my Sloppy Joes Plus! Make sure you cool the mixture completely before transferring to the freezer (and don’t put the hot mixture straight into a Ziploc bag or it could melt).
And that’s it! Sloppy Joes PLUS made in no time at all. Totally tasty and satisfying! :D
Amazing!
I make your recipe all the time, sometimes sub turkey for the beef. Always a hit and so yummy! Sometimes I put it on baked potatoes instead of a bun or in a wrap and then ‘grill’ it on a panini press. I honestly don’t remember ever having sloppy joes as a kid, but I’m glad I tried it as an adult!
Also this was probably the first recipe I tried with lentils and now I often add lentils to taco meat or spaghetti meat sauce!
This is an excellent idea!
Will you make an instant pot version?
Hi, Beth! I made your Sloppy Joes Plus this evening for the first time and they’re delicious! I left out the green pepper (It doesn’t like me!) and used spicy brown mustard instead of the Dijon, but found the slightly sweet, slightly barbecue flavor of the sauce to be really good! Don’t skip the tomato paste, it adds such a nice, deep flavor. And wow, those lentils makes this such a filling meal I have several portions for the freezer.
We’ll have to try these the next time we make Sloppy Joes. We have lentils in the house.
We upped the lentils to a cup (dry) and made this totally vegetarian. So so good!
I’ve made this before and loved it! Right now I’m trying to make our ground beef go as far as possible. I’d like to double the recipe but I don’t want to use 2 pounds of beef. Would it be at all possible to increase everything except the beef? Making it more lentil-based? I’d have to increase all of the other ingredients as well I assume, especially the liquid. Any advice? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! You should be able to make that work. While I would need to test it to be sure, my best guess would be to double all of the ingredients except the ground beef, and increase the lentils to 2.25 cups to make up for not doubling the beef. I hope that gives you some place to start!
Thank you. I tried it and it worked! It’s a little lentil-heavy but I love lentils so that’s fine with me. It tasted great, thank you!
Can I do this without the meat? I’m thinking of doing a can of kidney beans and upping the lentils. How much lentils should I do?
Thanks so much, your recipes have been a life saver!
You sure can! If you’re doing kidney beans too, I would probably do 1 cup total dry lentils.
i wonder if this would still taste good without the tomato paste or cider vinegar (do not have them)
Can we sub In pinto or black beans? The corona quarantine has caused all the lentils to go bye bye 👋
You can give it a try with black beans!
I’m not usually a sloppy Joe fan as I find it too sweet but this was wonderful! Really well balanced. Thanks for a great recipe!
Happy to hear it Crystal!
I’ve made this recipe three times now, and it’s loved by the whole family each time. We’ve done tacos and stuffed bell pepper with them as well as the traditional bun. Versatile dish and freezes well.
Happy to hear it Susie!
This recipe is absolutely amazing. Not only is is delicious, and filling, it’s EASY! My 5 year old ate 3/4 of his large serving. Next time however, I would use 2 tbsp of sugar instead. We like our food a bit more “zippy” than sweet.
Thank you for this recipe, it was filling and tasty! No problems with the taste of the sauce as other comments had mentioned, although it did have a chance to simmer longer than the recipe called for (slow poke children not cleaning up their toys and coming to the dinner table in a timely manner). I served these up on whole-wheat buns.
Previous to trying this recipe, I had increased the vegetable factor by shredding a whole zucchini and two carrots in with the pepper, onion, and beef; I might try combining the lentils and veggies in the future, and cut down on the meat portion.
I’m cleaning out my freezer, so I made this with a mix of ground turkey + sweet italian sausage for about 1 lb. of meat. I definitely get a more italian twist this way, but it’s delicious regardless.
Oops, also meant to add that I used split red lentils (simmered for 5 minutes) and they are great.